At the Hubbis Independent Wealth Management Forum – Singapore 2026, industry leaders examined whether Singapore is cementing its position as the pre-eminent hub for UHNW wealth in an increasingly fragmented global environment. The discussion explored the evolution of global booking centres, the rise of multi-jurisdictional wealth strategies, the role of Singapore and the UAE, and the practical realities facing families, EAMs, and independent wealth platforms as clients seek stability, optionality, resilience, and better access to global markets.
The panel highlighted that UHNW families are no longer viewing booking centres purely through the lens of investment access or nominal performance. Instead, clients are increasingly focused on custody risk, geopolitical diversification, administrative efficiency, regulatory confidence, structuring flexibility, and the ability to preserve wealth across generations. Singapore remains highly attractive because of its stability, infrastructure, regulatory credibility, and deep professional ecosystem, but the discussion made clear that no single jurisdiction can satisfy every client requirement. The next phase of wealth management will be defined less by jurisdictional rivalry and more by intelligent orchestration across complementary financial centres.
Chair: Damian Hitchen, Chief Executive Officer, MENA, Saxo
Speakers
- Garett Lim, Partner & CMO, MOIQ Capital
- Oliver Ansingh, Chief Executive Officer, Picard Angst MEA
- Yann Mrazek, Founder and Managing Partner, M/HQ
- Lucy Gao-Azak, Chief Operating Officer & Head of Wealth Management, Crossinvest
Key Takeaways
- Singapore continues to benefit from its reputation for political stability, currency stability, regulatory discipline, and institutional depth.
- UHNW families are increasingly seeking optionality across booking centres, rather than relying on a single jurisdiction or institution.
- Multi-booking-centre strategies are not about complexity for its own sake, but about reducing single points of failure and aligning custody with family circumstances.
- Asset allocation, custody jurisdiction, and currency management are now central to wealth structuring and family risk management.
- Clients are becoming more aware of geopolitical risk, account-opening friction, regulatory cost, and tax incentives across competing jurisdictions.
- Singapore’s strength lies in its ecosystem of banks, EAMs, lawyers, trust companies, fund structures, and professional advisers, but its compliance burden remains a practical challenge.
- The UAE has developed rapidly as a residency, structuring, and financial-services hub, but its booking-centre ecosystem remains less mature than Singapore’s.
- Families increasingly want simplicity, time, and clarity, not more structures, more products, or more complexity.
- A two- or three-booking-centre model may offer resilience, but excessive diversification can become inefficient and costly.
- The next generation may not want to run family offices, creating opportunities for independent firms to professionalise, simplify, and manage family wealth on their behalf.
Global Wealth Is Moving Towards New Booking Centres
The discussion opened with a clear acknowledgement that global wealth flows are shifting. Traditional Western booking centres remain relevant, but Asia and the Middle East are taking a larger share of incremental growth. Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE all remain important, but the relative momentum of Singapore and the UAE reflects a broader rebalancing of UHNW wealth across global financial centres.
This shift is not simply about capital moving from one place to another. It reflects a deeper change in how wealthy families think about risk. UHNW clients are increasingly looking beyond return generation and asking where assets should be held, which jurisdictions offer long-term resilience, and how families can maintain access, flexibility, and continuity in a more fragmented world.
The panel suggested that this is changing the role of the adviser. EAMs and independent wealth managers are no longer only expected to advise on portfolios. They are expected to help families understand custody risk, booking-centre selection, currency exposure, jurisdictional concentration, structuring choices, and operational complexity.
“Families are not just asking where they can earn the next percentage point of return – they are asking where their wealth will remain accessible, protected, and usable across generations,” said a panellist.
The Client, Not the Structure, Comes First
A recurring theme was that wealth-management architecture should start with the client, not the booking centre. Several panellists argued that the technical discussion around jurisdictions, banks, structures, and products only becomes useful once the adviser has understood the family’s objectives.
For some families, the priority is wealth preservation. For others, it is mobility, succession, liquidity, access to global markets, or simply reducing the burden of managing family assets. The most effective independent advisers are therefore those that spend time understanding what the client is trying to achieve before recommending where assets should be booked or how structures should be arranged.
This is particularly important in the UHNW segment, where complexity can accumulate quickly. Families may have multiple entities, multiple banks, multiple advisers, and multiple booking centres, yet still lack a clear operating model. In some cases, the adviser’s role is not to add more sophistication, but to remove unnecessary complexity.
“The best advice often starts by making the client’s life simpler, not by adding another layer of structure,” said a panellist.
The point was especially relevant for families that have accumulated structures over time without a coherent purpose. In these cases, independent advisers can create value by identifying what is necessary, what is redundant, and what can be streamlined.
