EXCLUSIVE: LGT Bank Appoints Trio From Swiss Firm Amid Asia Drive

Tom Burroughes

3 September 2014

, the Liechtenstein-headquartered private bank with operations in regions including Asia, has appointed a trio of former Julius Baer bankers, this publication can exclusively report.

The firm has appointed Keith Loo, Jack Koo and Kelvin Leong. They are working as relationship managers covering Southeast Asia, this publication has learned.

The bank declined to comment on the matter to this publication. This publication is also in contact with Julius Baer but had not received a response at the time of going to press.

It is understood that LGT is looking to expand operations in Asia and has been taking on managers from a number of rival firms in the region.

On other matters, LGT in Asia recently produced a a report showing widely contrasting behaviours of investment patterns in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland. (See here.)

The bank surveyed a total of 515 people in the three jurisdictions, with each person holding minimum of (excluding real estate) SFr900,000 ($1.02 million) in Switzerland, and in Hong Kong and Singapore, more than $1 million including real estate provided this was not used as the first or second home. The study, led by Professor Teodoro Cocca, was carried out by Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. Among the findings was that there are large cash portfolios in Asia. Private banking clients in Singapore invest around half their assets in cash funds. In Hong Kong this share is around one third, and around one quarter in Switzerland.

The data may suggest that wealth managers must take close account of regional differences in crafting the kinds of investment advice and services, rather than assume that most people around the world, once adjusted for personality type and age, have broadly similar ideas about money.