Thank you for your interest in the Citywire Independent Wealth Symposium. The registration has been closed for this event.
Independent Wealth Symposium 2024
Citywire is hosting a symposium exclusively for Singapore based independent wealth firms.
Looking ahead to 2025, the symposium will dive into the growth prospects as well as the key focuses of the industry.
Citywire Independent Wealth Symposium will bring together a VIP audience of family principals, wealth managers and investment decision makers from single/multi-family offices, IAMs and EAMs in Asia for a powerful networking and discussion.
This will be an energetic symposium of ideas and innovation for the leading independent wealth firms across the region. We are excited to host our delegates for what promises to be an interesting and interactive discussion, and we look forward to enjoying some great champagne and food as a prelude to the year-end celebration.
If you would like to be considered for an invitation, please fill in the form and we will get back with more details upon confirmation.

CONVERSATION PARTNERS


NETWORKING PARTNER

Agenda
9:00 am - 9:45 am |
9:45 am - 9:50 am |
9:50 am - 10:30 am Asia’s independent asset management (IAM) sector continues to multiply as clients seek increasingly independent forms of advice. In this session, we look at key growth trends, including evolving revenue models, custodial and hiring practices and trending investment strategies, from discretionary and advisory mandates to opportunities in private markets. We also explore what lies ahead for the burgeoning IAM industry and ask how firms are preparing for regulatory changes. Moderator:
Panellists:
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10:30 am - 11:00 am |
11:05 am - 11:35 am |
11:35 pm - 12:15 pm With indications that interest rates could be lowered soon, what strategic changes should investors make to their portfolio allocation and construction. How should they look at building for the long term? Will thematic plays such as ESG, Asian credit AI come into focus? What is the best way to invest in private markets and where are the opportunities? Moderator:
Panellists:
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12:15 pm - 1:35 pm |
Workshops
Workshops

Hines Private Wealth Solutions: Multigenerational Real Estate for Families
In this session, Hines - one of the world’s leading family-owned real estate investment managers - will showcase its comprehensive suite of real estate investment solutions, designed to deliver compelling opportunities to family offices. Paul Ferraro, Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions will present how Hines’ vertically integrated platform has been driving value and innovation in real estate for over 67 years.
Company Profile: Hines is a leading global real estate investment manager. We own and operate $93 billion1 of assets across property types and on behalf of a diverse group of institutional and private wealth clients. Every day, our 5,000 employees in 31 countries draw on our 67-year history to build the world forward by investing in, developing, and managing some of the world’s best real estate.
To learn more, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.
Speakers
Paul Ferraro
Global Head, Hines Private Wealth Solutions

Paul Ferraro leads Hines’ global private wealth platform, with a focus on developing product strategy, expanding distribution and fostering strong relationships within the sector in an effort to sustain and build on the firm’s commitment to individual investors and their financial professionals.
He joined Hines with over 25 years of experience in consultative sales and management at leading firms including Morgan Stanley and The Carlyle Group.
Representatives
Young Lim
Senior Managing Director

How to be powered by iCapital’s Tech Platform to Access the World of Private Market Fund Opportunities
An overview of iCapital’s capabilities will be presented, focusing on our technology solutions, industry research and education, and investment offerings. During this session, we will also conduct a live demo of our tech platforms, Global Market Place and Architect, showcasing how they drive value and enhance access to private market opportunities.
Workshop Objective: This workshop aims to demonstrate how iCapital can support wealth management firms and private banks in streamlining the onboarding and administrative processes related to private fund investing and reporting. Additionally, participants will learn how to access an expanding selection of top-tier private fund investment opportunities across private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, and hedge funds, all from leading fund managers worldwide.
Speakers
Edwin Chan
Head of Client Solutions APAC, Managing Director

Edwin Chan joined iCapital in 2021 and he is Head of Client Solutions APAC, based in Hong Kong. Previously he also served as Head of Asia, where he successfully started iCapital's Asia business operation, significantly grew the business from Hong Kong and Singapore, and expanded the client franchise across APAC.
He holds an MBA and a BA from the University of South Australia and is a Certified Practicing Accountant of CPA Australia.
Representatives
Darius Ang
International Client Solutions Team, APAC
Ching Wei
International Client Solutions Team, APAC
Speakers - Panel Session 1
Speakers

Andrea Ciaccio
Andrea Ciaccio is a Board of Director, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer at Azimut Investment Management Singapore. He is responsible for overseeing the top-down macro view and strategy allocation while also managing the distribution of Azimut products throughout the Asia Pacific region. In addition to his role in Singapore, Andrea also holds directorship positions in various other Azimut Group subsidiaries located in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Prior to joining Azimut, he was a Wealth Manager in a leading Multi-Family Office in Italy, where he headed the fund selection function. Andrea received his Master’s in Business Administration Magna Cum Laude from the University of Turin.

Bryan Goh
Bryan has 30 years of experience managing multi asset traditional and alternative portfolios in family offices and private banks. He began his career with Arab Bank in Asia, followed by Arab Bank in London before helping establish a family office for the bank’s shareholders. Later, he co-founded First
Avenue Partners in London, an alternative investment advisory firm, leading its fund management business. Bryan also managed the alternative investment business at DBS private bank before joining Bordier & Cie in Singapore as their Chief Investment Officer. He has also been an occasional teacher at
institutions such as the Wealth Management Institute and the London School of Economics.

