More than six months into her role as region head for North Asia at UBP, Teresa Lee is wasting no time making her mark across the markets of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan – and even the Philippines.

Her first priority has been front office expansion. This includes hiring relationship managers (RMs) covering Greater China, as well as bankers and a market head for the Philippines.

“We’ve also hired a head of investment advisory, a senior wealth planner, and a head of investment services for the North Asia region,” Lee told Asian Private Banker.

“These new team members bring fresh energy to support our growth in North Asia. We will be onboarding more new joiners from April onwards.”

Teresa Lee joined UBP in August 2024 from Bank of Singapore, where she was head of Greater China.

Lee believes UBP’s strength lies in its selective hiring approach – she does not set specific targets for recruiting bankers. Unlike other private banks that aggressively hire to meet headcount and later let some new recruits go, Lee emphasised that this is not her objective nor the bank’s.

Instead, UBP focuses on hiring the right RMs who fit the bank’s culture and are looking for a platform that offers a sufficient level of autonomy, flexibility, and agility. “I’ve met close to 100 RM candidates which means we do have the right appeal especially with the senior bankers, because they are interested to know about our investment platform,” she said.

Greater China remains a key driver of business inflows for the pure play, and Asia CEO Michael Blake believes that keeping it simple is the key to success, with plans to strengthen the bank’s presence through additional hires in Hong Kong over the year. UBP’s 2024 assets under management in Asia increased by 3.1% to US$19.9bn, according to Asian Private Banker’s 2024 AUM League Tables.

Dig deeper

Lee said that while questions such as those about the size of an RM’s book, client base, or revenue, are commonly asked, she prefers to dig deeper, focusing on the backgrounds of a candidate’s clients and what services they require.

For instance, understanding whether a candidate relies heavily on investment banking capabilities, corporate banking services, or purely investment solutions is key, as it helps determine the type of clients they serve. “If 80% of a candidate’s clients require investment banking services and 20% need project financing or commercial trade facilities, then that’s not our focus,” Lee explained.

However, if their clients are looking for a platform that offers direct investment opportunities, discretionary management, and asset diversification, then UBP is the right fit, she said.

“Understanding the income streams and the categories of revenue is very important.”

Hangzhou, Wuhan and Philippines

While top-tier cities like Shanghai remain a key focus for UBP in China, according to Lee, the bank is also turning its attention to select second-tier markets. She pointed to Hangzhou and Wuhan as examples of cities with strong potential due to their economic characteristics.

“In Hangzhou, for instance, we see opportunities in the technology and service sectors, especially with several tech giants based there,” she explained. “Wuhan, traditionally more industrial, presents a different kind of opportunity.”

“That’s why we want to explore and develop these new markets, rather than just following the crowd into major cities,” Lee added.

Although Lee has traditionally focused on Greater China in her role heading the North Asia business, she is now looking to diversify by exploring other parts of Asia. For example, the Philippine market hires she has made target clients who already hold offshore assets with accounts in Greater China.

“These clients, whether local Filipinos or Filipino-Chinese, often have private banking accounts offshore,” she said.

GBA female entrepreneurs

As women emerge as a powerful force in wealth, both as affluent clients and key influencers of investment trends, Lee sees successful female entrepreneurs as another promising segment. UBP recently sponsored the Greater Bay Area Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Awards to connect with many of these individuals.

“We’ve created a platform for our bankers to reach out to a larger group of female clients, many of whom are successful entrepreneurs,” Lee said.

Lee explained that the female entrepreneurs she works with are generally open-minded and receptive to new ideas. They are willing to explore fresh perspectives and, in her experience, are largely accepting of the solutions and proposals presented to them.

However, she also pointed out that these clients typically prefer to avoid concentration risk linked to their own industries. “For example, if they are doing business in pharmaceuticals, they prefer to invest outside that sector,” she said.

“They don’t want to be too concentrated by putting their own money in the sector they’re already operating in.” Instead, they tend to favour diversification, investing in other sectors or asset classes to manage and spread out their risk.”