Recruitment is proving to be a key battleground for wealth managers looking to expand across Asia, writes Yuri Bender

The successful listing of China’s Noah Holdings on the New York Stock Exchange is an example of the potential for private equity to access the Asian growth story by buying into the wealth management market, writes Stephen Wall

In 2001, Goldman Sachs Investment Research team created the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India, China) concept in an effort to identify the world’s fastest growing economies. By 2050, it was forecasted that the Bric economies could collectively rival the G7, in terms of share of global growth. GIR now believes this timeline is conservative the speed of development is such that the Bric economies could rival the G7 by 2032.

China Merchants Bank’s chairman Ma Weihua discusses the bank’s shift towards retail banking and the challenge of tapping into the Chinese high net worth individual segment. Yuri Bender reports

Although most players in the Indian wealth management industry are confined to the big cities, HDFC Bank’s Abhay Aima explains why he believes the greatest potential for growth can be found in the country’s smaller towns, and highlists some of the problems international players are facing. Rekha Menon reports

As the Asian economic growth phenomenon continues, both Western and domestic players are looking to expand across the region. But in order to be successful it is imperative they they first try to understand the mentality of the customers they are looking to attract, writes Yuri Bender

Private banks aiming to make it big in Asia are adopting a variety of approaches, but like their fund management counterparts, many are failing to come to terms with fundamental truths in local culture when they build their models.

Best global private bank:
Citi Private Bank

Highly Commended: HSBC Private Bank,
JP Morgan Private Bank

Operating in a marketplace that has been significantly altered by the fallout from the financial crisis, private banks and wealth managers are adopting new business models. The second annual Global Private Banking Awards reflect those institutions successfully adapting to the new landscape and addressing their clients’ needs, writes Yuri Bender. Additional reporting by Ceri Jones, Rekha Menon, Elliot Smither and Elisa Trovato

Amin Rajan, CEO, Create-Research, London, UK

Amin Rajan is chief executive of the Centre for Research in Employment and Technology in Europe (CREATE) – a pan-European network of prominent researchers undertaking high level advisory assignments for the UK government, city institutions, multinational companies and international bodies such as the EU and the OECD. He has also acted as a senior consultant to a huge variety of household name companies. He is a visiting professor at the Cass Business School, London Metropolitan University, Centre for Leadership Studies at Exeter University, President of the Scientific Committee at Audencia - Nantes Ecole de Management in France, and on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business.

William De Vijlder, CIO Strategy and Partners at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, discusses the key investment themes for the year ahead

An army of stockpickers is descending on Asia’s financial centres looking to profit from the region’s rapid growth. But what are the countries to look at, and which sectors deserve the most attention? Yuri Bender reports

As Chinese manufacturing becomes gradually priced out by Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, Siew Hua Thio from Tantallon Capital expects increasing numbers of factories to move their production out of China. “New environmental regulations have also lifted the cost of doing business in China,” she says.

Malaysia stocks form the current surprise package of the South East Asian region, according to Coupland Cardiff fund manager Rory Dixon. Malaysian companies, he says, have always been perceived as small and “a bit dull”, so unlikely to attract much interest from foreign fund houses.