Wealth management once operated on predictable formulae: cultivate relationships through family connections, recommend conservative fixed deposits, and maintain capital preservation.
This comfortable paradigm served private banking well for decades, particularly in Asia, where first-generation entrepreneurs trusted advisers who understood their risk-averse mentality after years of building businesses from scratch.
Those days have ended. Private banking’s foundation has shifted from handshakes to hard data over the past twenty years. Relationship managers who once succeeded through personal connections and basic capital preservation now face clients demanding sophisticated market expertise and proven performance records. Younger generations inheriting vast fortunes bring different expectations, risk appetites, and technological savvy that challenges decades of industry practice.
The 2008 financial crisis, through COVID-19’s market disruption and 2022’s inflation surge, taught clients that relationship-based advice without a technical foundation fails during crisis periods. Private bankers must now demonstrate mastery of complex instruments, behavioural finance principles, and multi-generational family dynamics whilst navigating increasingly volatile global markets.
Amit Singh, Managing Director at Carret Private Capital in Hong Kong, manages portfolios for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals across Asia. His 20+-year career in private wealth management spans multiple market cycles, from zero interest rates through recent inflation spikes.
“Earlier, it was more relationship-based. The Relationship Manager would offer a plain vanilla product like time deposits or fixed income instruments when interest rates were high,” Singh said during a recent interview. “Capital preservation and beating inflation were the name of the game. But now, the advisor needs to know what they’re doing, and it’s as simple as that. You can’t just walk in and say, Okay, I know this person so that I can win some relationships on the back of the private bank’s capabilities.”
Generational wealth transfer drives much of this change. First-generation entrepreneurs who built fortunes through calculated business risks often prioritise protecting accumulated capital and consider themselves the custodians of wealth for their future generations.. Their children and grandchildren bring different perspectives and risk tolerances.
“The second generation would be like looking at it completely differently,” Singh explained. “There’s always that internal tension between multi-generations in terms of control, and that eagerness to showcase to their parents or grandparents that, I know how investing works and like I understand what I’m doing here.”
This dynamic creates complex portfolio management challenges. Amit Singh must balance conservative strategies favoured by wealth creators against younger generations’ appetite for risk by investing in equities, structured products, alternatives like private equity, private credit, and cryptocurrency investments.
Client expectations now extend beyond investment returns to behavioural coaching. Singh draws parallels between sailing—he represented India in a world championship—and market navigation.
“Don’t get too excited in good times. And likewise don’t get too fearful in bad times,” he advises clients. “When you can’t really change the wind, you just adjust your sails.”
His firm’s fixed income strategy, launched in December 2022, delivered approximately 8% annual returns by capitalising on market dislocations. When Credit Suisse collapsed in March 2023, AT1 bonds from European banks fell over 10% to 20% in some cases, even 30-40% as investors panicked.
“That was a good time for us to do some shopping. So we bought some good quality AT1s and got some really outsized returns because of that call,” Singh said.
Current market conditions exemplify these principles. Equity markets have rallied approximately 35-40% since April’s correction following policy announcements. Singh advocates profit-taking rather than taking additional risks or adding some insurance to the equity part of the portfolio.
“Your portfolio is already doing so well, why would you like to add more risks at this point instead of booking some profits, raising some cash, or at least buying some insurance, and waiting for some opportunities to come across,” he said.
Technical competence forms the foundation for client relationships, but emotional management often determines success. During market downturns, trust erodes quickly.
“The trust element just flies out the window. People suddenly stop trusting you and perhaps even their own decision-making capabilities. They want to question everything that you suggest,” Singh observed.
Portfolio construction varies considerably based on client age and circumstances. Clients in their forties with successful businesses can maintain longer investment horizons and higher equity allocations. Retirees in their sixties need capital preservation through shorter-duration fixed income instruments.
Singh’s bespoke approach reflects industry evolution away from standardised products. “Everyone is different. Hence, we prefer a bespoke strategy for all our UHNW individual clients. We don’t tend to have any cookie-cutter clients anyway,” he said.
Advisers who master dual competencies—delivering consistent performance whilst navigating multigenerational wealth dynamics—will define private banking’s next phase. Singh’s career trajectory from relationship-focused banking to data-driven portfolio management illustrates this industry-wide shift towards expertise-based client service.
Wealth transfer across generations accelerates globally, with consulting firm McKinsey estimating $68 trillion will pass from baby boomers to younger generations over the next two decades. Private banks that adapt to serve both traditional wealth preservers and tech-savvy inheritors will capture this opportunity. Those clinging to relationship-only models risk obsolescence as clients migrate towards advisers who combine personal trust with demonstrable financial expertise.
Singh’s sailing background provides an apt metaphor for modern private banking: success depends on reading changing conditions, adjusting strategy accordingly, and maintaining steady navigation through inevitable storms. “When you can’t really change the wind, you just adjust your sails,” he observed. The wind has shifted decisively towards technical competence in private banking. Advisers must adjust accordingly or risk being left behind by clients seeking both personal relationships and professional excellence in managing their family wealth.
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Amit Singh Explains Why Private Banking Has Evolved Beyond Relationship Management
