The world’s 25 largest private wealth managers grew their assets under management (AUM) by 5.5% in 2016, compared to a growth rate of 2.9% in the previous year, according to research by GlobalData and Private Banker International.

The 2016 Global Private Wealth Managers AUM Ranking revealed that UBS continues to head up the list with AUM exceeding $2trn. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley take second and third position.

Bartosz Golba, GlobalData’s head of content for wealth management, predicts that the two American giants might switch places next year.

“While Bank of America’s AUM decreased for the second consecutive year, Morgan Stanley recorded double-digit growth. Growth was even faster in the division catering for high net worth (HNW) individuals at Goldman Sachs, which overtook Citi Private Bank.”

The China Merchants Bank, with an exemplary focused growth strategy, leads the Chinese market, even though it ranked well behind the top five in the domestic retail banking market, according to the research.

Andrew Haslip, GlobalData’s financial head of content for Asia-Pacific, said: “Despite a smaller footprint on the mainland, China Merchants Bank’s focus on helping affluent Chinese internationalise their wealth has fuelled its growth. The 2017 expansion of its private bank in Singapore still needs to be seen through the lens of its mainland strategy, giving its Chinese clients more options in Asia’s private wealth management capital.”

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More Asian private banks, with an increasing international focus, are also joining the top ranks of Global Private Wealth Managers.

Meghna Mukerjee, editor of Private Banker International, said: “The Asia-Pacific region, which saw much M&A activity in 2016 and will see more in 2017, is where we expect new top international wealth managers to emerge. Banks such as DBS Private Bank and OCBC’s Bank of Singapore, which have been bulking up significantly through acquisitions, are the ones to watch.”

Although the industry registered an overall growth in 2016, some players saw their asset books shrink remarkably, with HSBC and Deutsche Bank not even present in the top 10 ranking.

2016 Global Private Wealth Managers AUM Ranking
Rank Competitor   AUM ($bn) 201516 rank change
1 UBS 2,069.41 =
2 Bank of America Merrill Lynch 886.15 =
3 Morgan Stanley 877.00 =
4 Credit Suisse 719.05 =
5 JP Morgan 435.00 =
6 Goldman Sachs 413.00 +1
7 Citi Private Bank 389.70 -1
8 BNP Paribas 361.98 =
9 Julius Baer 323.77 +1
10 Northern Trust 248.40 +2
11 China Merchants Bank 238.96 +3
12 Wells Fargo 231.00 +1
13 Deutsche Bank Wealth Management 227.29 -4
14 HSBC Private Bank 222.00 -3
15 Santander 192.20 +1
16 Pictet 180.50 +1
17 ABN Amro 178.34 -2
18 ICBC 174.23 =
19 Bank of China 143.99 +3
20 Crédit Agricole 143.84 -1
21 RBC Wealth Management 139.92 +5
22 J. Safra Sarasin 131.55 -2
23 Bank of Montreal 126.20 +1
24 Société Générale 122.06 -3
25 Lombard Odier 116.74 -2
Source: GlobalData’s Wealth Management Competitor Analytics © GlobalData

 

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