As seen on Citywire Asia.
Describe your firm and the types of clients you serve. What is the minimum AUM threshold, and what percentage of your clients are family offices?
Mario: We have a fund management licence by MAS (CMS licence) for accredited investors, and provide fund management as well as investment advisory for families and wealthy individuals.
How has the firm grown in the last two years in terms of AUM, revenue and adviser headcount? What have been the main growth drivers and markets?
Mario: We have seen solid growth in terms of AUM, revenue and advisor headcount. We are solely earning advisory and fund management fees.
What is your main source of funding?
Mario: We are self-funded and are not looking for outside investors. We are always open to mature individuals who are keen to join us as partners.
What is the firm’s revenue model, and do you foresee a shift toward a retrocession-free model in Asia?
Mario: We are actively promoting a retrocession-free model and are currently not receiving any retrocessions or fees from product- or service providers. We are paid by our clients and act in their best interest as their fiduciary.
How are the firm’s assets split across discretionary and advisory mandates, and how do you expect this to shift in the future?
Mario: It’s currently about a one-third to two-thirds split and should stay roughly the same in the future.
Please name the private banks and brokerage firms you use for custodial services. What improvements could they make, and do you have favourable terms?
Mario: We are working with major private banks and brokerage firms and interface with them through their EAM or MFO desks. We help our clients to receive the best possible fees and services from these platforms.
We are very happy that apart from the traditional Swiss players, DBS understands the EAM model well. It’d be good to see more Asian banks provide a continuous and competitive EAM offering.
Where do you envisage your firm in the next five years and what are your expansion or M&A plans?
Mario: We are looking predominantly at organic growth but are open to mature individuals who are looking to join us as partners. We are also open to taking over clients from individuals who are looking to retire and who need to know that their clients are well taken care of.
What challenges is your firm currently facing? Has the account opening process become more difficult over time?
Mario: We are working in a highly regulated industry and are responding accordingly. Luckily, our clients understand this and are forthcoming with the necessary information.
What recent improvements have you made to your infrastructure and technology?
Mario: We are mostly using in-house technology solutions but are working with partners in Dubai and Germany.
How have EAMs in Asia evolved?
Mario: We observe solid growth of EAMs in Asia, which is fundamentally good for clients. That said, we still see most players using the traditional brokerage and retrocession-based models, which are ultimately detrimental to client’s financial objectives and investment goals.
What regulations are you monitoring?
Mario: We would be delighted to see a shift to retrocession-free advisory models.
What are your product offerings and how do you source third-party funds?
Mario: We perform a lot of in-house research on all available fund and investment product categories. For private market investments, we also work with external information providers.
