Navigating the independent wealth management landscape

INDEPENDENT wealth managers (WMs) are seen as the new frontier of wealth management, but unlike the Wild West, there are no cowboys here.

Up until recently, the concept of external asset managers (EAMs) or independent WMs was relatively unknown and less well-established in Asia's wealth management landscape than in Europe and the US. The sector accounts for an estimated 3-6 per cent of the wealth management market in Asia, compared to approximately 15 per cent of assets managed by independent firms in Europe.

But this also presents an opportunity for industry's continued expansion amid the rapid growth in Asia's private wealth.