Wherefore Art Thou?

It may seem slow news-wise but it has been a tumultuous year in many respects for the trust industry in Asia. Upon returning from vacation, a must-do task is update your telephone directory of who's gone, who's jumped ship and who's on the market. Forget the "people moves" sections of your favorite business intelligence websites, as they are usually "paid advertising" and don't give you a true indication of what's happening.

I think 2010 will go down as one of the most volatile years we will ever be part of. Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by the tax witch hunts overseas and of course, the GFC. There hasn't been such buzzing in all my years. Every lunch is turning into a catch-up of session: did you hear about so and so...?

There has been so much happening on and off the playing field. Players are coming and going. Commerzbank went. So are the remnants of LGT's trust business in Asia. BSI is gearing up in Hong Kong after making a big splash in Singapore. The Swiss are undecided. The traditionally retail banks are attacking the affluent and PB segments like we have never seen.....we need 5 thousand RMs! JP Morgan has assembled a very senior and costly Wealth Advisory team.....a dream team of sorts or the Witches of Eastwick depending on how things turn out, hold on tight Kenny. UBS has been gutted of their senior Wealth Planners. HSBC Trustee went through an ugly shake-up. ABN Amro is scrambling to replace its North Asia Estate Planning team. Amicorp is re-shuffling its deck. Barclays Wealth Trustees has a new license in Singapore and will be soon poaching your people. Bank of Communications Trustee is perpetually hiring, the list goes on and on. The scale and levels of opportunity have rarely been this great. The instability of trust/wealth teams has never been greater.

My sense is that underlying all this movement is not just the typical motivators like money or another rung up the ladder but a sense of discontentment and disillusionment. I think we have reached a point where employees no longer "believe" in their employers or their business models/structures. The loyalty factor has gone. All methods of employee retention have failed. Every organisation is going through structural changes as the "new world" emerges post-GFC, but people no longer want to adapt, they opt to migrate. People are moving "to get out" more than anything else. How else do you explain the unprecedented levels of lateral/senior moves? Not everyone is moving into a "better" situation.

If you are one of those that are looking for new opportunities, and especially those "green" such as CoSecs, tax accountants and private client lawyers that are being wooed into the industry.....look closer at whose been where and for how long. Firms that can't keep their people are either too demanding or too screwed up. If you're their potentially 3rd Trust Business Development Manager in as many years (or months) then what makes you think you will last? And before you jump with glee that Big Player offered you a job, who knows, they could be out of the trust business sooner than you think.

If you're running a trust business, you better have a plan to retain those you just hired as they could be gone before their seat has warmed up. You better know the "real" reason why the incumbent left and how they are bitching about your operation to every one of his friends. Certain mid and senior-level jobs are difficult to fill
not because of the lack of qualified candidates but because all the qualified candidates know (or think they know) too much about your shop.

Expect tremors and aftershocks to continue into 2011 as businesses figure out their position and direction. There will be consolidation, there will new players and naturally there will be resignations, terminations and cessations.

Keep in touch!