Great ripple in the industry when Widmer got ousted from Credit Suisse. In a show of unprecedented solidarity, a big chunk of CS follows Widmer to Julius Baer.
Think about it. How many of you would follow your CEO? Most of the rank and file only know of the CEO from the town hall chats and handshake at the annual dinnner. Hardly enough to get most of us to quit our jobs and move to a significantly smaller employer. Most of the inner circle senior managment are too entrenched to just pack up and go. That makes what Widmer did so amazing.
Made a contender out of JB when they were middling boutique with no ambition.
Nice Legacy. RIP
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
UBS = Used to Be Smart or U've Been Subpoenaed?
The good news just doesn't stop for UBS.
First private banker Bradley and his starring role in the US Senate's Tax Haven Banks and US Tax Compliance report. New pinstripe suit for Bradley, courtesy of the US penal system.
I won't mention Guttenberg as that's not private wealth but another black eye nonetheless.
The next fish up the food chain which was Bradley's boss, Marty. Detained and questioned and probably sang like a bird under intense waterboarding in Miami. See, sometimes it is better not to be too big in the organization.
So now they taking a shot at board member and GWM BB head, Raoul. 5-years behind bars if convicted. So run the risk of fighting it in the US or just stay within the friendly confines of the Alps where there is no extradiction? Decisions, decisions?
All 3, by-the-way, are co-defendants in the suit from the ungrateful "Mr O".
Un-Believable Shit.
First private banker Bradley and his starring role in the US Senate's Tax Haven Banks and US Tax Compliance report. New pinstripe suit for Bradley, courtesy of the US penal system.
I won't mention Guttenberg as that's not private wealth but another black eye nonetheless.
The next fish up the food chain which was Bradley's boss, Marty. Detained and questioned and probably sang like a bird under intense waterboarding in Miami. See, sometimes it is better not to be too big in the organization.
So now they taking a shot at board member and GWM BB head, Raoul. 5-years behind bars if convicted. So run the risk of fighting it in the US or just stay within the friendly confines of the Alps where there is no extradiction? Decisions, decisions?
All 3, by-the-way, are co-defendants in the suit from the ungrateful "Mr O".
Un-Believable Shit.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Asia Conference October 2008
Well the STEP Asia conference just wound down. (For non-industry people, this is an annual conference for the private trust industry practitioners: lawyers, accountants, trustees, tax advisors, estate/will planners and anyone involved in "wealth management", private banking, onshore/offshore world)
3 Things pop up about this round which was held in Hong Kong Four Seasons hotel:
1. Of the some 200+ listed attendants, there were some surprising and questionable absentees from the delegate list. Not a single soul from Citibank, Societe Generale and Merrill Lynch/BOA. Not a soul from private banking legal gurus Baker & McKenzie. One lonely rep from UBS. Are these companies are so good that they don't need to send their people; or too cheap to send their people; or just ignorant; or just too busy re-structuring (or being restructured) in the wake of the credit crunch?
If you're interested in trust services from these (and any other) companies, you should ask if the person pitching you the trust is STEP qualified. Ask if the person handling the administration of your trust account is STEP qualified? What about their respective bosses or department heads? If not, maybe you should be looking elsewhere.
If you're looking for a career in the industry, you can gain a lot of insight to the quality of the technical education and career development of your prospective employer by asking how many people (at some US$1500/head) they send to these events.
2. The program fell apart on the late afternoon of Day2. Long-winded and pointless rambling. Yawn.
3. Perhaps Singapore is the wealth management capital of Asia.....the STEP Asia conference there last year seemed better attended and had some more high quality speakers. Personally I can't remember a damm thing about these things but last years' conference seemed more entertaining. However, Hong Kong had the better hotel, food and souvenirs and draw prizes. Can't remember good topics but I do remember good food.
3 Things pop up about this round which was held in Hong Kong Four Seasons hotel:
1. Of the some 200+ listed attendants, there were some surprising and questionable absentees from the delegate list. Not a single soul from Citibank, Societe Generale and Merrill Lynch/BOA. Not a soul from private banking legal gurus Baker & McKenzie. One lonely rep from UBS. Are these companies are so good that they don't need to send their people; or too cheap to send their people; or just ignorant; or just too busy re-structuring (or being restructured) in the wake of the credit crunch?
If you're interested in trust services from these (and any other) companies, you should ask if the person pitching you the trust is STEP qualified. Ask if the person handling the administration of your trust account is STEP qualified? What about their respective bosses or department heads? If not, maybe you should be looking elsewhere.
If you're looking for a career in the industry, you can gain a lot of insight to the quality of the technical education and career development of your prospective employer by asking how many people (at some US$1500/head) they send to these events.
2. The program fell apart on the late afternoon of Day2. Long-winded and pointless rambling. Yawn.
3. Perhaps Singapore is the wealth management capital of Asia.....the STEP Asia conference there last year seemed better attended and had some more high quality speakers. Personally I can't remember a damm thing about these things but last years' conference seemed more entertaining. However, Hong Kong had the better hotel, food and souvenirs and draw prizes. Can't remember good topics but I do remember good food.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
New Bull in Town
The Bank of America takes over Merrill Lynch. A mega-retailer swallows up a large broker/merchant.
BoA was a wholly minor retail player in Asia.....so over-whelmed that it sold off it's branches in Hong Kong & Macau to China Construction Bank some years ago. But now BoA may be a force to be reckoned with as amidst all the hi-profile ML units it now owns is the Private Client Group. Here is an eviable client list with combined assets which probably exceed that of ML's own capitalization (if it only they were declared funds! LOL). With established claws in Latam, Indonesia, Russia, the PRC and in roads into India, here is where BOA may have bought the shot to become bigger than Citigroup.
