DBS Private Bank posts $10b assets for in-house products

DBS Private Bank yesterday said its client assets under management (AUM) for its in-house managed investment products have more than doubled to $10 billion over the past year.

The demand surge reflects "buoyant client confidence" in the bank's investment views, DBS Private Bank said in a statement.

The AUM includes $550 million raised by two recent additions to the bank's offerings, namely the DBS I.D.E.A. Fund and the DBS ESG Focus Note, which were rolled out in July.

The DBS I.D.E.A. Fund comprises some 50 stocks globally, spanning 20 themes including blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics. It is rated "A" by MSCI ESG Ratings.

The DBS ESG Focus Note, on the other hand, comprises at least 80 bonds issued by global companies with good environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) ratings and across a range of industries. The portfolio aims to harness incremental yields from these bonds and provide quarterly distributions to investors.

"Since 2018, we have successfully launched various ESG outperformance structures in the equity space, giving clients exposure to companies that score well based on MSCI ESG scoring methodology," said Ms Audra Seah, head of investment advisory and capital market products at DBS Private Bank.

"We foresee continued strong interest as more clients come to appreciate the benefits of ESG investing, and have thus created the DBS ESG Focus Note as a means for them to extend their participation in sustainable investments to the fixed income part of their portfolios," she added.

All in-house managed investment products offered by the bank are designed with sustainability at their core, rated "BBB" and above based on MSCI ESG Ratings, and are designed by the bank's chief investment office (CIO) and product solutions teams.

DBS Private Bank said its growing suite of managed investment products reflects its CIO's high-conviction strategies, and aims to play a larger role in the overall construction of portfolio for clients seeking long-term capital appreciation as well as income generation.

Its first in-house managed investment product was globally diversified fixed-income solution DBS Global Income Note, which the bank said has generated an annualised 7 per cent return since inception, as at the end of last month.

The bank's flagship DBS CIO Barbell Strategy Portfolio delivered 33 per cent returns as at the end of last month since its inception two years ago, representing a benchmark outperformance of 350 basis points.

THE BUSINESS TIMES