HKUST Business School Magazine

Hong Kong’s hopes of securing a preeminent position in the fast-growing family office sector are underpinned by the extensive experience and relevant expertise the city’s financial institutions already possess. They lead the region in terms of investment banking, asset and wealth management services and are therefore well placed to advise enterprising families on how best to plan and structure their investments to protect holdings, generate returns, avoid conflict, create a legacy, and ensure a smooth transition to the next generation. With all the talk of initiatives and incentives to attract such businesses and become a regional hub, there is a sense of breaking new ground. But most of the precedents and patterns are already well established, having evolved in Europe and the United States over the past few decades. Offering guidance across the board Now they are being adopted and adapted to meet the needs of families in Asia which have more recently moved into the ultra high-net-worth bracket. Such families can benefit from guidance on everything from tax domiciles and legal jurisdictions to financial planning, trusts, private equity, insurance, and philanthropy. “The new interest in family offices is a function of the creation of wealth,” says Kathryn Shih, the former Asia-Pacific President of UBS AG who now serves as a board member of Swiss-based bank Julius Baer. “This segment provides financial firms with multiple touch points and service opportunities and, in some ways, is at the pinnacle of wealth management. With so many newly minted billionaires, it offers great growth potential. But the financial institutions involved must also be able to offer some unique selling propositions.” Banking legend Kathryn Shih Prominent business leader and banker Board member of Julius Baer and former Asia-Pacific President of UBS AG Received several honors for her achievements, including "Top 25 the Most Influential Women in Asset Management" from Asian Investor and "Top 20 Women in Finance" from Finance Asia Leadership in Wealth Management Biz@HKUST 29