Roles in digital marketing and compliance are also in demand, according to Lyndaine Demetilla, Hong Kong-based associate director for investment management at executive recruitment firm Aquis Search.
Demetilla sees Hong Kong’s private banking and wealth industry as “recession proof”, as the demand for staff is comparable to that of asset management firms. “There is still demand from the typical fund management houses, but not as many as before.”
However, although the demand for Hong Kong- and China-focused relationship managers has grown, it has not for those focusing on expatriates or non-resident Indian clients, she said.
The demand for private bankers is not surprising, especially with the continued growth of the number and wealth of HNWIs in both Hong Kong and China.
Supply growth
In Hong Kong, the population of HNWIs grew by 3% from 2014 to reach 142,000 in 2015 and wealth grew by 3.6% to $734bn, according to Capgemini’s World Wealth Report. In China, the number of HNWIs grew by 16.2% to reach 1.03 million, while wealth grew strongly by 16.9% to reach $5.3trn.
But the demand does not meet supply, as the industry faces a continued shortage in talent, especially in relationship management.
“Those [private bankers] that are handling Hong Kong and China [clients] are in demand, but it is very difficult to find candidates like them because if you are a good private banker, you would stay in your current firm,” Demetilla said.
The search for private bankers is difficult, especially for huge firms looking for those who have around $500m worth of client bookings, with each client having at least invested around $5m in the bank, according to her.
Mid-tier firms would seek bankers who have booked around $200m, with each client having at least invested $2m.
Adding to the difficulty is that these bankers do not really advertise themselves and cannot be easily found on LinkedIn, she added.
“The way you actually connect with these people is you just have to network. You have to know people within that circle,” she said.
Language skills have also become very important. According to Demetilla, 80% of the roles that Aquis gets from its private banking and wealth management clients would require these roles to speak in Mandarin.
A candidate-driven industry
According to Demetilla, the industry is a candidate-driven market.
“If you are a good private banker, you can go anywhere. The ball is always at their court.”
Compensation is not always a top priority for private bankers when transferring to another firm. Their top priorities would be the reputation of the firm and the products it is offering.
“If they believe the products wouldn’t sell because clients are not much interested in them, they won’t move,” Demetilla said.
Besides products, they also look at other offerings as well, such as succession planning and philanthropic services. If the bank could offer those to clients, the private banker may consider transferring.
Digital marketing and compliance
Besides relationship management, roles in digital marketing and compliance will continue to be in demand, according to Demetilla.
“Firms are looking at someone who can not only do just branding but also could think of ways on how to make it digital or how they can make use of technology in terms of distributing their products online,” Demetilla said.
Roles in compliance will also continue to be in demand for the next few years.
“I don’t think the trend will change in the next two years because regulations are getting much tighter,” she said.
According to her, firms have been bolstering their compliance capabilities. For example, some have established separate know-your-customer (KYC) compliance teams, so private bankers are focusing purely on relationship manager.
“If relationship managers are already pressured with getting more clients, there might be problems like overlooking into some details or some documentation,” she said.
