The Philippines – Update & Review of the Status of the Wealth Management Market

Stella L. Cabalatungan is the Executive Vice President and Relationship Management Head of BDO Private Bank, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco De Oro Universal Bank.  She holds a degree in Business Major in Marketing Management at De La Salle University, Manila.  Her 33 years of banking experience began at Citibank, N.A. – Philippines as a Relationship Manager in 1985.  In 1991, she became first Filipino Business Development Manager of the International Personal Banking Center (IPB) in Citibank, Singapore, primarily managing and developing the Philippine offshore banking portfolio.  From 1994 to 2000, she managed and set-up various Personal Banking and Citigold Priority Centers in Manila. In 2000, she joined Banco Santander Phils, Inc., a Philippine subsidiary of Banco Santander Central Hispano, to manage the Fixed Income and Securities Distribution Group of Santander Investment Securities Philippines, Inc.  The Bank was acquired in 2003 by the Banco De Oro Universal Bank,and was renamed BDO Private Bank, Inc. to establish the very first Domestic Private Bank with a commercial bank license solely focused on Private Banking and Wealth Management in the country.  From then on, she assumed the role of Relationship Management Head to develop a new breed of domestic private bankers and to grow the private banking business competing head on with offshore private banks.  From a P6.8Bln portfolio base in 2003, the Bank has grown its Assets Under Management to P390Bln. BDO Private Bank holds the distinction of being the Best Private Bank and the Best Wealth Management House in the Philippines by many highly respected award-giving bodies such as Euromoney, Finance Asia, The Triple A Asset, Alpha Southeast, Global Finance and Asian Private Banker.

Rafael Ayuste, Jr., is a Senior Vice President of BDO Universal Bank, Inc. and is currently responsible for the Personal Equity & Retirement Account (better known as PERA) business of the bank. He joined BDO in July 16, 2013 and was assigned as group head of the Wealth Advisory & Trust Group of BDO Private Bank, Inc. He spent more than thirty years in the banking industry with twenty four (24) years in the trust industry. Prior to joining BDOPB, he was the Trust Banking head of the Philippine National Bank and Security Bank and Deputy Group Head of Metrobank- Trust Banking Group. He also held various banking positions as head of Sales and Distribution of Banco Santander, Philippines and Citibank handling the Citibank Savings franchise. He is currently the President of the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP). He has previously served as president of the association for three (3) terms.

Damien is the Regional Director Asia for InvestCloud. In that capacity Damien works with Banks and Insurers in finding technology oriented solutions to improve sales, advisory and relationship management processes. Despite being a trained lawyer, Damien’s love of zeros and ones drove him along a 18 year pilgrimage to the intersection of finance and technology, guiding world leading banks and insurers along the journey. He is based in Singapore and covers the major Asia banking centers.

Vincent Magnenat, Limited Partner, is Chief Executive Officer of Lombard Odier in Asia. Vincent has spearheaded the growth and expansion of Lombard Odier’s private banking business since joining the firm in 2012, contributing heavily to raising its visibility and overseeing solid growth in assets under management. He was invited to be a Limited Partner of the Group in February 2018. He has also been a key architect of the firm’s strategy to serve clients directly from three offices in Asia and partner with some of the region’s major financial institutions to support their goals of becoming private banking leaders in their markets while leveraging over 200 years of international wealth management expertise of Lombard Odier. Prior to joining Lombard Odier, Vincent spent close to nine years at Société Générale, one of the largest European banks. His last position was as Regional Head of Sales and Marketing for Private Banking in Asia, overseeing business development efforts across the region. Vincent began his career in international private banking at Credit Suisse in Switzerland and relocated in 2002 to Singapore. He has worked and lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for 19 years.

Dr. Robert B. Ramos, CFA is the President of RCBC Trust Corporation. Dr. Ramos has almost three (3) decades of banking and finance experience working for local and foreign institutions. He has experience in the fields of trust and asset management, product development, trading, fund management, business development and relationship management. Robert has post graduate degrees in the areas of Business Management and Business Economics. Dr. Ramos holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. He also received the certificate in investment performance measurement (CIPM) from the CFA Institute.  Ramos also obtained the certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute. He has served as President of the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and is currently the President of the CFA Society of the Philippines.

Patrick is the Global Head of Wealth Solutions, Sales Strategy & Execution, for Refinitiv based in Singapore. In leading this global team, his objective is to ensure that Refinitiv’s products & services meet the needs and expectations of wealth management customers & prospects across ASEAN. Prior to this role, Patrick was Head of Proposition Sales, ASEAN from Jan 2020 to Dec 2021 and Head of Market Development for Wealth – APAC at Refinitiv until Dec 2019. Patrick joined the Financial & Risk division of Thomson Reuters in 2014, which became Refinitiv in October 2018. Previously Patrick worked within the private banking industry in Singapore as Head of the European Desk at Barclays Wealth and Head of Private Banking at VP Bank (Singapore). He moved to Singapore in 2008 from London where he was a team leader for Barclays Wealth. Patrick is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and has a BSc in Statistics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Outside of work his focus is on being a husband, a father, a runner and a Scotsman.

