AlTi Global buys Singapore wealth firm for Asia expansion
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Singapore has seen a surge in the number of multi-family offices as more of the ultra-rich are lured by its low taxes and relative stability.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – AlTi Global has agreed to buy Singapore money manager AL Wealth Partners, joining the rush of firms tapping the rapid rise of wealthy families in the country and across South-east Asia.
The deal, whose value and terms were not disclosed, comes amid a surge in the number of multi-family offices in Singapore
“The opportunity set for us is to be the only non-bank global wealth service for large families,” said Mr Robert Weeber, AlTi’s president of international wealth management.
AlTi was formed in January through a special purpose acquisition company deal that combined Alvarium Investments and Tiedemann Wealth Management Holdings. The company had about US$65 billion (S$86.9 billion) in assets under management or advisory as at December.
As part of the acquisition, AL Wealth co-founders Anthonia Hui and Leonardo Drago will join AlTi’s international wealth management business as head of Singapore and head of Singapore investments respectively.
For AlTi, the acquisition gives the firm local staff and a foothold in a rapidly growing market for wealthy families – even though the firm already has a presence in Hong Kong. In exchange, AL Wealth’s clients get access to the broader company’s deals, services and expertise from around the world in areas like impact investing. Mr Drago said the business had a little over US$1 billion in assets under management (AUM) before the deal.
“We see South-east Asia as an enormous opportunity over the next 10 to 15 years,” Mr Weeber said, predicting Britain and Switzerland, along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South-east Asia, to be the biggest areas of growth beyond the United States over the next five years. “The expectations are high.”
The deal comes ahead of an expected consolidation of family offices as operating costs rise and staff become harder to keep – especially at smaller, first-generation single-family offices where job satisfaction can be harder to achieve.
Consolidation coming
“There are a lot of external asset managers, multi-family offices with 30, 40, 50 people that I have seen, and it is very difficult to run such a business unless the AUM is significant,” Mr Drago said. “There are too many asset managers and too many small family offices and the costs have gone up significantly, so I don’t doubt that there will be consolidation in all of Asia.”
Singapore has been steadily increasing the number of locals that ultra-wealthy emigrants and single-family offices must hire to get tax exemptions and residency benefits.
Rising rents and cost-of-living concerns are also making it pricier for would-be expatriates without wage or allowance increases.
Associate Professor Marleen Dieleman, an expert on family business at the National University of Singapore Business School, said Singapore is still in the growth stage of family offices characterised by the entry of new players.
“Undoubtedly, this will be followed by a maturity stage, which then means there is a shake-up,” Ms Dieleman said, adding that it has not happened yet. “If the influx of more wealth into Singapore tapers off and the number of players gets more competitive, that is the moment when we will see consolidation.” BLOOMBERG
