In this article with the private banking side of Deutsche Bank, we continue our profile of firms that serve external asset managers in Singapore and the wider region.

Continuing our series of interviews with banks and other financial institutions about how they serve the external asset managers sector in Singapore and wider Asia, and their views on trends in the space, we talked to Hugo van Kattendijke, head of external asset managers, emerging Markets, Deutsche Bank Private Bank. (We also quoted him in this previous article, here.)

Separately, nominations are open for the Fourth WealthBriefingAsia EAM Awards, 2025, with the public announcement in Singapore, on 16 October.

What do you do to serve EAMs?
Deutsche Bank Private Bank runs a dedicated EAM business which focuses on the UHNW segment of the wealth management market. Our EAM offering leverages the strengths of Deutsche Bank including the bank’s global network; cross divisional collaboration between the private bank, investment bank and corporate bank; best-in-class capital markets and foreign exchange investment services; as well as providing market leading financing solutions. 

What sort of clients among EAMs do you have, including those recently taken on? 
We do not disclose client information. We are presently deepening existing EAM relationships and onboarding new ones to focus on those where there is an organic fit between Deutsche Bank’s strengths, the mutual needs of our clients, and a clear alignment on risk management. Hence our typical EAM partner is top decile in its chosen markets, advises its clients on a broad spectrum of investment and business needs, and operates across multiple regions and legal entities.

In approximate terms, how important is the EAM business line to the bank in general,  for example for revenue growth, etc?
We see EAMs as integral to our institutional offering for the UHNW segment; enabling the bank to reach beyond the clientele that we serve directly. In Asia, Deutsche Bank has served the EAM market for over 10 years. In 2025, in line with the bank’s longstanding dedicated EAM business in Germany, the bank started to centralise all EAM business with dedicated EAM specialists in other locations. As of March, this year, this approach has been implemented across our Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai locations; other locations will follow suit in due course. 

When dealing with EAMs, what are the main tasks and forms of support they ask for the most and why, in your experience?  
The four areas where Deutsche Bank’s EAM business aims to stand out versus the competition; partnering on origination and account opening, dedicated high-touch coverage to “get it done,” idea sharing and enabling access to cross-divisional expertise and solutions, coordination of business with EAMs across multiple regions and legal entities. 

How important has the rise of VCCs (Variable Capital Companies) been in Singapore in driving what EAMs do and the services they need?
VCCs are highly regarded as investment pooling vehicles by (multi) family offices across Asia and beyond. In time, it will be interesting to see whether VCC structures can be further developed to appeal to international institutional and wholesale profiles akin to Luxembourg fund structures.  

Regulatory issues remain important, and Singapore is of course no exception, along with Southeast Asia more generally. Are there topics that are particularly front of mind?
Effective risk management is a foundational requirement for conducting an EAM business. It is also entirely complementary to sustainable business growth; outstanding risk management enables business outperformance. Deutsche Bank expects excellent partnership in both business and risk management. 

We value partnerships with other financial institutions which are aligned in transparency, conduct, compliance, and due diligence to our own standards. For the international EAM business of the Private Bank, our focus is on achieving global alignment on training, minimum standards, and best practices.

How is digital technology shaping the sort of custody services you provide, for example affecting its cost, range of service, etc?
Improving operational efficiency through IT enhancements is a perennial objective when seeking to grow a highly scalable business. However, achieving operational efficiency is only truly meaningful to enabling sustainable growth when IT and offering developments are designed to improve the experience of both the EAMs and the clients. Our focus is on simplifying access to our offering and platform and working with third party providers to enable us to leapfrog the competition.