The banking group, which earns the bulk of its revenues outside the UK in regions such as Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Africa, says it has big ambitions for net new money growth in its affluent client business. It has also updated observers about how its various wealth management operations are performing.

Standard Chartered has set what it calls the ambitious target of acquiring $200 billion in net new money over the next five years, alongside double-digit growth in income for its wealth solutions business.

While the mass-affluent sector – as this publication has noted here and here – can be a tough sector for firms to serve effectively, the UK-listed bank clearly sees this as important for its major markets in Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and Africa. Standard Chartered earns the bulk of its revenues outside the UK.

The lender, which explained its approach in an Affluent Investor Seminar in Singapore, said that over the past two years, AuM growth outpaced that of the top 20 banks on average. In the first nine months of 2024, Standard Chartered achieved a faster NNM acquisition rate than its peers, it said in a statement yesterday.

The firm also detailed inflows and the growth of a number of its recent wealth offerings.

“As we continue to focus on our competitive strengths, a significant portion of our investment will enhance those capabilities that support our clients’ international banking needs, including a 50 per cent expansion of our relationship manager team by 2028,” Judy Hsu, CEO, wealth and retail banking, said.

As reported at the end of October, the wealth and retail banking arm of Standard Chartered reported a rise of profit in the third quarter to $742 million, rising 11 per cent on a year earlier. For the nine months to end-September, they rose 5 per cent to $2.149 billion. At the group level, pre-tax profit surged by more than a third.

In the presentation in Singapore, Standard Chartered said it is using its network, anchored by wealth hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and Jersey, to meet the evolving needs of affluent clients.

Standard Chartered said it is particularly keen to serve global Chinese and global Indian clients with its multilingual RMs and specialists.

“Our extensive network and four wealth hubs give us a distinct advantage, positioning us to seize the vast and rapidly growing international client opportunities,” Raymond Ang, global head, private bank and affluent clients, said. 

Standard Chartered is aiming for double-digit wealth income growth through continued product innovation and platform enhancements.

Reflecting on its proprietary advisory platform myWealth Advisor, the bank said that next year it intends to integrate advanced capabilities such as structured products and risk analytics.

The bank's first Variable Capital Company was established in Singapore in 2024; it said that its first sub-fund under the first VCC umbrella – launched in June – generated $500 million. Signature CIO Funds, launched in 2022 and built on CIO insights and available to clients in 12 markets, have already contributed around $2 billion to the bank’s wealth AuM.