Asia News

According to industry players, the wealth of rich Asian individuals is set to grow at a compounded rate of 12.8 percent over 5 years till 2013. The fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis sliced a quarter of the wealth of high net worth individuals. The prospects for Asia, however, still appear to be relatively bright. Private banks are expected to boost their expertise in order to capture the opportunities arising from a higher demand for wealth management services. It is estimated that Singapore would need 900 to 1,200 experienced private bankers over the next 5 years. Experts told a regional industry seminar in Singapore that pay structures for relationship managers will need to be overhauled, by reviewing bonuses and rewarding staff based on indicators like client satisfaction and investment performance, and less on fixed financial targets.