Citywealth Leaders List Asia 2009

[EDIT: editor Joe Bell went back and amended the list for factual errors I pointed out. If you want the orginal pdf list, let me know]

http://www.citywealthmag.com/PDFs/Citywealth%20Leaders%20List%202009%20Asia.pdf

Scary stuff for the uninitated.......some half-dozen of the people listed aren't working for the firms their listed under....some have been out of their listed firms for YEARS!!!!! Some real good tax/trust/financial advisers are not on the list. Clearly poorly researched and rather arbitrary list of BFFs.

Another third are what I would consider "WTF??!?!" selections. I wouldn't let them serve my enemies because I know they might screw that up too.

A few are just snake oil salesmen...peddling their wares without real value added for the client.

Some are just too high up the totem pole be dealing with client matters on a regular basis so why do they get on the list?? I remember Mickey from his days at Matheson Trust. Unless you're a $50M client, I doubt that you even get introduced to Mickey these days. Even if you do, do you really think he's contributing anything to your case? Likely not, it's just not his job to be hands-on any more.

It's a real shame that many hard working, smart and client-friendly men and women are not recognised as the shoulders that these so-called giants are standing on (or have stood on).

{EDIT} And in my haste to make fun of Citywealth for their carelessness, I forgot to praise some on the list. Truly some of the finest advisers in the world, and not just Asia, and thanks to ones that I have worked with in making my life, my clients' life that much richer.

Sad sign of the times

http://www.bbtworldwide.com/jobs/job-profile.html?t=jobs+for+redundant+ubs+private+bankers+(asia)&l=hong+kong%2c+central+district&j=2404644&ct2=96

Understanding the recent economic meltdown has added extra pressure on private banks across Asia, we realise redundancies are inevitable. If you were a recent casualty of cost cutting in UBS Wealth Management (HK or Singapore), we would have an array 'Top Tier' private banking of opportunities that could help you get back on your feet immediately.Currently recruiting positions for........

Opportunists? Vultures? Saviours? Data collection?

I would say the latter. With PB revenues down as much as 75% in some institutions, methinks this is still too earlier to invest in any major hiring (golden gooses aside - since $100AUM guys/gals are always welcome).

But what do the unemployed got lose?

Addition by subtraction?

Barclays Wealth hires away "Ms Piggy" from a local HK bank who was head of private banking and trust services.

While Ms Piggy was a fine private banker, her mismanagement of the trust business is legendary in certain circles. Never had a profitable year under her direction and turnstile of trust dept heads. A fine brand name and platform but management lacked the sensitivity and insight to drive the business....strange considering the success of of their parent group in the trust business. A little inbreeding would have helped. The business was treated as an afterthought to the banking business instead of an integral part of it. Not really her fault....tells you about the mentality and nickle & dime attitude of senior management.

Another lession for CEO's not to put bankers/investment people in charge of the trust business. You wouldn't put David Beckham on your Olympic water polo team just because he excelled in his field and was a good athlete would you? No, you get a real water polo player and you don't let your football coach hire the polo player either.

Now that she has trusts out of her portfolio, I'm sure Ms Piggy will do wonders for Barclays.

Lot's of movement in the smaller trust companies

After a round of socializing (read: gossiping), it appears that Amicorp went through a major senior reshuffle in HK.......then Credence Trust (part of the OIL group) did too in HK and Singapore and now Equity Trust too!

This seems to be a perpetual problem for these small players in that they inevitably lose all their good people, partly because of pay and stature, but overwhelming due to mismanagement.

Then again, these may be good times for these smaller players to beef up the team when the employment scene is a buyer's market......but alas they usually hire the wrong people because they are a poor judge of talent.

Run Raoul Run

As previously blogged here: http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2008/11/ubs-used-to-be-smart-or-uve-been.html, the US case against Raoul has escalated and now he has been declared a fugitive! How many organizations can boast that they have a US fugitive on their payroll and management committee?

As UBS claims to be closing all accounts owned by US persons, (as if all accounts beneficially owned by US persons are truly recorded as being owned by US persons!) and possibly face a [Edit: US$780 Million] fine from the IRS. Add some rumoured heavy 09 losses and it all adds up to be another nightmare year.

Implosion eminent

Alex Widmer

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

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.