Julius Baer and Bank of America find family succession gaps as UBS deepens India stake

Succession dominated the week. Julius Baer found that only 2.3% of ultra-high-net-worth business-owning families are fully ready for a sale or transfer. Bank of America found that 83% of family offices have named a successor, but only 27% have a trust distribution policy.

Cross-border capital was the other theme. UBS took a 4.8% stake in India’s 360 ONE WAM Ltd, and Raffles Family Office announced an agreement with the Rwanda Development Board to mobilise private investment. Quarterly results from Northern Trust, Quilter, Barclays and Rathbones showed wealth businesses growing client assets, while flows and costs moved differently.”

Julius Baer finds 2.3% of UHNW business families ready for sale or transfer

Julius Baer published its sixth Family Barometer, produced for the first time with EY, on 20 October. Only 2.3% of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) business-owning families were considered fully ready for a sale or transfer, while 56.3% were somewhat prepared and 29.5% were not ready. Just 22.6% of the next generation were considered ready and fully equipped to take over.

Lack of family alignment limited readiness for 80% of respondents, ahead of tax at 55.4%, and 60.6% named emotional attachment as the most common source of disagreement over an exit. Only 18.5% of families give the next generation an equal say, while 45.6% consult it without a vote. Asia and the Middle East place more weight on long-term growth than on preserving wealth.

Bank of America maps family office succession gaps

Bank of America Private Bank published its family office study on 20 October, based on an Escalent survey of 355 United States family office decision makers. It found that 83% have identified a successor but only 27% have a trust distribution policy or guiding principles. About a quarter experienced a leadership transition in the past decade, of whom only 37% considered the incoming principal very prepared.

Among offices expecting a next-generation principal, 79% anticipate larger allocations to alternatives, 77% expect philanthropic priorities to change and 73% plan additional governance structures within three years. The gap between naming a successor and formalising governance shows that succession requires more than choosing who takes over: families must also agree how capital, authority and responsibilities transfer.

UBS takes 4.8% stake in 360 ONE WAM

UBS AG announced on 22 October that it exercised all warrants allotted to it, receiving 20,502,939 equity shares, or about 4.8% of 360 ONE WAM Ltd, which UBS describes as one of India's largest independent wealth and asset managers. The warrants were allotted on 21 July 2025 as part of the strategic collaboration between the two firms.

The stake deepens an arrangement announced on 22 April 2025, under which UBS plans to transfer its onshore Indian wealth business to 360 ONE and UBS Singapore is to serve 360 ONE clients booked there. The model pairs 360 ONE's domestic relationships with UBS's offshore capabilities for Indian families whose wealth spans markets.

Deutsche Bank scales discretionary mandates in emerging markets

Deutsche Bank Private Bank manages $6.8 billion in discretionary assets for emerging markets clients as of 2025, up roughly 40% from the prior year, according to Jacky Tang, head of discretionary portfolio management and chief investment officer for emerging markets, in a Wealth and Society interview published on 23 October. About 80% of portfolios sit in standardised multi-profile structures and 20% are tailored mandates, with more than 80% of assets booked in Singapore.

Standardised portfolio cores support investment discipline and operating efficiency, while tailored allocations let clients keep bespoke exposures; Tang described complete customisation as incompatible with scale. The bank layers structured products or capital markets solutions over a long-term discretionary core and is widening its collaboration with DWS, the asset manager majority-owned by Deutsche Bank, for institutional execution and platform support.

CIMB links ASEAN wealth to business relationships

CIMB Group holds about MYR 350 billion ($82 billion) in customer assets across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, according to a Wealth and Society interview published on 20 October. Excluding Thailand, wealth assets under management (AUM) grew 10% to 30% year on year in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, while investment net new money rose more than 20%.

Investment and bancassurance assets make up about 35% to 40% of customer assets, so deposits remain the larger share. Private Wealth, launched in Malaysia on 20 July, added about 2,000 affluent customers and about MYR 1 billion ($230 million) in AUM in its first month. CIMB's strategy links entrepreneurs' business and personal finances, which ties wealth growth to its commercial banking relationships.