Noli de Pala
Noli has worked in the financial services industry across four continents for over 35 years. After working with AXA as a financial consultant in Los Angeles, he joined UnionBank of the Philippines in 1996 where he served as the bank’s Trust Officer and later, the Head of Market Risk Management. In 2002 he moved to HSBC where he handled marketing, product development and training for the wealth management business. He was then assigned to HSBC’s offshore headquarters in Jersey (UK) to train the financial advisers of HSBC’s offshore offices around the world from 2005 to 2008. Noli returned to Manila to head HSBC’s trust department before joining EastWest Bank where he was the Trust Officer and Chief Investment Officer. He joined Singapore-based TriLake Partners as Chief Investment Officer in 2016. Noli graduated from the University of the Philippines and taught Advanced Investment Management in the university’s masteral program in Finance. He is a founding member and former President of the CFA Society of the Philippines. He remains an active volunteer with the CFA Program and has served CFA Institute in various working committees for the last twenty years.

Shirley Crystal Chua
Shirley Crystal Chua is Founder and Group CEO of Golden Equator, a holding group of businesses that shapes the world of tomorrow by harnessing the potential of Capital and Finance in new and inventive ways.
Known as a serial entrepreneur and future-focused leader in the finance industry, Shirley has also successfully co-founded each business and fund under Golden Equator, leveraging more than 20 years of experience in finance across private capital, venture capital, wealth management strategies and her natural flair in business building.
Some companies she has created include multi-family office Golden Equator Wealth; venture and private capital business Golden Equator Capital; and personal finance literacy platform The Simple Sum.
A trusted UHNW family advisor turned entrepreneur-investor, Shirley is deeply involved in the start-up, entrepreneurship, and finance communities. She is highly regarded as a seasoned practitioner in these fields and is often sought out by entrepreneurs, UHNW families and business leaders to share her insight.
Since its founding in 2013, Golden Equator has grown within and beyond the finance industry, a testament to her strong business acumen in building agile and sustainable businesses. Shirley advocates for web3 as a mega trend and hopes to establish mainstream adoption of blockchain technology and distributed systems as well as elevate understanding of sound tokenomics, through the Group and its businesses.
A champion for diversity and inclusion, Shirley is also in the Financial Women’s Association Singapore’s pioneering batch of female champions. She invests in and is actively committed to helping younger female leaders and entrepreneurs as well as youth and NextGen initiatives, through performance coaching, leadership guidance, mentorship, and stretch project initiatives.
Outside of work, Shirley has an adorable little munchkin and a passion for cooking and wine appreciation.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Shirley spent a decade with Citibank and American Express. In her early adulthood, Shirley dedicated seven years to missionary work and counselling programmes, working with teenagers and young adults.
Shirley graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences, majoring in Economics and Southeast Asian Studies.
Speakers - Panel Session 2
Speakers

Arjun Panchapagesan
Arjun is the Head of Portfolio Management for EFG Asset Management, Asia and the CEO of EFG Asset Management, Singapore & Hong Kong. He was previously the Head of Investment Counselling for EFG Bank Singapore, a role which he had taken up in November 2016 following the acquisition of BSI by EFG Bank.
Arjun started his career in Coutts London in 1998 where he spent more than 12 years, managing ultra-high net worth client portfolios on a discretionary and advisory basis and the Singapore Tailored Portfolio Management Services division focusing on ultra-high net worth client portfolios when he relocated to Singapore in 2010.
In 2011, Arjun joined BSI Singapore as the Head of Strategic Advisory, responsible for Discretionary and Advisory Portfolio Management Services. Arjun is a CFA charterholder since 2002, and graduated with a Bsc Honours degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Harsh Agarwal
Harsh Agarwal is Head of Emerging Markets DPM and has a team of 6 portfolio managers in APAC, investing globally across various asset classes. He has been with Deutsche Bank since 2013, having worked with Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan, and Credit Suisse, giving him 20+ years of experience in the financial markets. His working career has spanned across US, HK and Singapore in various roles as an analyst, risk manager and portfolio manager. Harsh is an MBA, Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst by background.

Karen Tan
Karen is Head of Managed Solutions, Asia for Pictet Wealth Management, focused on managed solutions advisory for Asia. She joined Pictet Wealth Management in 2020 as a Fund Specialist.
Before this, she was with UBS Wealth Management where she was an investment specialist at the Advisory and Sales team, covering under contract solutions including discretionary mandates, advisory mandates, private assets and funds.
Prior to that, she covered managed solutions advisory including Funds, Alternatives, discretionary and advisory mandates during her tenure at Bank Julius Baer. Karen has more than 20 years of experience in the Private Banking industry. She started her career at Merrill Lynch and has also worked at HSBC Private Bank and Bank of Singapore.
Karen graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Business, Banking. She is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Certified Financial Analyst in ESG Investing.

Matthew Tham
Matthew is the Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM) in Singapore. He joined BNP Paribas Wealth Management in 2003, and has more than 30 years of investment experience, primarily managing discretionary portfolios for both private and institutional clients. He had led the BNP DPM team to win several awards for several years including Best DPM team by Asian Private Banker and Euromoney.
Prior to joining BNP Paribas Wealth Management, he was the Head of Portfolio Management in UBS AG and Royal Bank of Canada, both in Singapore. He participates in a range of equity and bond investment committees, and takes the lead role in many tailor-made solutions offered to our largest clients, especially for SGD and USD Tailor-made multi-asset portfolios. He also takes a lead role in sales and marketing initiatives for DPM Asia, covering areas such as new product development and improving client experience.
Matthew is a CFA charterholder, holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, has a MBA from Western Michigan, a Masters in Technopreneurship and Innovation from Nanyang Technological University and graduated with Upper Second Class Honours from University of London.
In his private time, he volunteers on both board and committees including SATA CommHealth and other non profit organisations. He is also an Adjunt lecturer for Masters in Wealth Management with Singapore Management University (SMU).
Independent Wealth Symposium
5 November 2024
Tower Club, Singapore
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