Singapore anchors fund managers with tax breaks, LGT hits record $511 billion

Singapore introduced tax, co-investment and talent measures aimed at anchoring more asset-management capital and activity locally. LGT, meanwhile, reported record assset under management (AUM) and faster net inflows, while Lombard Odier combined record client assets with 25% profit growth.

BPI Wealth selected BlackRock's Aladdin platforms to strengthen the investment infrastructure supporting its $33.1 billion business, while Indian family-office assets are projected to grow 50% over three years. EFG also moved to sharpen its UK high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) focus by transferring Harris Allday's teams and client assets to Canaccord Wealth.

Read more on the week's key developments:

Singapore unveils tax and talent measures to anchor asset managers

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on 19 August 2026 a tax exemption for profit-related fund management returns, a Hedge Fund Investment Programme to co-invest with managers anchoring operations locally and a new Investment Management Track under its Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass. MAS said the industry grew 7.5% a year over five years to almost SGD 7 trillion ($5.18 trillion).

The measures target fund-manager remuneration, anchor capital and access to senior investment talent. The tax exemption will apply from assessment year 2027, with its eventual reach depending on the detailed eligibility criteria established at Budget 2027.

LGT assets reach record $511 billion in first-half 2026

LGT, the Liechtenstein-based private banking and asset management group owned by the country's princely family, said on 20 August 2026 that AUM reached a record CHF 412.6 billion ($511 billion) at 30 June, up 7%. Group profit rose 17% to CHF 281.6 million ($349 million), and net new assets reached CHF 12.3 billion ($15.2 billion), a 6.4% annualised growth rate. Income from services, LGT's largest revenue line, rose 7% to CHF 1 billion ($1.24 billion).

LGT generated CHF 12.3 billion ($15.2 billion) of net new assets in the first half, already exceeding the CHF 11.4 billion ($14.1 billion) recorded over all of 2025. Market and investment performance and positive currency effects also lifted AUM to a record level.

Lombard Odier posts record client assets and 25% profit growth

Lombard Odier, the Geneva-based private bank and asset manager, said on 20 August 2026 that client assets reached a record CHF 367 billion ($454.8 billion) at 30 June, up 5%, while AUM rose 7% to CHF 239 billion ($296.2 billion). Operating income rose 9% to CHF 740 million ($917 million) and net profit rose 25% to CHF 138 million ($171 million). Its balance sheet totalled CHF 17 billion ($21.1 billion), with a  Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 31%.

With operating expenses broadly flat, the 9% increase in operating income drove 25% net profit growth. Lombard Odier described inflows as "strong", while its broader CHF 367 billion ($454.8 billion) client-assets measure includes assets outside its CHF 239 billion ($296.2 billion) AUM.

BPI Wealth selects BlackRock's Aladdin for $33.1billion investment platform

BPI Wealth, the asset and wealth management arm of Bank of the Philippine Islands, selected BlackRock's Aladdin Enterprise and Aladdin Wealth platforms on 19 August 2026. The systems will integrate risk analytics, portfolio management and operational workflows across its onshore and offshore managed portfolios. BPI Wealth, the Philippines' largest standalone trust corporation, had PHP 2.045 trillion ($33.1 billion) in AUM as of June 2026.

BPI Wealth's reported AUM increased by around 68%, from PHP 1.22 trillion ($19.7 billion) at the end of 2023 to PHP 2.045 trillion in June 2026. Aladdin will give it common risk analytics, portfolio-management tools and operating workflows across its onshore and offshore portfolios as the franchise expands across traditional and alternative assets.

Indian family office assets projected to grow 50% over three years

Julius Baer and EY said in a report published 20 August 2026 that Indian family office assets were estimated at INR 70,000 crore ($8.4 billion) in 2024 and are projected to reach 1.5 times that level within three years. The report said many family offices allocate 40% to 45% to alternatives, and estimated a $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer for India over the next decade. India has over 19,000 UHNIs, a figure EY expects to exceed 25,000 by 2031.

Allocations of 40% to 45% to alternatives among many family offices, alongside the wealth-transfer projection, increase the importance of governance and succession planning. The $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion figure covers a decade-long, economy-wide transfer and is not a direct forecast of assets entering family-office structures.

