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3. UBS Beats Credit Suisse?

As far as managed assets are concerned, UBS is not only 50 percent larger than Credit Suisse, but it also leads its hometown rival in terms of efficiency. Thus a UBS advisor manages on average $369 million, while his or her counterpart at Credit Suisse is responsible for around $343 million.

In addition UBS managed to raise its 2017 customer assets by more than one-third from the previous year to $382.7 billion, without significantly increasing the number of client advisors or by executing any takeovers (see table above). Credit Suisse however also increased its annual asset base in Asia, while cutting the number of client advisors at the same time.

4. Acquisition Leap

The largest growth in advisor numbers was Liechtenstein bank LGT's, with almost 90 percent. This however also includes staff from the Dutch bank ABN Amro Asia, which LGT integrated last May. This boosted assets by more than $90 billion.

EFG also bolstered advisor numbers following its integration of BSI. The same is true for the French group Indosuez Wealth Management, after it took over the CIC group in Hong Kong and Singapore last year.

Experts agree the consolidation will continue, as regulation in Asia becomes ever more comparable with that in Europe, and the competitors such as DBS, OCBC, and Hang Seng Bank grow in strength.

5. Local Advantages 

The nationality of advisors cannot be determined from the data, but it is almost certain that in Asia, especially Singapore, a sea change in attitude is underway. Thus banks – under pressure from governments – are increasingly favouring local advisors.

Furthermore, local client advisors have acquired sufficient experience to compete with their foreign counterparts. And of course they have the added advantage of speaking local languages and dialects, as well as being familiar with customs and traditions, which in the case of dealing with the «nouveau riche» from China, Indonesia and Malaysia, is of paramount importance.