Leading private banks target family offices in Asia

Several of the region’s largest private banks have set up specialist units catering to family office business in Asia during the past three months, while their peers have ramped up coverage in other ways. How is the relationship between family offices and private banking developing, and how are private banks helping wealthy families to better manage their risks?

Fingers were pointed in many directions after the global financial crisis of 2007/2008, and one of the complaints in Asia – made by ultra-rich investors who aggressively chased returns yet saw their portfolio values slashed during the downturn – was that their private bankers had let them down: what they really needed was advice, and a lot more of it. This included more detailed advice on matters as diverse as investment strategies, succession planning and philanthropy, right through to setting