And since bigger is not necessarily better, I see mass exodus from the PCG.
BoA was a wholly minor retail player in Asia.....so over-whelmed that it sold off it's branches in Hong Kong & Macau to China Construction Bank some years ago. But now BoA may be a force to be reckoned with as amidst all the hi-profile ML units it now owns is the Private Client Group. Here is an eviable client list with combined assets which probably exceed that of ML's own capitalization (if it only they were declared funds! LOL). With established claws in Latam, Indonesia, Russia, the PRC and in roads into India, here is where BOA may have bought the shot to become bigger than Citigroup.
And since bigger is not necessarily better, I see mass exodus from the PCG.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Citibank Reorganises Global Wealth Structuring
A headline I saw today makes for interesting thoughts.
Someone thinks that sales teams and trust relationship management teams should be combined into one.
Now this is an interesting and potentially explosive genetic mix. The mythical creature who can sell, manage and administrate is indeed worthy and compelling goal. Who doesn't want an unicorn?
There was a time in my youth when I thought these creatures did exist. I thought I saw them. These extraodinary beings seemingly were able to do it all. Land the client! Draft the documentation! Set up the trust! Transfer the assets! Do the trust accounts! Meet the beneficiaries! Do the distributions! Do the terminations! Alas, evolution doomed these creatures. Like the simple cold virus, a trust professional has mutated into tens of dozens of strains. So-called specialists abound at every turn and function and every product. I've heard that one institution actually had 1 team that did only distributions and nothing else. Hi, I'm Jack the Distributor.
Kind of ironic that I always considered Cititrust's Mikey T to be such a all-empowering creature when he was with Matheson. Now he's got to spread some of that ancient DNA to the young ones.
The trust sales specie in Asia is now nothing but sound-bite spewing, brochure hurling, powerpoint presentation clicker, product pusher who knows not what he sells, not does he care. I swear I saw your Trust Specialist handing out credit card applications last week. The streets are abound with these 20 or 30-somethings for whom a trust is just another notch in the scorecard. Ask him to explain a clause in trust deed and he automatically pushes a speed dial button. Get me Ted from the removal-of-trustee team ASAP. Oh sorry, Gwen from explain-the-indemnity-clause team is on holiday, can I get back to you next week? The slick ones give you some half-filling, not-entirely correct nor satisfying bullshit of an answer as if it were law. When's the last time you actually met a front-line person under 35 that impressed you?
Alas the poor trust officer who has to put out the fires of discontent from those mis-sold, mis-lead and emptied of pocket for magical benefits of trusts. Squashed between broken promises of the absentee salesman, the anti-business Compliance team, the do-what-the-client wants tirade of the Private Banker, the cost-cutting beaucrat running the department and last shread of fiduciary decency he still holds dear and knows to be the "right thing to do".
Nature is against this reoganisation working. Evolution is against this working. Business models is against this working. What you need is an extremely,extemely well-educated person with multiple personalities. Meet Sybil the trust specialist.
So how many schizophrenic people would you like to employ at your organization?
Good luck Mikey.
Someone thinks that sales teams and trust relationship management teams should be combined into one.
Now this is an interesting and potentially explosive genetic mix. The mythical creature who can sell, manage and administrate is indeed worthy and compelling goal. Who doesn't want an unicorn?
There was a time in my youth when I thought these creatures did exist. I thought I saw them. These extraodinary beings seemingly were able to do it all. Land the client! Draft the documentation! Set up the trust! Transfer the assets! Do the trust accounts! Meet the beneficiaries! Do the distributions! Do the terminations! Alas, evolution doomed these creatures. Like the simple cold virus, a trust professional has mutated into tens of dozens of strains. So-called specialists abound at every turn and function and every product. I've heard that one institution actually had 1 team that did only distributions and nothing else. Hi, I'm Jack the Distributor.
Kind of ironic that I always considered Cititrust's Mikey T to be such a all-empowering creature when he was with Matheson. Now he's got to spread some of that ancient DNA to the young ones.
The trust sales specie in Asia is now nothing but sound-bite spewing, brochure hurling, powerpoint presentation clicker, product pusher who knows not what he sells, not does he care. I swear I saw your Trust Specialist handing out credit card applications last week. The streets are abound with these 20 or 30-somethings for whom a trust is just another notch in the scorecard. Ask him to explain a clause in trust deed and he automatically pushes a speed dial button. Get me Ted from the removal-of-trustee team ASAP. Oh sorry, Gwen from explain-the-indemnity-clause team is on holiday, can I get back to you next week? The slick ones give you some half-filling, not-entirely correct nor satisfying bullshit of an answer as if it were law. When's the last time you actually met a front-line person under 35 that impressed you?
Alas the poor trust officer who has to put out the fires of discontent from those mis-sold, mis-lead and emptied of pocket for magical benefits of trusts. Squashed between broken promises of the absentee salesman, the anti-business Compliance team, the do-what-the-client wants tirade of the Private Banker, the cost-cutting beaucrat running the department and last shread of fiduciary decency he still holds dear and knows to be the "right thing to do".
Nature is against this reoganisation working. Evolution is against this working. Business models is against this working. What you need is an extremely,extemely well-educated person with multiple personalities. Meet Sybil the trust specialist.
So how many schizophrenic people would you like to employ at your organization?
Good luck Mikey.
Welcome
Just a blog for me to vent my thoughts, ramblings, gossip and frustrations at the industry I work in. Hope you will do the same.
No real names to describe persons please. No racial or sexual slurs or remarks please. No advertising. Otherwise, all is fair game.
No real names to describe persons please. No racial or sexual slurs or remarks please. No advertising. Otherwise, all is fair game.
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