Barclays and Carmignac deepen wealth reach across Asia and the Gulf

Barclays opened a long-planned Singapore booking centre for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients, one of ten developments this week. In Asia, Fortress also extended its private-wealth leadership into Japan and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In the Gulf, Carmignac established a regulated Dubai hub serving institutional and wealth clients. In North America, consolidation continued among independent wealth managers, led by Sequoia's acquisition of BSW Wealth Partners and Aquiline's agreed stake in wealthtech platform Flourish. Globally, M&G reported its strongest first-half profit since its 2019 listing, and new research pointed to faster hiring among AI-disclosing wealth managers in the United States.

Read more on the week's key developments:

Barclays opens Singapore booking centre for UHNW clients

Barclays Private Bank opened a new booking centre in Singapore on 4 September 2026, giving it local booking capability alongside its existing centres in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and India. The platform offers banking, lending, investment and wealth-planning services to internationally connected UHNW clients and family offices. The launch follows Barclays' November 2024 announcement of its intention to establish the centre by 2026. The bank said it plans to more than double its private-banker headcount in Singapore by 2030.

The launch allows Barclays to book assets locally in Singapore for internationally mobile clients while retaining connectivity to its UK, Swiss and Indian centres. It gives internationally connected UHNW clients and family offices a fourth booking location within the bank's global network. The planned increase in private-banker headcount signals a multi-year commitment to the platform beyond its initial launch.

Carmignac opens first Middle East office in Dubai

Carmignac, the Paris-headquartered asset manager, opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) after receiving authorisation from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the firm said on 3 September 2026. Christophe Younes, who rejoined Carmignac from PIMCO, was appointed senior executive officer of Carmignac Middle East to lead the office, which Younes described as the firm's first on-the-ground presence in the Middle East. The office will support distribution to institutional and wealth clients across the UAE and wider region.

The Dubai hub gives Carmignac a regulated base in the DIFC to serve institutional and wealth investors directly across the UAE and wider Gulf region. Younes previously spent 10 years at Carmignac before joining PIMCO, and returns to lead the new office after rejoining the firm earlier this year. His appointment gives the office a senior executive with prior knowledge of Carmignac's platform and existing relationships across the region.

Fortress expands private-wealth leadership into Japan and EMEA

Fortress Investment Group appointed Yuko Umino to head private wealth solutions in Japan and Harry Bush to lead the business across EMEA, the firm said on 1 September 2026. Umino joins from PIMCO Japan, where she was a senior vice president on the Japan Global Wealth Management team, with more than 25 years of experience in Japan's financial services industry. Bush joins from Nuveen, where he headed EMEA strategic accounts and developed the firm's UK wealth business.

The appointments extend Fortress's private-wealth distribution platform beyond its existing base in the United States and Latin America. Umino and Bush will lead the international expansion of the firm's credit, real estate and net-lease investment products. Fortress said the appointments mark the establishment of its first dedicated private-wealth leadership in Japan and EMEA, extending a platform previously concentrated in the Americas.

M&G reports strongest first-half profit since 2019 listing

M&G plc reported an adjusted operating profit of GBP 435 million ($548 million) for the six months ended 30 June 2026, up 15% year-on-year (YoY) and its highest first-half result since the firm's own listing in 2019, according to interim results published on 3 September 2026. Assets under management and administration reached GBP 387 billion ($488 billion), while open-business net inflows totalled GBP 2.4 billion ($3.0 billion), including GBP 2.2 billion ($2.8 billion) from external asset-management clients.

Of the external net inflows, GBP 0.7 billion ($0.9 billion) came through M&G's partnership with Japan's Dai-ichi Life Group, part of GBP 110 billion ($139 billion) of the Asset Management division's assets now sourced from international clients. External client assets reached GBP 189 billion ($238 billion), representing 53% of the division's total assets under management and administration, according to the interim results announcement.

Central Family Advisors joins Prime Quadrant in New York

Central Family Advisors (CenFam), a New York family-office advisory practice founded in 2016 by Marcelo Mendoza, joined Prime Quadrant, a Toronto-headquartered wealth adviser to ultra-affluent families, effective 1 September 2026. CenFam advises on more than $600 million in assets on a fixed-fee, non-discretionary basis, while Prime Quadrant advises on approximately CAD 26 billion ($18.8 billion) for more than 260 families through offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, New York and Miami.

The transaction brings CenFam's fixed-fee, non-discretionary advisory model into Prime Quadrant US, LLC, expanding a platform that already serves more than 260 families across five North American offices. Prime Quadrant returned to full management ownership in early 2025 after repurchasing a minority stake held by Focus Financial Partners, a transaction that preceded its expansion into New York's family-office advisory market.

