Bankers need new approach to young, smart, female clients

The ranking of women among the region's wealthy is climbing. About 70 per cent of Asia's female billionaires are self-made, compared to a global average of 26 per cent. PHOTO: ST FILE

The private bankers who serve Asia's very wealthy have a new challenge on their hands. These clients are young, female and smarter than they are. The old model of pushing initial public offerings or junk bonds to clients who spend more time golfing than behind a desk doesn't cut it anymore.

Venerable financial institutions including HSBC and UBS are being forced to lift their game to serve customers who want sophisticated advice about everything from cross-border opportunities to impact investing. A survey commissioned by RBC Wealth Management that canvassed 1,051 individuals globally with at least US$1 million (S$1.35 million) in assets found that 86 per cent of the younger generation in Asia believed they could tackle social issues through investing, versus 67 per cent in the West.

And in many cases, business nous is in their blood. A study by Bain & Co found that last year, just 41 per cent of high-net-worth individuals in China were first-generation business owners, down from 70 per cent in 2009.

Asia's super rich are also branching out. In 2011, those hailing from China had 19 per cent of their investments overseas; by last year, that had risen to 56 per cent, according to Bain. Popular diversification plays include real estate in places such as Canada and Australia, while financial products in Hong Kong are popular with mainland Chinese.

The ranking of women among the region's wealthy is climbing, too. Some are so-called gold-collar professionals - highly skilled knowledge workers who have made their money from early business ventures - while others have turned a passion into a profit. Take Mobike co-founder Hu Weiwei. The 36-year-old combined environment worries with urban eco-mobility, creating a US$3.4 billion start-up in the process.

According to the UBS and PwC Billionaires Report 2017, Asia's female billionaire population has grown by almost 13 times from 2005 to 2016 to represent 6 per cent of the region's total count. In addition, about 70 per cent of Asia's female billionaires are self-made, compared to a global average of 26 per cent.

Yet, most private banks still don't cater adequately to women's needs, says Mr Ian Woodhouse, an associate partner at financial services consultancy Orbium.

That's a concern, because serving high-net-worth clients can be expensive. Private bankers don't come cheap and MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) II rules that require asset managers to pay separately for research and trading add to the cost. According to Mr Woodhouse, robo-advisers can charge as little as 0.2 per cent of assets under management, whereas private bankers need at least 80 basis points.

There's also competition from family offices. London-based Campden Wealth says an estimated 17 per cent of the world's 5,300 single-family offices are based in Asia.

For some, the solution has been to build scale - DBS Group Holdings bought the Asian wealth operations of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, while Swiss wealth manager Lombard Odier is forging local partnerships.

Bigger may be better, but I am perhaps not alone in knowing a few family offices that are helmed by progeny of the wealthy (children who have been educated at Harvard and hold MBAs and the like) and want a lot more from their private bankers than they're currently getting.

There must be more of a pivot towards serving Asia's young wealthy. That's where the real riches lie.

•Nisha Gopalan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and banking.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2018, with the headline Bankers need new approach to young, smart, female clients. Subscribe