Labuan IBFC: Asia's wealth management sector needs to embrace techology

KUALA LUMPUR: Asia's wealth management industry must embrace technology to connect with new generations of the wealthy in a changing global environment, says the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC).

Its interim chief executive officer Danial Mah Abdullah said in the future the growing wealth in the Asia-Pacific will correspond with rising demand for more innovative wealth management products and solutions.

"The demand from and the sophistication of Asia-Pacific's rich and  ultra-rich are compelling the wealth management industry to change or realign business models, increase the use of technology, and offer innovative solutions," he said in a statement to Bernama.

Labuan IBFC and the Financial Times (FT) on Thursday hosted the third FT Asian Wealth Management Summit in Singapore, where speakers and participants debated on the direction of the industry in the next 18 months and how to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.

Danial said wealth owners are pursuing customised solutions and, at the same time, seeking relevant real-time analytics to both increase and preserve wealth.

"This requires wealth managers and related service providers to know and understand the needs of their clients, a task made more difficult by the diversity of clients and their needs," he said. "As the growth of wealth in Asia continues its upward trend, it presents a tremendous opportunity not just for the wealth management industry but also for financial centres."

The Summit was co-chaired by Yuri Bender, editor-in-chief, Professional Wealth Management, and Lucy Colback, Asia Lex editor, both from the Financial Times. - Bernama