DBS and OCBC post record wealth growth as UOB sells asset manager to Allianz

DBS Bank and OCBC reported record wealth results this week, while HSBC, Generali's Banca Generali, Legal & General and GAM Investments also published first-half results. Separately, UOB's sale of UOB Asset Management to Allianz Global Investors and Advent's agreement to acquire FNZ in Germany highlight a broader shift in wealth management, as institutions separate product manufacturing and infrastructure from client-facing distribution.

Read more on the week's key developments:

DBS and OCBC post record wealth growth in Singapore

DBS Bank and OCBC each reported record wealth results for the first half of 2026, published on 6 and 7 August respectively. DBS's wealth assets under management (AUM) rose 16% in constant-currency terms to a first-ever SGD 516 billion ($402.43 billion), surpassing SGD 500 billion ($389.95 billion), while wealth management fees reached a record SGD 1.83 billion ($1.43 billion). OCBC's wealth management income rose 27% to a record SGD 3.29 billion ($2.57 billion), lifting group net profit by 13% to SGD 4.19 billion ($3.27 billion).

The two banks are growing wealth income through different routes. DBS is scaling organically, moving mass-affluent clients into its private bank as new wealth centres open regionally. OCBC is expanding through acquisition, having agreed in May to buy HSBC's wealth and premier banking operations in Indonesia, with completion due in 2027. Both routes, organic migration and regional acquisition, show how banks are competing to expand fee income.

HSBC wealth fee income rises 18% in first half

HSBC reported net new money of $64 billion in its wealth business for the first half of 2026, with $57 billion booked in Asia, up 32% from $43 billion a year earlier, according to interim results published on 4 August. Total wealth balances rose 7% to $1.57 trillion, split between $1.09 trillion in Asia and $487 billion elsewhere. Wealth fee and other income grew 18% to $5.5 billion, driven by a 23% rise in investment distribution income, 20% in insurance income and 14% in private banking income.

The mix points to an Asia-led wealth strategy: the region supplied the large majority of HSBC's net new money, while investment distribution and insurance income grew faster than private banking income. The figures show that product distribution across HSBC's broader wealth franchise is becoming an increasingly important source of fee growth alongside private banking.

Generali's Banca Generali posts 45.8% rise in operating result

Generali reported group adjusted net result of EUR 2.543 billion ($2.93 billion), up 13.7%, for the first half of 2026, published on 6 August. Its asset and wealth management segment posted an operating result of EUR 735 million ($846.13 million), up 31.3%. Within that segment, Banca Generali, Generali's private bank, posted an operating result of EUR 401 million ($461.63 million), up 45.8%, or 55% of the segment's total, supported by performance fees of EUR 126 million ($145.05 million), up from EUR 42 million ($48.35 million) a year earlier.

Banca Generali's growth, aided by net inflows of EUR 4.4 billion ($5.07 billion), outpaced the wider segment and the group overall, with performance fees roughly tripling year on year: a less recurring income source than typical advisory and management fees. That makes this half's result partly dependent on investment performance, a more variable base than the scale of assets or inflows gathered.

Legal & General's asset management profit rises 10% as private markets AUM grows 22%

Legal & General reported core operating profit of GBP 918 million ($1.23 billion), up 7%, for the first half of 2026, published on 5 August. Its asset management division's operating profit rose 10% to GBP 222 million ($297.92 million) on revenue up 13% to GBP 574 million ($770.31 million), while total AUM reached GBP 1.24 trillion ($1.66 trillion). Private markets AUM rose 22% to GBP 79 billion ($106.02 billion), while total UK defined-contribution AUM rose 23% to GBP 236 billion ($316.71 billion).

Legal & General's asset manager is growing faster than the group overall, with fee-related earnings up 37% to GBP 169 million ($226.80 million) as private markets and pensions scale. About 98% of UK pension risk transfer volumes were transacted with long-standing asset management clients, while around 90% of annuity assets and 95% of workplace assets under administration were managed by the division, illustrating ties between retirement and asset management.

GAM narrows loss as redemptions fall 81%

GAM Investments reported AUM of CHF 12.7 billion ($14.35 billion) at 30 June 2026, up from CHF 12.5 billion ($14.12 billion) at end-2025, according to results published on 6 August. Gross inflows reached CHF 0.9 billion ($1.02 billion), down from CHF 1.1 billion a year earlier. Its pre-tax loss under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) narrowed 39% to CHF 24.7 million ($27.91 million) from CHF 40.4 million ($45.65 million), while client redemptions fell 81% to CHF 0.8 billion ($904 million) from CHF 4.3 billion ($4.86 billion).