Stella L. Cabalatungan is the Executive Vice President and Relationship Management Head of BDO Private Bank, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco De Oro Universal Bank.  She holds a degree in Business Major in Marketing Management at De La Salle University, Manila.  Her 33 years of banking experience began at Citibank, N.A. – Philippines as a Relationship Manager in 1985.  In 1991, she became first Filipino Business Development Manager of the International Personal Banking Center (IPB) in Citibank, Singapore, primarily managing and developing the Philippine offshore banking portfolio.  From 1994 to 2000, she managed and set-up various Personal Banking and Citigold Priority Centers in Manila. In 2000, she joined Banco Santander Phils, Inc., a Philippine subsidiary of Banco Santander Central Hispano, to manage the Fixed Income and Securities Distribution Group of Santander Investment Securities Philippines, Inc.  The Bank was acquired in 2003 by the Banco De Oro Universal Bank,and was renamed BDO Private Bank, Inc. to establish the very first Domestic Private Bank with a commercial bank license solely focused on Private Banking and Wealth Management in the country.  From then on, she assumed the role of Relationship Management Head to develop a new breed of domestic private bankers and to grow the private banking business competing head on with offshore private banks.  From a P6.8Bln portfolio base in 2003, the Bank has grown its Assets Under Management to P390Bln. BDO Private Bank holds the distinction of being the Best Private Bank and the Best Wealth Management House in the Philippines by many highly respected award-giving bodies such as Euromoney, Finance Asia, The Triple A Asset, Alpha Southeast, Global Finance and Asian Private Banker.

Dr. Robert B. Ramos, CFA is the President of RCBC Trust Corporation. Dr. Ramos has almost three (3) decades of banking and finance experience working for local and foreign institutions. He has experience in the fields of trust and asset management, product development, trading, fund management, business development and relationship management. Robert has post graduate degrees in the areas of Business Management and Business Economics. Dr. Ramos holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. He also received the certificate in investment performance measurement (CIPM) from the CFA Institute.  Ramos also obtained the certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute. He has served as President of the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and is currently the President of the CFA Society of the Philippines.

Vincent Magnenat, Limited Partner, is Chief Executive Officer of Lombard Odier in Asia. Vincent has spearheaded the growth and expansion of Lombard Odier’s private banking business since joining the firm in 2012, contributing heavily to raising its visibility and overseeing solid growth in assets under management. He was invited to be a Limited Partner of the Group in February 2018. He has also been a key architect of the firm’s strategy to serve clients directly from three offices in Asia and partner with some of the region’s major financial institutions to support their goals of becoming private banking leaders in their markets while leveraging over 200 years of international wealth management expertise of Lombard Odier. Prior to joining Lombard Odier, Vincent spent close to nine years at Société Générale, one of the largest European banks. His last position was as Regional Head of Sales and Marketing for Private Banking in Asia, overseeing business development efforts across the region. Vincent began his career in international private banking at Credit Suisse in Switzerland and relocated in 2002 to Singapore. He has worked and lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for 19 years.

Damien is the Regional Director Asia for InvestCloud. In that capacity Damien works with Banks and Insurers in finding technology oriented solutions to improve sales, advisory and relationship management processes. Despite being a trained lawyer, Damien’s love of zeros and ones drove him along a 18 year pilgrimage to the intersection of finance and technology, guiding world leading banks and insurers along the journey. He is based in Singapore and covers the major Asia banking centers.

Patrick is the Global Head of Wealth Solutions, Sales Strategy & Execution, for Refinitiv based in Singapore. In leading this global team, his objective is to ensure that Refinitiv’s products & services meet the needs and expectations of wealth management customers & prospects across ASEAN. Prior to this role, Patrick was Head of Proposition Sales, ASEAN from Jan 2020 to Dec 2021 and Head of Market Development for Wealth – APAC at Refinitiv until Dec 2019. Patrick joined the Financial & Risk division of Thomson Reuters in 2014, which became Refinitiv in October 2018. Previously Patrick worked within the private banking industry in Singapore as Head of the European Desk at Barclays Wealth and Head of Private Banking at VP Bank (Singapore). He moved to Singapore in 2008 from London where he was a team leader for Barclays Wealth. Patrick is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and has a BSc in Statistics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Outside of work his focus is on being a husband, a father, a runner and a Scotsman.

Michael is a prominent figure in the financial services industry in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of Hubbis, a renowned provider of intelligence and connectivity for the Asian wealth management industry. With a depth of experience and expertise, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry for over 30 years, becoming a leading industry presence in the events, professional development, and publishing space in the region. Hubbis is a multi-generational family-owned and managed business.

He has been actively involved in the Asia-Pacific region since 1993. And has lived in Asia since 1995, holding positions in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Singapore. 

For over 14-years, Hubbis has established itself as the gold standard media and events brand in wealth management thought leadership in Asia. Each year providing a very large body of cutting-edge editorial and sponsored content, organizing top-flight events. During that time Hubbis has become the platform of choice for many high-profile C-suite leaders to communicate their vision of the Asian wealth management.

Before his involvement with Hubbis, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002, a financial services media company. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant success and was subsequently acquired by global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006. Michael continued to serve as the CEO of Pacific Prospect until October 2008. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael garnered 5 years of experience in financial markets publishing.

His career in this field began in 1993 when he joined Euromoney Publications as the publisher of the quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now owned by LSEG) and spearheaded the conception and launch of Finance Asia magazine. During his tenure as Managing Director of Finance Asia, he also initiated the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine, and the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, he founded FIA Limited, further expanding his contributions to the financial publishing industry.

Born in North Wales, Michael served as the head boy of St David's College Llandudno. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. Beyond his professional endeavours, Michael is a family-oriented individual and is happily married with three children: Reanna, Garett, and Tarryn.