Summary
The global private wealth market had an off year in 2018, with a good profit result but contracting assets under management (AUM). While there was no change in the order of the world’s five largest private wealth managers, there was more movement lower down the rankings as continued merger and acquisition activity boosted some players’ AUM in a down year for most. Net inflows were down significantly from the bumper year of 2017 yet remained positive at all but a few troubled players. Revenue growth continued despite the contraction in AUM, which helped boost wealth profits despite a modest degradation of the cost/revenue ratio.
This report benchmarks the world’s leading wealth managers by managed client assets and financial performance. All international public wealth managers with over $100bn in private client AUM are featured in the report, including standalone private banks and wealth managers as well as competitors that are part of larger universal financial groups.
Scope
- Even with AUM down 5.5%, UBS’s position as the world’s leading private bank was unchallenged.
- Client assets were down almost 1%, driven by negative market performance.
- Net inflows remained positive in aggregate but were down from 2017’s exceptional performance.
- Cost/revenue ratios inched up as easy savings have already been made and few wealth mangers have managed to move to a lower cost base, despite heavy investment in digital.
Reasons to buy
- Benchmark your AUM and financial performance against the biggest players in the industry.
- Understand the challenges in growing client assets in different geographies.
- Learn about your competitors’ strategies related to expanding client books.
- Find out how profitable the wealth management business is.
- Identify the industry’s best practices in managing operating costs and boosting revenues.
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Table of Contents
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Profit was up but AUM was down for the world’s largest wealth managers in 2018
1.2. Key findings
1.3. Critical success factors
2. BENCHMARKING WEALTH MANAGERS BY CLIENT AUM
2.1. Growth in Super League assets slowed in 2018
2.1.1. The top wealth managers lost market share in 2018 as investment markets turned sour
2.2. Traditional Swiss and American banks remain market leaders by AUM
2.2.1. The top private wealth managers remain unassailable, regardless of AUM reductions
2.2.2. Both UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch suffered AUM reductions in 2019
2.2.3. Conversion of assets into managed wealth along with inflows boosted Raymond James
2.2.4. Acquisitions still boosted AUM at some major wealth managers across the world
2.2.5. Not all acquisitions were enough to boost AUM in a turbulent 2018
2.3. There has been little change in the focus of private banks
2.3.1. Leading wealth managers are still primarily operating in the HNW space
2.3.2. Citigold and HSBC Premier are two of the most established mass affluent investor propositions, but other banks are also keen on this segment
2.3.3. Asian banks have been keen to develop programs for the pre-private bank market
2.3.4. A majority of the top 40 wealth managers offer robo-advisor services, with more on the way
2.1. Net new money was positive but could not keep up with poor market performance
2.1.1. The world’s largest private wealth managers are still attracting clients, but at lower rates
2.1.2. Only a handful of competitors saw an increase in their net inflows
3. BENCHMARKING WEALTH MANAGERS BY FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
3.1. Group performance improved but wealth divisions were stronger still
3.1.1. Group profits continued to rise across the top 40
3.1.2. Wealth management divisions modestly grew their share of group revenues in 2018
3.1.3. Profit was a struggle at a number of wealth divisions in 2018
4. COMPETITIVE TRENDS
4.1. Wealth managers are doubling down on two familiar trends
4.1.1. Asian growth is increasingly important to the world’s largest wealth managers
4.1.2. The UHNW market is still a priority segment for most of the top 40
4.2. Lending has become more of a priority for major wealth managers
4.2.1. Many wealth managers have stepped up lending to wealth clients or via their wealth divisions
4.2.2. Wealth managers lower down the wealth tiers are also prioritizing lending to investors
4.3. Increasing the proportion of HNW wealth covered by mandates remains a major priority
4.3.1. Top wealth managers are committed to converting clients to mandates
4.3.2. The shift towards greater use of mandates reflects a change in investor preferences
5. APPENDIX
5.1. Abbreviations and acronyms
5.2. Supplemental data
5.3. Secondary sources
5.4. Further reading
List of Tables
Table 1: Private wealth management unit standard minimum account thresholds
Table 2: Robo-advisor offerings among selected wealth managers, November 2019
Table 3: The top 10 banking groups in the wealth rankings analysis of annual and quarterly filings (% of total strategic issue mentions), 2016-Q3 2019
Table 4: Top 40 wealth manager group reports and filings, mentions
Table 5: Net new money from reporting wealth management competitors ($bn), 2012-18
List of Figures
Figure 1: Top wealth manager assets were hammered by the markets, losing market share in the overall HNW wealth market
Figure 2: Raymond James’ impressive performance in 2018 ensured it retained its top 10 spot despite strong challenges
Figure 3: Despite a hard year, acquisitions resulted in impressive growth rates for some players
Figure 4: The diversified banks among the top 40 private wealth managers have wide exposure to retail investors
Figure 5: HSBC Jade was launched to fill the gap between private bank minimums and the mass affluent Premier program
Figure 6: Age is the main factor determining openness to robo-advice among investors
Figure 7: Net inflows trended down as wealth creation was challenging late in 2018
Figure 8: Most Super League wealth managers had net inflows, but only four improved on their 2017 performance
Figure 9: EFG International has continued to shed clients after the BSI acquisition, while Wells Fargo has suffered due to reputational damage
Figure 10: Group profits continued to rise across most of the top wealth managers
Figure 11: While conditions were challenging, 40% of wealth managers increased profit by more than 10% in 2018
Figure 12: Big declines were in evidence across a diverse range of wealth managers
Figure 13: The long shift towards a larger role for wealth has stalled at many of the diversified groups
Figure 14: Big declines were in evidence across a diverse range of wealth managers
Figure 15: Cost/revenue ratio improvements have petered out as revenue growth failed to keep up with cost increases
Figure 16: Asia is forecast to impress with a rally in wealth creation in 2020 as other major regions struggle
Figure 17: Major wealth managers are stepping up their lending activities with 3.6% growth in loan balances
Figure 18: Asia is finally catching up with the rest of the world in terms of mandate penetration
Figure 19: Demand for discretionary and advisory mandates is strong and growing
