How did our Asia business do in 2024 and what’s in store for 2025? To find out, read this interview with our CEO Asia, Michael Blake, in Asian Private Banker.

Private banks in Asia have faced a number of challenges in 2024, from uncertainty around interest rate cuts in the US to volatile markets and geopolitical tensions. Considering this background, how did you safeguard AUM and revenue streams in 2024, while also attracting net new assets?

2023 and 2024 have underlined the resilience of UBP’s business model in Asia. In 2023, we observed a pronounced shift towards fixed deposits, coupled with a restrained investment appetite. In 2024, we observed a meaningful increase in client investment appetite, greater leverage activity and improved net new money gathering. Throughout this period, we have continued to strengthen our proposition while generating positive business momentum and solid financial performance.

  • From a client and product perspective, we have reinforced our hedge fund and private markets offerings while continuing to win customised discretionary mandates;
  • From a people perspective, last year’s Singapore hiring focus is reflected in ASEAN and Greater China net new money flows. In Hong Kong, the appointment of new leadership has led to selective hires in relationship management and investment advisory;
  • From a platform perspective, we are upgrading our core banking infrastructure, digitising client lifecycle management and launching new online banking capabilities;

All these actions underscore our commitment to providing high-quality bespoke services to clients, securing meaningful new client mandates and delivering sustainable growth.

How are you advising clients in terms of investment opportunities in 2025? Which markets and asset classes will provide the best opportunities? And how can clients balance leveraging these opportunities while managing risks to their portfolios?

2025 will be a year where investors will see signs of a fragmented global economy. Bonds will face the biggest headwind as fiscal policy is deployed more broadly in not only the US but also China, the UK and Europe. Expect US 10-year yields to challenge 5%, levels the US economy has not seen since 2007. We expect the global economic recovery narrative to be a positive for US and Japanese equities while Europe and China, which are undergoing structural headwinds, will be more challenged without more fiscal support. Investors, however, can look both within Europe (to Switzerland and Scandinavia) and Asia (to Singapore and ASEAN) for opportunities in 2025.

A fragmented global economy will undoubtedly result in periodic bouts of elevated volatility. Precious metals and hedge funds will play an important role for clients in managing the new challenges this scenario poses for investor portfolios.

China’s announcement in 2024 of a series of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures has helped re-energise the world’s second-largest economy, bringing optimism and momentum to the market. How would you advise clients when it comes to investing in China?

Though China policymakers have sought to place a floor under China’s economy in late 2024, it remains unclear what the ceiling is as policymakers pivot towards a ‘whatever it takes’ policy landscape. As China proceeds with this strategy, it will undoubtedly face new challenges, with the return of US President Donald Trump. Though investors are focused on the prospect of additional tariffs, they should also focus on US negotiations with Mexico and Canada as another potential means by which the US could put pressure on China.

We continue to adopt a risk-managed approach to investing in China entering 2025, seeking stock-selection opportunities within China as well as regional and global beneficiaries as the new Chinese economy takes shape.

In 2024, the private banking industry witnessed organisational restructurings, leadership reshuffles, as well as heavyweight departures. Looking forward, what are the priorities for your private bank in terms of attracting and retaining talent across the front, middle, and back office? What measures do you have in place for managing personnel transitions?

We aspire to offer clients a service that combines the flexibility of a family office with the investment expertise and balance sheet of a larger institution.

Our hiring priorities reflect this: we seek to attract seasoned professionals who are passionate about working in an agile, entrepreneurial environment that is premised on delivering strong investment strategies for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients.

Our hiring philosophy is focused on quality over quantity: we do not have a hiring quota but are able to move quickly when we find a good fit. Our primary target market remains clients who are ready and able to place more than CHF 10 million with UBP.

Within the support and control areas, where we also increased headcount in specific areas, our focus is on reducing complexity and automating routine tasks to improve operational efficiency and risk control.

With wealth clients being increasingly sophisticated, tech-savvy, and time-conscious, they are demanding more expertise and capabilities when it comes to discretionary portfolio management offerings. How is this reflected in your long-term approach to DPM in Asia and efforts to deepen client penetration of these solutions?

It is in UBP’s DNA to provide customised mandates that meet the specific investment objectives of our clients. This year, we further enhanced our DPM service, introducing a bespoke multi-asset solution for key clients with liquid and illiquid allocations. The liquid segment diversifies across equities, bonds, hedge funds and alternatives, while also incorporating an alternative carry strategy with a tail-hedge developed by our quantitative team.

Trillions of dollars of wealth are expected to be passed down to the next generation of clients in Asia over the coming years, bringing into the spotlight services targeted at next-generation clients. What is your bank doing to ensure it captures the full potential of this opportunity, whether via content, outreach, or solutions like family office and wealth planning?

Our Family Office Services team leverages the strengths of over 20 global entities and a network of specialists to deliver tailored solutions including investment management, estate planning, and succession strategies. We also place a strong emphasis on the needs and aspirations of younger clients, using insights from our relationship managers to create tailored outreach strategies for the next generation.