Wealth
CFA Institute Warns of Risks in Retail Private Credit Expansion
As regulators in the US and Europe lower barriers for retail investors to enter private credit markets, a new report from the CFA Institute warns that current oversight frameworks are lagging behind. The shift toward semi-liquid vehicles and digital platforms risks exposing less sophisticated investors to complex, illiquid assets.
Recent Executive Appointments in Wealth Management and Legal Services
A wave of senior appointments across London-based financial and legal institutions signals a strategic push to bolster investment capabilities and governance. Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Fidelity International, and law firm Charles Russell Speechlys have all announced key hires to navigate shifting regulatory landscapes and expand their client-facing expertise.
Deutsche Bank Recruits Julius Baer Veterans for Swiss Expansion
Denny Pole and Weiwei Chen are leaving Julius Baer to join Deutsche Bank’s Swiss operations this September. The move marks a strategic effort to scale the bank's Financial Intermediaries division, as the firm looks to deepen its footprint in European, international, and emerging markets through seasoned wealth management leadership.
Minority Stakeholder Rights Complicate Potential AlTi Global Sale
AlTi Global, the wealth manager with $49 billion in assets, faces a complex path to privatization as a massive valuation gap persists. The firm’s potential exit is currently constrained by the formidable contractual protections held by its two largest minority investors, Allianz X and Constellation Wealth Capital.
AlTi Global Sale Stalls Over Minority Shareholder Protections
AlTi Global, the $49 billion RIA that went public via SPAC last year, faces a complex path toward a potential take-private deal. While the firm explores a sale before year-end, the process remains deadlocked as buyers struggle to reconcile the firm's valuation with the extensive protections held by its minority investors.
Fortress Targets Japan and EMEA to Scale Private Wealth Business
Fortress Investment Group is pushing its private wealth solutions beyond the Americas, tapping industry veterans Yuko Umino and Harry Bush to spearhead expansion into Japan and EMEA. The move signals a strategic bid to capture shifting household savings in regions where cash remains the dominant asset class.
Swiss Banks Hit Record Profits as Assets Top 10 Trillion Francs
Swiss banks shattered financial records in 2025, pushing aggregate net income to 73.8 billion francs while assets under management surged past the 10 trillion mark. Despite this headline growth, the industry faces an uneasy transition as regulators weigh stricter capital mandates for UBS and headcount continues to shrink.
Weatherbys Scales Up Manchester Presence to Drive Regional Growth
Weatherbys Private Bank has relocated its Manchester operations to the historic Sunlight House in Spinningfields, marking a pivotal step in the firm’s ambition to double its total size by 2030. The move signals a broader trend of wealth managers shifting their focus away from London toward regional hubs.
EFG International Establishes Presence in Berne
EFG International has officially expanded its Swiss footprint with the opening of a central office at Marktgasse 37 in Berne. The Zurich-listed bank aims to capture further market share by deploying a specialized team to serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients across the region, effective immediately.
BNP Paribas Asset Management Appoints Four New Investment Leads
Paris-based BNP Paribas Asset Management has overhauled its leadership structure, naming four new chief investment officers to oversee its global platform. Effective September 1, 2026, the appointees will report directly to Rob Gambi, the firm’s global head of investments, as part of a strategic push to sharpen client focus and innovation.
Schroders shifts to gold while maintaining equity appetite
Central bank buying has prompted Schroders to upgrade its outlook on gold, even as the investment house maintains a pro-cyclical stance. Despite concerns over market concentration in artificial intelligence, the firm continues to favor equities, citing resilient global growth and strong corporate earnings as the primary drivers of its strategy.
Pictet Assets Hit Record High Amid Market Volatility
Geneva-based Pictet reported a 12 percent jump in net profit to SFr371 million for the first half of 2026, defying a challenging geopolitical climate. The private bank’s assets under management climbed to an all-time high of SFr810 billion, signaling sustained client confidence despite ongoing market instability.
Karthik Chandrasekaran Named CIO at Three Comma Capital Advisors
Dubai’s financial hub is strengthening its leadership bench as Karthik Chandrasekaran steps into the role of chief investment officer at Three Comma Capital Advisors. A veteran with over two decades in international banking, he leaves his position at Julius Baer to oversee investment strategy at the DIFC-based asset manager.
UK Capital Gains Tax Surge Driven by Investor Sell-Off
A record £24.2 billion in capital gains tax liabilities was collected by HM Revenue and Customs in the 2024/2025 tax year, an 89 per cent jump from the previous year. The spike reflects a mass investor sell-off triggered by anticipation of rising tax rates and shrinking annual exemptions.
Stephen Tapley Joins Mediolanum to Lead High Yield Expansion
With nearly two decades of experience in sub-investment grade credit markets, Stephen Tapley has been named deputy head of high yield at Mediolanum International Funds Limited. He joins the firm’s 72-member investment team in Dublin to bolster the group’s internal management of high-yield strategies and long-term performance.