New Mountain Capital exits Lincoln Investment

New Mountain Capital, a private-equity firm managing approximately $60 billion, exited its investment in Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, returning full ownership to the Forst family and adviser shareholders, the companies said on 2 September 2026. Lincoln Investment, based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, oversees approximately $63 billion in fee-based and brokerage assets, which grew about 75% during New Mountain's six-year partnership, which began in 2020 to modernise the firm's operating platform and expand its fee-based business.

Kathy Leckey's appointment as chief executive in June 2026, alongside Ed Forst's move to executive chairman, was part of a multi-year succession plan under way before New Mountain's exit was announced. The exit hands full ownership back to the Forst family and adviser shareholders after six years of New Mountain's investment, during which the companies said Lincoln Investment advanced significant investment in its technology infrastructure.

Sequoia Financial acquires $2.3 billion BSW Wealth Partners

Sequoia Financial Group, which managed $34.9 billion in assets as of 30 June 2026, acquired BSW Wealth Partners, a Colorado-based registered investment adviser (RIA) with approximately $2.3 billion in client assets, on 1 September 2026. BSW, founded in 1992 and based in Boulder and Denver, will operate under the Sequoia Financial brand, adding to Sequoia's existing presence in Colorado, which was established through earlier acquisitions in the state.

The transaction is Sequoia's second acquisition of 2026, following its purchase of All Star Financial in August, and deepens the firm's presence in Colorado. Sequoia now supports approximately 11,000 client households from 43 offices and serves clients across all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The acquisition adds BSW's Boulder and Denver offices to Sequoia's existing national network.

Aquiline to take controlling stake in wealthtech platform Flourish

Aquiline Capital Partners agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Flourish, a wealthtech platform for independent RIAs currently owned by MassMutual, which will retain a significant stake, the companies said on 2 September 2026. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. David Canter, formerly the head of Fidelity's RIA and Family Office segments, will join Flourish's board as executive chairman after the transaction closes.

New York-based Flourish serves more than 1,300 RIAs and has increased assets under custody in its adviser-led cash-management solution from $1 billion to $8 billion over five years. The platform also operates a home-lending solution for the independent-adviser channel. Aquiline's previous investments in the wealth and retirement sector include Ascensus, AssetMark, RIA in a Box and SageView, according to the companies' joint announcement.

Astraeus links AI use among RIAs to faster growth and adviser productivity

Astraeus, in partnership with Pirker Partners, published its inaugural RIA Market Monitor on 3 September 2026, analysing Form ADV filings from 6,384 independent US RIAs. Firms that disclosed the use of AI increased their headcount by 15% between April 2025 and April 2026, compared with 8% among firms that did not, though only 6% of all RIAs disclosed using the technology. These firms accounted for approximately 11% of industry assets under management (AUM).

AUM per adviser rose 22% among the largest firms that disclosed AI use, compared with 12% among their peers. Only 4% of the disclosed AI use cases involved direct investment decisions, indicating that the reported gains in headcount and AUM per adviser were concentrated in applications outside investment decision-making. The analysis draws solely on public Form ADV filings, establishing an association between AI use and productivity without confirming a causal link.

ttb wealth securities and Schroders expand Thailand private wealth capabilities

ttb wealth securities, a subsidiary of TMBThanachart Bank (ttb), and Schroders announced a long-term strategic partnership on 7 September 2026 to build a comprehensive wealth and investment management proposition for high-net-worth and UHNW clients in Thailand. The partnership centres on a joint investment forum through which the two firms will exchange market insights, develop global asset-allocation views and build discretionary investment solutions for ttb wealth securities' private clients, starting with a bespoke global multi-asset portfolio.

Beyond investment capabilities, Schroders will bring wealth-management expertise gained from supporting individuals, families and family offices across generations, helping connect ttb wealth securities' investment decisions to clients' broader priorities, including intergenerational wealth transfer. Both firms said the collaboration would support the development of ttb wealth advisers through shared investment insights, as Thai clients face growing market volatility and an expanding share of investment opportunity outside Thailand.

What to watch next

The coming weeks will test whether this week's moves translate into scale. Barclays reports third-quarter results on 22 October 2026, the first point at which net new assets booked through the Singapore centre could be disclosed, while M&G's full-year results, typically published in March, will show whether the first half's 15% profit growth held through the second against its guidance for low double-digit growth. Flourish is due to roll out a second phase, adding automated mortgages and credit-optimisation tools for its 1,300 RIA clients, within months of the Aquiline deal's expected fourth-quarter 2026 close, and Fortress faces its own first test as Umino and Bush pursue fund launches and client mandates across Japan and EMEA in the coming quarters. Together, these are the markers that will show whether this week's announcements become lasting shifts in scale or simply one-off headlines.