Which are the best three cities in the world for Asian billionaires and wealth managers? It used to be Zurich, London and New York. Now it’s Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong – not necessarily in that order.

This is evident in the choices Asian wealth managers are making to establish and expand their businesses. The tri-city approach, however, is not that easy to implement as it means seeking the appropriate licences in each jurisdiction, recruiting the right personnel to manage the business in each location, and building the critical mass of clients in each market, to start with.

In addition to regulatory complexity, clients’ cultural preferences, operational costs, and market competition, each market also presents its own risk management, strategic development, and geopolitical issues.

Nevertheless, at least two wealth managers have established offices in two of these three financial markets with some success. Singapore-based Farro Capital opened its Dubai office early this year, and Hong Kong-based Tsang Group has been operating in the emirate since 2022. Note that these wealth managers have chosen to build their businesses in two of the three cities, not in all three.

Singapore-based WRISE Group appears more ambitious, choosing to establish its business in all three cities within just two years. As of today, the group has licences and operating businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai.

Groundbreaking results

WRISE group executive chairman Derrick Tan admits that 2024 has been a tough year, but that the wealth manager has achieved groundbreaking results over a short span of time, the business having been launched only in July 2022.

“This year is tough generally after working hard on two M&As, both in Hong Kong,” Tan tells The Asset in an interview. “But we have completed the two M&As, and today, globally, we have close to 400 full-time staff ( in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai ), a big chunk, about 85%, of which are frontline staff and 15% are support staff.”

The M&As will be announced soon, pending completion of the regulatory review.

Despite its rapid global expansion in the three markets, Tan says, WRISE has kept it organization lean and mean by investing heavily in AI-enabled technology, including its TREX platform and WRISE Prestige systems.

Originally designed as an external asset manager, the WRISE Group has evolved into three core businesses: a family office focusing on private asset investments for ultra-high-net-worth ( UHNW ) investors, or those with a minimum of US$5 million in investable assets, known as WRISE Private; an HNW business known as WRISE Prestige for investors with US$1-5 million; and an investment banking business that is still a work in progress. WRISE has also partnered with the top banks, including UBS, DBS, UOB, and NAB in Dubai, and Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong.

The biggest challenge for Tan right now is recruiting the right talent to manage the different business units.

In Dubai, WRISE announced the appointment DJ Sengupta as chief executive officer in January 2024 and the launch of WRISE Prestige in the Middle East on November 22.

“If you ask me why it’s only now that we have done this, it’s because it took me a while to find the right people. If I had found DJ two years ago, Dubai would have been a bigger business for us by now than Hong Kong and Singapore,” Tan reckons.

Tax advantage

The WRISE Prestige segment in the Middle East builds on the success of WRISE Prestige Hong Kong, which has grown to a 250-strong force within nine months. It caters to clients who might have been underserved by traditional private banking institutions and are increasingly seeking more transparent and hands-on investment opportunities with the high service standards that WRISE Private provides. Product offerings for WRISE Prestige Middle East will include global securities, structured products, mutual funds, fixed income, and insurance.

“If you look at the whole tax element of the Middle East and the UAE overall, the biggest impact of not having taxes is on the middle class. The guys who quickly create wealth as they move into various jobs, salaries in the Middle East are at par with anywhere else in the world, and suddenly you don't pay a 25-30% tax. So, somebody earning US$10,000 to US$15,000 in the Middle East is saving one-third of his salary by doing no extra effort. And WRISE Prestige, our whole proposition, fits in beautifully into that segment,” Tan says.

This trend aligns with Dubai's appeal as a global wealth hub, driven by tax-free policies, a strategic location, and initiatives like the "golden visa" and "family wealth centre" programmes.

“One of the things that people don't really focus on is the regulatory modernization that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are going through. The regulators here are at par with anywhere else. Dubai is very interesting, from the perspective of family offices that have started moving here. They like the safe environment that this regulatory modernization is creating. It’s a story not only about taxes, and that's what's transforming the wealth landscape in the Middle East, and Dubai has played a pivotal role in that,” Tan says.

At the same time, family offices and UNHW investors in Europe are diversifying from their traditional booking centres to Asia, and they go to Singapore and Hong Kong as alternative booking centres.

Asia-Pacific remains one of the fastest-growing regions for wealth, with Hong Kong and Dubai fuelling growth across several client segments. According to industry reports, the number of HNW investors in the UAE is projected to grow by 39% by 2026. Hong Kong continues to strengthen its position as a global wealth hub, with China's mass-affluent households expected to reach 162 million by 2030.