Singapore’s Core Strength Remains Stability
Singapore’s position in the global wealth landscape was repeatedly linked to stability. Panellists noted that clients continue to view Singapore as a jurisdiction with political stability, currency stability, regulatory credibility, and a strong institutional framework. For UHNW families looking for long-term preservation of capital, these attributes remain central.
The discussion also highlighted Singapore’s broader ecosystem. The jurisdiction is not only a booking centre. It has built a deep network of banks, independent asset managers, lawyers, trust companies, fund administrators, family-office advisers, and other specialist service providers. This gives families access to a comprehensive suite of support within a single, well-regulated market.
For many clients, this infrastructure matters as much as investment access. Families want confidence that their advisers can coordinate effectively, that legal and fiduciary frameworks are robust, and that the financial system is supported by credible oversight.
“Singapore’s strength is not one single feature – it is the way stability, regulation, infrastructure, and professional depth come together,” said a panellist.
Panellists also noted that Singapore has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to manage challenges and preserve confidence. In wealth management, this reputational resilience is valuable. Clients may tolerate administrative friction if they believe that the jurisdiction offers long-term security and credibility.
The Challenge Is Balancing Rigour With Client Experience
While Singapore’s regulatory discipline remains a strength, the panel also acknowledged the associated costs. Account opening, documentation, compliance processes, and administrative requirements can be demanding. From the client’s perspective, Singapore can sometimes feel more cumbersome than other jurisdictions.
This creates a balancing act. Stringency supports Singapore’s reputation and protects the integrity of the financial centre. However, excessive friction can make clients consider alternative jurisdictions, particularly if they are comparing Singapore with locations offering faster onboarding, lower costs, or tax incentives.
Panellists noted that this issue is not unique to Singapore. All serious financial centres must balance regulatory robustness with client experience. However, as competition increases, Singapore will need to ensure that its processes remain proportionate, efficient, and commercially workable.
“The challenge for any premier financial centre is to preserve trust without making the client experience unnecessarily heavy,” said a panellist.
This point is becoming more important as clients become more globally mobile. UHNW families are now more aware of competing regimes, from the UAE to Italy, Turkey, and other jurisdictions offering tax or residency incentives. Singapore’s proposition remains strong, but it cannot assume that stability alone will always be enough.
Multi-Booking-Centre Strategies Are About Optionality
A key part of the discussion focused on the case for using multiple booking centres. Panellists broadly agreed that the objective is not to create complexity, but to build optionality and reduce single-jurisdiction dependency.
In a fragmented geopolitical environment, families increasingly want to avoid a single point of failure. This does not mean scattering assets randomly across jurisdictions. Rather, it means selecting a small number of complementary booking centres that serve different purposes and reduce concentration risk.
Several panellists suggested that a practical model may involve two or three booking centres, but not more. Beyond that point, the administrative cost, operational burden, and complexity may outweigh the benefits.
“Optionality is valuable, but only when it is disciplined. Too many booking centres can become just another form of risk,” said a panellist.
The panel also stressed that booking-centre choice should be linked to the family’s centre of life, business interests, residency plans, asset mix, and long-term goals. For an Asia-based family, Singapore may be the natural anchor. For others, the UAE, Switzerland, Hong Kong, or another jurisdiction may play a complementary role.
Custody, Currency, and Asset Allocation Are Now Central
The panel made clear that custody jurisdiction is no longer a secondary issue. For UHNW families, custody, asset allocation, and currency management now sit at the heart of wealth preservation.
This reflects the reality that structuring alone cannot protect a family if assets are poorly allocated, overly concentrated, or held in jurisdictions that do not match the family’s risk profile. Wealth structuring may provide legal and succession benefits, but custody and asset-location decisions determine how exposed a family is to geopolitical, regulatory, and financial-market shocks.
Panellists argued that families need to be educated on the differences between institutions and platforms. Some clients still assume that a universal bank or private bank is automatically the best solution. In practice, a broker-dealer, digital bank, independent platform, or specialist institution may be more appropriate for a particular need.
“The booking centre matters, but so does the type of institution sitting behind it,” said a panellist. “Clients need to understand what each platform is actually designed to do.”
This education role is becoming more important as the financial ecosystem becomes more diverse. Advisers must help clients distinguish between custody, execution, advisory, structuring, reporting, lending, and investment-management capabilities, rather than treating all institutions as interchangeable.
Singapore Is Not Simply Competing With Hong Kong or the UAE
Although the panel discussed Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the UAE, several speakers cautioned against framing the issue purely as a competition between jurisdictions. For many UHNW families, these centres serve different functions.