GAM attributed the decline in redemptions to stronger client retention, and operating expenses fell 17% to CHF 47.8 million ($54.01 million) under a leaner operating model. The narrower loss and steadier asset base signal improving momentum, though weaker gross inflows show sustainable profitability still depends on stronger net inflows, not just fewer withdrawals.

UOB agrees to sell asset manager to Allianz Global Investors

UOB agreed to sell UOB Asset Management to Allianz Global Investors for SGD 555 million ($432.84 million), a deal UOB expects to generate a pre-tax gain of about SGD 330 million ($257.37 million) and lift its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio by approximately 14 basis points, according to press releases from both parties published on 5 August. UOB Asset Management held SGD 42 billion ($32.76 billion) in assets under management as of 31 December 2025.

For Allianz Global Investors, the deal is a scale play: it lifts the firm's Asia Pacific client assets above EUR 170 billion ($195.70 billion), doubles AUM in Singapore and adds licensed presence in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. UOB retains distribution access to Allianz Global Investors' products under the partnership, continuing to earn from client wealth relationships as it shifts its wealth model towards advisory and distribution.

Advent-led group to acquire FNZ Bank in Germany

Advent, leading a consortium that includes HarbourVest Partners, agreed to acquire FNZ Bank from FNZ Group, the company said on 4 August. FNZ Bank holds EUR 155 billion ($178.44 billion) in assets under custody and serves more than 50,000 financial advisers, 200 asset managers and 400 distribution partners in Germany, with 2.1 million end-customers transferring to the Advent-led consortium under the agreement.

The sale lets FNZ concentrate on supplying wealth management technology to large financial institutions, sharpening its focus on the platform business without running a licensed bank. FNZ Bank will continue using FNZ's technology under a long-term commercial partnership after the transaction, and the new private equity ownership is a bet on Germany's widening retirement savings gap driving demand for capital markets investing.

Corient acquires $21 billion Summit Trail Advisors in US expansion

Corient, the US ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) wealth manager owned by Corient Global HoldCo, agreed to acquire Summit Trail Advisors, a registered investment adviser with $21 billion in AUM as of 31 March 2026, according to a press release published on 5 August. Its five co-founders and other principals will become Corient partners once the deal closes, expected in the third quarter of 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal adds Summit Trail's UHNW advisory capability and its footprint across 12 US metropolitan markets, including New York, Boston and Chicago, taking Corient's global AUM to approximately $556 billion across more than 300 partners. It extends Corient's run of acquisitions in 2026, following the $7.8 billion Capital Advisors deal in May, and adds another large independent UHNW adviser to a scaled wealth-management platform.

Standard Chartered to distribute funds from GIFT City

Standard Chartered received in-principle approval from India's International Financial Services Centres Authority to distribute capital market products from Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), and will launch that distribution channel in the coming weeks. Its Signature CIO (chief investment officer) Funds, a suite of four multi-asset funds with more than $5 billion in AUM since their 2022 launch, are already offered across 12 markets. Standard Chartered was the first foreign bank to begin operations in GIFT City, in 2020.

For Standard Chartered, the move extends its existing wealth distribution network through a newly available, locally regulated GIFT City channel for products it already manages elsewhere. It broadens access to the bank's international investment capabilities for affluent clients in India, building on its position as the first foreign bank in GIFT City.

Baillie Gifford enters Islamic equities market with new fund

Baillie Gifford launched its Islamic Global Equities Fund for institutional and accredited investors in Singapore and professional investors in Hong Kong, according to a press release published on 4 August. The Dublin-domiciled UCITS fund, managed by Tolibjon Tursunov and Saad Malik, holds a concentrated portfolio of around 50 Shariah-compliant growth companies and started with $2.79 million in assets. Baillie Gifford said Islamic equity funds represent less than 1% of the global equity universe, and most existing options offer little beyond a screened index.

The launch marks Baillie Gifford's entry into Islamic investing, targeting a segment the firm says is served mostly by passive, index-tracking products. Singapore and Hong Kong give the fund access to Southeast Asia's Muslim population, a client base Baillie Gifford's Singapore team says is showing growing demand for Shariah-compliant strategies that do not compromise on growth ambition.

What to watch next

UOB and Allianz Global Investors DACH expect to complete their deal in 2027, subject to regulatory approval across the markets where UOB Asset Management operates. Advent's consortium expects to close its acquisition of FNZ Bank in the second half of 2027, pending approval in Germany. Standard Chartered said further wealth solutions beyond the Signature CIO Funds will follow its GIFT City approval in the coming weeks.