SG Kleinwort Hambros has said its recent rebrand was part of a modernisation process to be recognised as a “start-up with 200 years of experience”.
The rebrand brought “together two centuries of British and European heritage with a modern entrepreneurial culture”.
Mouhammed Choukeir, chief executive at SG Kleinwort Hambros, told International Adviser: “The first thing we wanted to do was to really celebrate the deep heritage that Societe Generale and Kleinwort Hambros have over centuries.
“The organisations have existed for many years with deep roots that have made an impact on society, to economies and to clients over those years. In fact, our vision is to become a leading responsible bank for client service and expertise. We also wanted to achieve a second objective, which is to really modernise the brand and position it for the future.
“We like to think of ourselves as an entrepreneurial organisation with deep roots. Or, to put it another way, a start-up with 200 years of experience is the way we characterise ourselves.”
Sale rumours
The rebrand brushes aside any rumours that parent company Societe Generale (SG) wants to sell the UK wealth manager.
In 2020, IA reported that French banking giant had scrapped plans to sell then-named Kleinwort Hambros after allegedly failing to attract suitable offers.
Choukeir said: “We’re very much an integral part of Societe Generale. We work very closely with them to do a better job for our clients, but also to really enhance the staff experience.
“We’re an important part of an organisation that has a strong reputation for being a leader in its respective sectors.
“We’re proud of that, to be honest, and helps us with what we want to achieve, which is to simplify life’s financial challenges for our clients.”
Growth strategy
In terms of the rebrand, SG Kleinwort Hambros has three areas of growth for the future.
Choukeir added: “The target segments that we’re focusing on are entrepreneurs, French Nexus, and external asset managers.
“The entrepreneurs segment is an established book that we have been able to serve for many years. It’s about sitting in front of them and in looking at their end-to-end requirements, such as banking, lending, investment management, we can help them derive a lot of value from what we can do for them. That’s a sector that has inevitably got good growth potential and provides an opportunity for us to add value.
“French Nexus is naturally playing to our strengths as an organisation, given the SG link and presence in different jurisdictions in the French Nexus markets of France, Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg.
“We would work with clients that may need multiple booking centres and or multiple solutions.”
EAM
External asset management, also known as independent asset management, is a big sector in places like Asia and Switzerland.
EAMs are private wealth management companies that provide bespoke asset management services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients.
Choukeir believes the UK’s EAM market is set for a boom.
He added: “We have a proposition that we feel is valuable for our clients, but the question is whether it could be helpful for other financial institutions and their clients. That’s really part of our growth plan.
“I think the UK market has the potential for growth in that area, but equally EAMs that are multi booking centres as well. We have an opportunity to support them.
“I do think that the sector has growth potential, particularly in its proximity to the client. Some of these EAMs know their clients extremely well, and clearly, we would need to work with them on that client book, but what they are looking for help with is the ability to deliver value to those clients.
“We have a tried and tested model that they can benefit from. I think the growth is there in the market, but it’s for us to hopefully deliver on it. If there is an EAM that is looking for us to help, over time we’ll strengthen that relationship as their business grows.”
