The story of continued expansion in Asian riches remains intact as private banks and wealth managers saw assets under management grow across the board in the first six months of 2024, with positive net inflows.

In the first half of 2024, private banks in Asia saw robust growth in assets under management (AUM). Where data or commentary was available, all of them cited positive net new money.

HSBC Global Private Banking added $19 billion to reach $185 billion in invested assets. Julius Baer’s AUM in Asia, by client domicile, increased by 16 billion Swiss francs ($18.5 billion) to 114 billion francs with growth partly attributed to newly hired relationship managers. EFG’s Asia AUM increased by 5 billion francs to 35.8 billion francs with the region being the global leader in net new money at 2.4 billion francs.

UBS Global Wealth Management recorded a rare example of AUM contraction from $645 billion in end-2023 to $627 billion but nonetheless saw net new assets of $8.2 billion.

Not Just Private Banks

Growth was also strong in the broader wealth management industry, outside of just private banking for the ultra-rich.

At HSBC, overall invested assets, including the private bank, increased by $58 billion in the six-month period to hit $607 billion. British rival Standard Chartered saw wealth AUM grow 12 percent to $135 billion with $23 billion of affluent net new money.

Doubling Assets by 2026

According to a UBS report, Asia’s wealth increased 177 percent since 2008, making it the fastest growing region worldwide. And wealth managers are confident that there is more growth and business opportunities to come.

In a recent report by consulting firm Accenture, Asian wealth management firms said they aim to double AUM to $260 trillion between 2023 and 2026. The report was based on survey results from 4,500 investors, 650 relationship managers and 16 interviews with senior executives, covering markets including Hong Kong, mainland China, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Continued Spotlight

In line with this optimism, the spotlight continues to shine on Asia.

UBS’ Iqbal Khan commenced his new role as APAC president and wealth management co-president in Hong Kong on September 1, marking the first time a divisional head from the Swiss banking giant has been located in Asia. One day later, HSBC's Georges Elhedery started his new role as group CEO by visiting the bank’s largest market in Hong Kong with an emphasis on wealth as well.

«We have the bulk of our capital and other resources deployed in our four scale activities,» Elhedery said in an internal memo. «[O]ur two home markets of Hong Kong and the UK, our international wholesale bank underpinned by leading transaction banking capabilities and our wealth proposition – particularly in Asia.»