Macquarie’s Asian private wealth bid

Macquarie has launched into the Asian private wealth market with its first office opening in Singapore, it announced today.

The business will be led by Joseph Poon, who was the head of JP Morgan Private Bank’s South Asian operations and has previously worked with Merrill Lynch Private Wealth in Singapore.

“Singapore is the world’s fastest growing private banking and wealth management centre and in the future will be one of only two global private banking and wealth management hubs, the other being Switzerland,” said Poon.

Macquarie Private Bank Australia head Guy Hedley said that the Asian private wealth business will have a strong regional focus and will be staffed by a team of experienced local advisers.

“The decision to establish Macquarie Private Wealth Asia in Singapore followed extensive consultation with the Singapore market over the last several years,” he said.

Asia has one of the largest populations of high-net-worth individuals and this is growing at a rate of 10.1 per cent, according to figures released by Macquarie.

The Macquarie release also cites figures from the 2007 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report that shows Singapore has experienced one of the greatest increases in high-net-worth individuals in the region, with their estimated wealth standing at US$323.7 billion.

“In addition to the full suite of more traditional private wealth management services, the Macquarie Private Wealth model will provide ultra high-net-worth clients with access to exclusive deal flows,” Hedley said.

Macquarie has been active in Asia for more than a decade and today has almost 2,000 staff in 11 markets in the region, the announcement said.