The wealth management arm of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has added to its teams in Singapore and Beijing in the face of greater market uncertainty and higher demand for wealth management advisory services.

RBC Wealth Management is growing its capabilities in servicing families in Asia that have ties globally, particularly to Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., with the addition of wealth planner Alvin Chiam to its Singapore team.

He will advise high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients on wealth planning and transfer matters, RBC said in an announcement on Tuesday.

Chiam brings to the firm more than 15 years of experience in trust and estate planning, and has implemented and managed private trust structures in the U.K. and U.S. during his time at Barclays Wealth Trustees, Cititrust Singapore and DBS Private Bank.

China Team Grows

In mainland China, the firm has hired Belle (Jing) Hu as associate director, business development, based in Beijing. She will lead the firm's growth efforts in the country, the announcement said.

Hu began her career in 2009 at RBC in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she spent five years building experience and skills in its Canadian Banking business. She later worked in FX equity trading at DBS Bank and as an investment product expert for HSBC Bank (China).

«These hires are especially important in the current economic environment, as uncertainty is leading to greater demand for wealth management advisory services, particularly related to wealth planning,» said Terence Chow, head of RBC Wealth Management in Asia.

Wealth Opportunity

RBC has about 2,000 employees in Asia working across wealth management, global asset management, capital markets and investor and treasury services.

The expansion of its Singapore and China teams align with the findings of its «Wealth Opportunity Index,» developed in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which ranks both countries among the top three globally for wealth opportunity.

The firm currently has C$1.11 trillion ($790 billion) of assets under administration, and almost C$793 billion of assets under management.