Northern Trust lifts wealth pre-tax income 14%

Northern Trust reported on 21 October that third-quarter Wealth Management pre-tax income rose 14% YoY to $391.6 million, with trust, investment and other servicing fees up 9% YoY to $611.5 million. Wealth Management AUM reached $535.9 billion, against $492.6 billion a year earlier, and Global Family Office fees rose 16% YoY to $117.2 million.

The quarter includes a $34.0 million pre-tax gain on the sale of a guardianship services business, recorded within Wealth Management, which lifts the 14% headline figure. Global Family Office fees grew twice as fast as the 8% rise in Private Wealth fees, and the release attributes the family office growth to favourable markets and asset inflows, which makes family offices the faster-growing source of fees at Northern Trust.

Quilter's high-net-worth inflows rise 35%

Quilter reported on 21 October that net inflows in its high net worth (HNW) segment rose 35% year on year to GBP 322 million ($428 million) in the third quarter, taking nine-month inflows to GBP 844 million ($1.12 billion), up 20%. HNW assets under management and administration (AuMA) reached GBP 35.6 billion ($47.3 billion), from GBP 31.6 billion ($42.0 billion) a year earlier.

Group AuMA rose 19% year on year to GBP 160.5 billion ($213 billion), making the segment about 22% of the total. Chief executive Steven Levin said the segment delivered consistent positive flows. The statement reports flows and assets rather than segment profit, so the effect on margins is not yet visible.

Raffles Family Office links private wealth to Rwanda investment pipeline

Raffles Family Office, a multi-family office headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the Rwanda Development Board announced on 22 October a strategic capital mobilisation and investment promotion agreement. Raffles, which serves UHNW individuals and families, aims to mobilise hundreds of millions of dollars in private foreign investment over the coming years in sectors including airport city development, hospitality, tourism, real estate and infrastructure.

Raffles opened a representative office in Kigali earlier in 2026. The agreement extends the family office model from managing private wealth to channelling family capital into large real-asset projects, linking Asian wealth networks to Rwanda's investment pipeline. The release gives no fund size, named projects or timetable, so the first investor commitment will show how far the agreement converts into business.

Barclays Private Bank income rises as profit falls

Barclays reported on 22 October that Private Bank and Wealth Management income rose 5% over the nine months to 30 September to GBP 1.08 billion ($1.44 billion), while profit before tax fell 19% to GBP 264 million ($351 million). Client assets and liabilities reached GBP 234.0 billion ($311 billion), 6% higher year-on-year.

Costs rose 13% to GBP 810 million ($1.08 billion) over the nine months and 18% in the third quarter against income growth of 10%, which the results attribute to ongoing investment in the wealth proposition. Barclays opened a Singapore booking centre in the quarter, while quarterly net new AUM edged down to GBP 0.6 billion ($0.8 billion) from GBP 0.7 billion ($0.9 billion), so operating leverage is the measure to watch.

Rathbones to begin lifting inflow restrictions in the fourth quarter

Rathbones reported on 22 October that Wealth Management net inflows were GBP 24 million ($32 million) in the third quarter, a second consecutive positive quarter, while its voluntary pause on inflows from enhanced due diligence clients continues. Funds under management and administration (FUMA) rose 7.2% YoY to GBP 121.1 billion ($161 billion), of which Wealth Management holds GBP 112.9 billion ($150 billion).

Rathbones expects to begin progressively lifting restrictions on existing affected clients in the fourth quarter, and the review programme is expected to cost about GBP 60 million ($80 million) through mid-2028. Asset Management net outflows of GBP 425 million ($565 million) left group net outflows at GBP 401 million ($533 million). The test is whether reopening reviewed accounts restores inflows without disrupting the momentum now returning to Wealth Management.

What to watch next

Bank of America found that 73% of surveyed family offices plan to add governance structures within three years. Julius Baer found that only 2.3% of UHNW business-owning families are fully ready for a sale or transfer. The test is whether those plans become formal succession arrangements.

UBS reports third-quarter results on 28 October. Any comment on 360 ONE WAM Ltd will show how far the 4.8% stake extends the partnership.

Rathbones expects to begin lifting restrictions on existing enhanced due diligence clients in the fourth quarter, which will test whether inflows recover. Raffles Family Office and the Rwanda Development Board have given no fund size or timetable, so the first named project or investor commitment will show whether the agreement converts into capital.

This week’s announcements set intentions; the next few quarters will show which become lasting changes in how family wealth is held, transferred and invested.