By combining buy-and-hold investing with short-term opportunism, wealth managers are learning from institutional investors

Global wealth and asset managers are increasingly looking overseas for partnerships with local players, but this road to expansion can be a hazardous one

Asian high net worth individuals have embraced the digital revolution and wealth management institutions must keep pace to succeed

A number of UK-based financial services firms are likely to come onto the market in the near future, but any such developments are more likely to be about sellers wanting out than buyers looking to get into private banking

By buying Bank Of America Merrill Lynch’s wealth management arm, Julius Baer has doubled its presence in Asia, but their new unit needs something of an overhaul if it is to become profitable

Although assets under management have been changing hands, the Swiss financial industry is not seeing the kind of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions that many were predicting

Douglas Thursby-Pelham, Vinculum

Investment houses must come to terms with the realities of the modern financial world by redeveloping their business models to preserve client capital while being able to seize opportunities as they arise

High net worth individuals’ investable assets have fallen this year, while the costs associated with managing that money is on the rise

With the number of Facebook users potentially close to reaching its peak, perhaps now is the time for the company to branch out and revolutionise the banking sector

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has put its international wealth management business up for sale, but will the reported $3bn price tag deter potential buyers?

Jana Schreuder, Northern Trust

Facing up to a variety of challenges, groups which are seen as regional leaders in private banking are paving the way with company wealth management strategies which are responding to the changing landscape. PWM and The Banker approached chief executives of key players in each global region to canvass their views on growth drivers and potential growth blockers. Regulation, reporting quality, due diligence and banks’ increasing use of social media were among the topics addressed by our panel of leaders. The highlights of the discussion are presented below

Giacomo Campora, CEO at Allianz Bank

Italian fund houses are used to having free rein in their domestic market, but international firms are now a growing presence in the country. Yet both sides stand to benefit if they partner together

Bart-Jan Van Der Linde, Société Générale Private Banking

Today’s wealthy investors are fully in tune with the digital revolution and the spectacular rise of social networking, but private bankers are not keeping up

Aggressive new tax initiatives are targeting cross-border wealth, but will clients declare their assets voluntarily, or play hard to get?

Stefan Kolb, Deutsche Bank

Independent wealth managers are totally reliant on banks for the products and services they offer, which makes the selection criteria for choosing their partners vital

Investors looking for returns are considering increasing private equity allocations, but need to be reminded that patience is a virtue in this field

Changing regulations could concentrate distribution in the hands of a few banks, threatening the open architecture model

Julien Sevaux, Stanhope Capital

As wealthy individuals lose faith in banks, multi-family offices are enjoying something of a boom, with many investors perceiving that they are more in tune with clients’ needs than their larger counterparts

A private investment office can serve clients by bridging the gap between asset and wealth management, explains Victoria’s Phillip Russell

Wealthy individuals are expected to play an increasingly large part in funding welfare projects, and will be looking for expert advice to help guide their donations

Private banks could learn a thing or two from Mercedes Benz when it comes to targeting the next generation of clients

It has been a turbulent 10 years for wealth management but looking back at what has transpired may provide pointers at how best to approach the challenges the industry faces

Today’s wealth businesses need transformers, not conformer

Time-honoured investment approaches have become obsolete. High net worth clients have lost in excess of $2,000bn worldwide since the onset of the credit crisis. Trust is the key casualty. The 2008 meltdown is the immediate cause.

Swiss boutique Reyl & Cie favours a disciplined approach whether building client portolios or eyeing up expansion opportunities in domestic and overseas markets

Oswald Grübel

Disappointing results, the rogue trading scandal and the resignation of Oswald Grübel leave Swiss giant UBS at something of a crossroads

While the G20 seems keen to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis, the UK is trying to ringfence retail banking to avoid future contagion

Today’s private bankers must devote time and resources to building enduring relationships with their clients while always keeping an eye on changing regulations

Fund managers are operating in an extremely difficult market and are searching for senior staff with proven track records

Fund managers must avoid short-term trends and stick to their investment philosophy if they are to deliver alpha

Every fund manager wants to be the best,” says Kok Hoi Wong, chairman and CIO at APS Asset Management in Singapore. “If you are one of the best you are going to attract assets and you are going to do very well financially.”

Mattia Nocera, Belgrave Capital Management

Innovative products can help clients to achieve their objectives and manage risk, but many are viewed with cynicism and have a long way to go to shake off the image of being little more than fee-generators

Despite some encouraging pockets of sales in Asia, it is becoming difficult to raise a smile among Europe’s fund houses. Most are struggling to keep afloat against the unpredictable currents of macro and policy-driven stockmarkets.

To succeed as truly trusted advisers, private banks will have to up their game in service provided and value delivered.

Strategies for targeting wealthy individuals living in the regions must be very different from approaching those in capital cities.

Tougher regulation should lead to a consolidation of the financial services industry in Greece

Burkhard Varnholt, Sarasin

With many investors now wanting to make short-term tactical bets, private banks must identify which products are best suited to this style of investing and how to go about promoting them to clients wary of glitzy sales pitches

The to and fro; the will they, won’t they; the back and forth: just what are the intentions of the Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) as majority shareholder in wealth management group St. James’s Place (SJP)? Despite stating again last year that its 60 per cent stake in SJP would not be offloaded, the question just will not go away.

Joerg Zeuner VP Bank Group

Germany is leading northern Europe out of recession while the south continues to suffer from debt issues, but it is a company’s links to emerging markets that is catching investors’ attention.

The increasing cost of regulation is a key concern for family offices, which often struggle to achieve profitability.

The multi-family office space in the UK can expect to see a growing number of strategic partnership deals.

Two Tokyo-based financiers give their views on what the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan will mean for the economic outlook

The UK government is introducing new levys on wealthy non-doms, but there are also moves afoot to encourage investment from the seriously rich

Wealth managers lost control of their advisers during the financial crisis and are now looking to tighten the reins, but will this lead to one-size-fits all portfolios?

Regulators may be targeting the ‘one-bank’ model, but the major players continue to tighten the links between units, writes Yuri Bender

Wealth managers have been slow to embrace technology but can learn some valuable lessons from the luxury goods industry, which is using interactive services to engage with customers, writes Stephen Wall

Shelby du Pasquier, Lenz & Staehelin

With pressure mounting from both politicians and regulators, most commentators believe splitting up banks into their capital markets and retail and private banking arms is inevitable. But how quickly is this likely to happen, and what does it mean for wealth management units? Yuri Bender reports

With so many players present in the platform sector, some kind of consolidation seems inevitable, since, despite strong growth, there are not enough assets to go around, writes Stephen Wall

When forging a relationship, people from Western countries tend to put a great deal of focus on the preliminary stages, but, writes Elisa Trovato, continuous and ongoing improvement is just as important

Transparency is a key element in the relationship between clients and wealth managers, however both sides have very different ideas as to what changes need to be made in the industry, writes Bill Yelverton.

Wealth management portfolios with exposure to emerging markets currently pay little attention to life insurance products. However, the asset class provides huge opportunities for HNW clients, writes Sebastian Dovey.