EFG agrees to transfer Harris Allday teams and client assets to Canaccord Wealth

EFG International, the Swiss private banking group, announced on 19 August 2026 an agreement for Canaccord Wealth to acquire the front-office teams and client assets of UK regional wealth manager Harris Allday, in Birmingham, Shrewsbury and London. Harris Allday holds GBP 3.1 billion ($4.19 billion) in assets and generated GBP 20.3 million ($27.5 million) revenue in 2025, with 77 staff. EFG said the deal should add CHF 20 million ($24.8 million) to profit before tax in the second half of 2026 and 30 basis points to CET1. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The sale removes EFG's regional affluent-client franchise while leaving it with more than GBP 20 billion ($27 billion) in UK assets focused on HNW and UHNW clients. Canaccord gains GBP 3.1 billion ($4.19 billion) in client assets and an established Midlands presence.

DBS Treasures records 180% rise in client progression

DBS said on 22 August 2026 that retail customers progressing to its Treasures affluent-banking tier rose 180% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, while investment balances among clients who progressed in 2025 have grown nearly sixfold. Millennial customers moving up to Treasures nearly tripled over the same period. DBS plans to hire more than 600 relationship managers, advisers and platform engineers by end-2028.

DBS's wealth-centre expansion, announced 1 June 2026 and restated this week, will open 18 new centres and upgrade 36 existing ones across Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan by end-2027. The expansion builds on a wealth franchise that reached SGD 488 billion ($361 billion) in AUM in 2025, up 19% in constant-currency terms and double its 2019 level.

HSBC Private Bank combines entrepreneurial wealth advice with institutional access

HSBC Private Bank said in an interview with Wealth and Society published on 18 August 2026 that it combines private banking with corporate and investment banking for entrepreneurs' personal and business needs. Tommy Leung, head of HSBC Private Bank South Asia, said entrepreneurs account for two-thirds of its Singapore private-banking clients. He also cited HSBC Access and the Prism Advisory Solution, which uses BlackRock's Aladdin Wealth technology, as tools bringing institutional capabilities to private clients.

With entrepreneurs accounting for two-thirds of its Singapore private-banking clients, HSBC's ability to address both business and personal wealth needs is central to its model. HSBC Access connects clients with opportunities sourced through the wider group, while Prism brings institutional portfolio analytics into advisory relationships.

Keenai launches integrated wealth platform for Singapore accredited investors

Keenai Global, a Singapore wealth-technology firm, launched Keenai Wealth on 20 August 2026, an integrated platform combining public markets, private funds, private credit and insurance in a single account for accredited investors. Lighthouse Canton, the MAS-licensed institution managing over $6 billion, carries out the platform's regulated activity. Five partners support the launch: Fullerton Fund Management, Poni, Airwallex, Sleek and KoverNow.

Keenai also brings investment, insurance and business services into one proposition, with Lighthouse Canton providing the regulated infrastructure. The platform has not yet reported assets or client adoption, so its commercial scale remains untested.

Newly tracked family offices favour direct investments over hedge funds

FINTRX, a US private-wealth intelligence platform, said in its second-quarter 2026 Family Office Report, published on 18 August, that 92.7% of the 96 family offices added to its database listed direct investments as an area of interest and 89.6% listed private equity. Hedge funds appeared among the interests of 10.4% and private credit among 6.3%. Single-family offices accounted for 70.8% of additions, while 68.6% of newly classified offices originated from entrepreneurial wealth.

The newly added cohort was more direct-investment-oriented than FINTRX’s full database: 92.7% listed direct-investment interest, compared with 80.7% across the platform, while hedge-fund interest was 10.4% against 38.2%. The figures reflect FINTRX’s classification of investment interests, not reported portfolio allocations or completed transactions, and cover 96 additions rather than its full database of more than 4,600 family offices.

What to watch next

MAS's fund-manager tax exemption does not take effect until assessment year 2027, with detail due at Budget 2027; the scope of qualifying funds set then will determine how many managers actually benefit.