Julius Baer keeps focus on wealth management opportunities in Asia

JULIUS Baer's business in Asia is relatively young compared to its centennial history of over 130 years.

But the private bank has made Asia its "second home", and has already achieved strong growth momentum in the region in tandem with the rapid rise of wealth across the countries there.

Home to over 4 billion people, Julius Baer executives noted that Asia has transformed into an economic powerhouse over the past three decades, integrating itself into global flows of trade, capital and talent.

The importance of the region to Julius Baer's global business is impressive: From humble beginnings in 2005, Julius Baer's operations in the region have grown to represent a quarter of its global business today. Asia hosts 2 of the group's 7 booking centres and is home to 23 per cent of the total workforce, with Singapore and Hong Kong the second and third-largest group locations by employee count.

Julius Baer's presence and activities in key markets of the region are complemented by dedicated local partnerships with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) in Thailand and Nomura in Japan, where Julius Baer was the first bank to work with an established local partner to set up a joint venture with a large team on the ground.

Shaping the future of Asia

The importance of Asia to Julius Baer is also evident from a group executive board member sitting in Singapore, which also allows for faster decision-making in the region. Jimmy Lee, Julius Baer's head of Asia-Pacific and member of the group's executive board, stressed that the bank will continue to invest in the region."

Asia has significantly contributed to the sustainable growth of Julius Baer in the past decade and is set to play a vital role going forward," he said.

He added that Julius Baer will grow its footprint in markets such as South-east Asia, India and Greater China. In particular, the group will focus on developing its bench of talent, as well as its platform and infrastructure in those countries to leverage the opportunities available.

South-east Asia continues to be a key focus area for Julius Baer. Looking ahead, Jason Moo, head of private banking for South-east Asia and branch manager in Singapore, reckons Julius Baer is poised to capture opportunities there. "Given our large footprint in this region and our ambitious growth plans, South-east Asia continues to be strategically important," he said.

He noted that Singapore is the first global location for the bank's in-house innovation lab Launchpad - which aims to accelerate the bank's innovation journey and enable the group to rapidly experiment, develop, test and launch new technologies and solutions that will ultimately benefit its clients.

Another key market for the bank in the South-east Asia region is Thailand, where local high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are now seeking diversification beyond the country's borders.

Moo recalled that Julius Baer entered the market in Thailand back in 2018.

The bank had then inked a deal with SCB to establish a strategic joint venture that would bring relevant and impactful advice and solutions to the growing Thai private banking market and its increasingly sophisticated clients.

The joint venture would combine SCB's strong brand credibility and wealth management expertise with Julius Baer's full suite of international wealth management capabilities and advisory services, the bank had said.

Fast forward to today, Moo said the bank's "best of both worlds approach" has been "a winning formula".

"The integration of local expertise with Julius Baer's full suite of international wealth management capabilities and advisory services enables us to be well-positioned to leverage the opportunities in the market there and consolidate our position as the market leader in Thailand." he added.

A second region the bank is focusing on is Greater China. Signalling its commitment to the market, Julius Baer is expanding into a 100,000 square foot office space in TaiKoo Place - a commercial building complex located in Hong Kong's Quarry Bay.

The bank prides itself on being able to understand the full spectrum of clients' needs, which range from expanding family businesses to protecting their legacy, and is of growing importance in Greater China. With a team of experienced bankers, the bank is able to offer a unique combination of best-in-class partners and a global network to provide professional, comprehensive and diverse wealth management and family office solutions that can be tailored to each client or family.

Over in India, Julius Baer already has one of the largest integrated global India franchises. The bank, through its Global India approach, serves Indian families with HNWIs and UHNWIs directly in India as well as around the world. This approach offers their clients the best of both inter-linked worlds.

As the largest foreign wealth management player onshore in India, Julius Baer also sees solid opportunities for the non-resident Indian (NRI) market.

With a strong track record in serving global Indian clients since 2007, the bank is a leading wealth manager serving NRIs with a global network of relationship managers across multiple locations and an in-depth knowledge of Indian culture, language, values and needs.

Julius Baer's ability to offer an open-architecture platform also gives its global Indian client base access to the best products to suit their needs, as well as a broad range of sophisticated and relevant services.

Innovating for Asia's future generations

Due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, the influence of the next generation has shifted the priorities and investment focus of wealthy individuals in Asia. There is now a growing appetite for themes like sustainability, philanthropy and building a legacy.

"In our recent Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2022, we found that apart from lifestyle elements, an area where HNWIs are truly making conscious decisions is with their investments. We see a strong focus and interest on responsible investing," says Rajesh Manwani, head of markets and wealth management solutions in Asia-Pacific.

Manwani noted that considerations about fair trade, ethics and ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors rank highly across the globe and in Asia.

"Where and how people invest can have a significant positive impact on the world around us, and as our findings reveal, it is those with a greater share of wealth who are increasingly making responsible choices with their investments," he said.

Julius Baer is looking to make continued investments in technology, and will prioritise digital connectivity with its clients.

As an example, the bank had in 2019 entered a strategic partnership with Swiss-headquartered SEBA Bank to provide investor portfolios with leading-edge investment opportunities in digital assets, from storage to transactions.

Other examples include a new e-banking system that offers Julius Baer's Singapore and Hong Kong clients an easier way to bank online and trade securities, and the 'BJB' chat platform - which integrates WhatsApp and WeChat - that allows for simple and secure communication with relationship managers.

The bank's proprietary Digital Advisory Suite (DiAS) also helps its relationship managers with holistic overviews of objectives and identifies sound opportunities for engagement. Julius Baer was named the winner in the "Front Office Solution" category at the WealthTechAsia Awards last year for this platform.

While innovation is important to the bank, its executives believe the ultimate success factor is its people.

"A well-managed portfolio tends to deliver better investment returns, and the best way to achieve this is by engaging with investment advice from experts. Committed to the long-term development of our team and dedicated to serve clients with high quality and care, we aim to create value beyond wealth," said Moo.