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.
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