FGA Trust Targets Japanese Wealth with New Tokyo Hub
With Japanese household financial assets swelling to a record $15 trillion, Hong Kong-based FGA Trust is planting a flag in Tokyo. The firm, a licensed trust and corporate services provider, is opening a representative office to capture the growing demand from high-net-worth families and local business owners.
LinqAlpha Launches AI Lab to Tackle Institutional Investment Trust
With a fresh $22 million in Series A funding, New York-based LinqAlpha is expanding its footprint into the Asia-Pacific market. The firm has unveiled the LinqAlpha AI Lab, a dedicated research entity tasked with establishing benchmarks for AI accountability and reasoning within high-stakes institutional investment workflows.
Leadership Shifts Across Wealth Management and Tech Firms
A fresh round of executive appointments has reshaped the landscape for wealth management and financial technology, with Carey Olsen, Avaloq, and Rathbones announcing key talent additions in Bermuda, Zurich, and London to bolster their respective trusts, product strategy, and charity business development divisions.
Geneva Wealth Firm Swisseon Adds Alexander Qaqaya as Partner
Seventeen years into his career across banking and asset management, Alexander Qaqaya has joined Geneva-based firm Swisseon as a partner and relationship manager. His arrival marks a strategic push for the two-year-old investment office as it looks to sharpen its footprint within the competitive Swiss financial landscape.
Aberdeen Proposes Real Estate Fund Merger as Weatherbys Boosts Lending
Aberdeen Investments has unveiled plans to consolidate two of its real estate funds into a single flagship vehicle managing over £700 million, while Weatherbys Private Bank is sharpening its Lombard lending terms, offering a margin of 1.48 per cent above the Bank of England base rate to attract clients.
Victory Capital to Acquire First Eagle in $7 Billion Asset Management Deal
Victory Capital Holdings has unveiled plans to acquire New York-based First Eagle Investments for $7 billion, a move set to forge a diversified global asset management powerhouse overseeing $571 billion in assets. The deal solidifies a major shift in the wealth management landscape while drawing support from European giant Amundi.
FCA Bans Former Dolfin Executives Over Golden Visa Scheme
Three former senior figures at Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited have been banned from the financial services industry for orchestrating a scheme that allowed wealthy clients to bypass UK visa regulations. The regulator found the group helped at least 99 individuals secure residency by falsifying investment requirements between 2016 and 2019.
Taurus Integrates Swift Blockchain for Tokenized Bank Payments
Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus has opened a direct gateway to Swift’s blockchain-based shared ledger, allowing financial institutions to manage tokenized deposits and cross-border payments. This integration enables banks to leverage existing custody and tokenization systems for 24/7 fund movements without disrupting current settlement arrangements.
Lighthouse Canton Targets 2027 Growth Through Multi-Jurisdictional Focus
With over $6 billion in assets under management, Singapore-based Lighthouse Canton is accelerating its global expansion. Prashant Tandon, the firm’s UAE chief executive, frames the current growth trajectory as a deliberate, long-term strategy to provide integrated financial services to cross-border clients navigating increasingly complex regulatory and structural landscapes.
HSBC Private Bank Shuffles Leadership to Capture Asian Wealth Flows
HSBC Private Bank has initiated a strategic reshuffle of its senior leadership team, targeting the lucrative Global India, Singapore, and offshore China markets. The appointments aim to consolidate the bank's influence across key wealth hubs as international lenders compete for a larger share of the region’s ultra-high-net-worth families.
Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management Reshuffles Executive Leadership
Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management has appointed Alain Krief as global chief investment officer and Charles Lilford as co-head of equities. The strategic management changes, which take effect immediately for Krief and late September for Lilford, arrive as the firm reports five consecutive years of positive global net inflows.
Gulf Wealth Sector Maintains Momentum Despite Geopolitical Strain
A steady influx of global financial institutions and advisory firms into the UAE signals a resilient appetite for wealth management in the Gulf. Despite regional geopolitical volatility, international banks and family offices are deepening their local presence, driven by structural economic reforms and a strategic push to professionalize intergenerational wealth.
UHNW Institute Brings Global Wealth Strategy to Oxford
The UHNW Institute will host its inaugural European conference at the University of Oxford on 24 September, signaling a shift in how wealth advisors approach the lives of ultra-high-net-worth families. The event convenes international experts to address the complex intersection of global assets and family governance.
Wealth management firms ride market momentum in first half of 2026
Global wealth management and private banking institutions capitalized on strong market performance and robust client inflows during the first half of 2026, with many reporting record revenues and assets under management. Despite varying regional economic conditions, the sector demonstrated resilience through intensified fee-based activity and strategic consolidation efforts.
Gulf Wealth Sector Maintains Momentum Despite Geopolitical Strain
Global banks and advisory firms are aggressively expanding their footprint in the UAE, signaling a resilient appetite for the Gulf’s wealth management market. Despite regional instability, institutions like Deutsche Bank and Julius Baer are cementing their presence, betting on long-term structural demand for sophisticated financial governance and intergenerational planning.