Rai Rummaan Kharal (pictured) joined as a managing partner of wealth and capital and Haroon Tufail joined as an executive director. It comes after a number of Credit Suisse bankers have left to work at other places, although the Swiss bank also made a senior hire last week to expand its wealth management business in Germany.

As a managing partner, Kharal will focus on establishing and growing client relationships, assessing market opportunities, developing the business strategy for the multi-family office, and leading a team of family office advisors, the firm said in a statement. 

Together with his role in the multi-family office, Kharal will help bring more capital markets deal flow and develop the capital side of the Golden Equator Group which comprises venture and private capital businesses. He will report to Shirley Crystal Chua, founder and group CEO of Golden Equator Group, the firm continued.

Kharal brings more than 25 years of experience in wealth, investment management and international corporate banking. He was most recently executive director – market and team lead at Credit Suisse Singapore, where he built, managed, and expanded a team servicing ultra-high net worth family clients in the South Asian region. Before that, he was with Deutsche Bank for 18 years, in senior positions across corporate banking as well as investment and wealth management roles in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia and Pakistan, the firm said.

Tufail, who will report to Kharal, will focus on providing investment and multi-generational wealth planning solutions for ultra-high net worth families, the firm added. He brings close to 20 years of experience in wealth management and active portfolio management across various capital market products, working with UHNW clients and families in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Singapore. He was most recently director and relationship manager at Credit Suisse Singapore.

Kharal said: “Golden Equator Wealth’s unique initiatives around NextGen grooming and being plugged into a strong ecosystem of businesses and industry partners through the group are among key factors that set it apart from its peers.”

GEW is planning to grow its team of senior family office advisors and to achieve multifold AUM growth in the next 24 months. GEW won Independent Wealth Manager Award in 2019 from WealthBriefing Asia and was recognised for its NextGen Programme at the Inaugural WealthBriefing Asia External Asset Management Awards 2022.

Welcoming the move, Chua said: “We have a strong roadmap to expand our multi-family office business and will continue to add more capabilities in client-facing and investment roles as well as other value-added wealth services. We have been at the forefront of helping families understand that passing down a legacy goes beyond financial wealth management to include an effective wealth transfer structure, preparing the next generation to take over family matters and passing on the family values to future generations.”

Established more than 10 years ago, GEW is a multi-family office that provides UHNW families and individuals with investment management and legacy preservation solutions. With clients in more than 12 countries, GEW also has alternative investment capabilities and networks through its in-house venture and private capital teams as part of the Golden Equator Group.