Hong Kong continues to offer access to China and North Asian opportunities. Singapore provides stability, governance, and a strong wealth-management ecosystem. The UAE offers residency, connectivity, structuring appeal, and growing relevance as a Middle Eastern and global hub. Switzerland remains a major traditional custody and private-banking centre.
The more relevant question is therefore not which jurisdiction “wins”, but how families should combine jurisdictions intelligently. For advisers, the task is to understand the client’s needs and build an architecture that fits, rather than promoting one location as a universal answer.
“Clients are not buying a jurisdictional slogan. They are looking for advisers who understand what they are trying to achieve,” said a panellist.
This is where independent firms can differentiate themselves. Without being tied to a single banking platform or product shelf, they can help clients select the most appropriate combination of jurisdictions, custodians, and structures.
The UAE Has Moved From Peripheral to Strategic
The UAE was discussed as one of the most significant emerging financial and wealth hubs. Panellists noted that Dubai and Abu Dhabi have evolved rapidly, supported by the development of DIFC and ADGM, rising numbers of licensed firms, and growing interest from international families.
The UAE’s appeal has been driven by several factors: residency attractiveness, business connectivity, tax considerations, lifestyle, access between East and West, and a more sophisticated post-COVID client base. Panellists observed that the client mix has changed materially, with both regional families and international UHNW families using the UAE more actively.
At the same time, speakers acknowledged that the UAE’s booking-centre ecosystem is still developing. Compared with Singapore, it does not yet have the same depth across all parts of the wealth-management value chain. Its credibility as a booking centre will be built over time.
“The UAE has moved very quickly, but booking-centre credibility is still something that has to be earned through time, infrastructure, and repeated client experience,” said a panellist.
Recent geopolitical tensions were also noted as a test of perception. Some client flows may be temporary, while others may reflect a reassessment of regional risk. However, panellists cautioned against judging the UAE only through the lens of short-term events. Its longer-term trajectory remains significant.
Market Volatility Is Changing Client Expectations
The discussion also explored the investment implications of a more volatile world. Clients are increasingly accustomed to real-time visibility through apps and digital reporting, meaning they monitor portfolio performance more frequently than in the past. At the same time, financial markets have become more correlated, faster-moving, and more sensitive to geopolitical and macroeconomic shocks.
This creates a difficult operating environment for managers. Clients expect lower volatility, but markets are producing sharper swings. Advisers must therefore be more active, more responsive, and better able to access global markets across time zones.
Panellists noted that this has implications for bank and counterparty selection. Some institutions may not be able to support the 24-hour or multi-market trading capabilities that managers need. This can affect the ability to respond to pre-market moves, dislocations, and regional opportunities.
“Alpha increasingly depends on operational access as much as investment judgement,” said a panellist. “If the manager cannot trade when the opportunity appears, the opportunity may already be gone.”
For global UHNW portfolios, the issue is not only where assets are booked, but whether the selected platform can provide the execution, access, and responsiveness needed in volatile markets.
Clients Want Time Back
Beyond markets and jurisdictions, the panel returned to a more personal point: many UHNW clients are paying advisers to give them time back. Wealth is often an enabler, not the end goal. Families want their capital managed so they can focus on business, family, philanthropy, lifestyle, or other priorities.
This changes the adviser’s value proposition. The objective is not simply to sell products, generate transactions, or chase benchmark returns. It is to simplify the client’s financial life, preserve capital, reduce unnecessary complexity, and deliver outcomes aligned with the family’s priorities.
Several panellists suggested that this is especially relevant for independent firms with aligned commercial models. If an adviser is not incentivised to sell products, they can focus more clearly on the client’s desired outcome.
“Many clients are not asking for more products. They are asking for less noise, less burden, and more control over their own time,” said a panellist.
This is also where Singapore’s ecosystem can be powerful. A stable jurisdiction with strong service providers allows advisers to build durable, efficient structures around the client, rather than forcing the client to manage fragmented relationships themselves.
The Family Office Boom Has Been Uneven
The panel also addressed the surge of family-office activity in Singapore, particularly during and after COVID. Singapore attracted substantial interest as families sought structures, residency options, tax incentives, and a stable regional base.
However, speakers noted that not all of this activity translated into fully operational family offices. Some structures were created but never funded. Some bank accounts were opened but remained inactive. Some families underestimated the cost and complexity of maintaining structures. Others misunderstood the tax benefits or later reconsidered their broader geographic plans.
This does not undermine Singapore’s position, but it suggests that the family-office boom should be interpreted carefully. Not every licence, entity, or account represents active capital or a functioning investment operation.
“The headline growth in family offices does not always reveal how much is truly funded, active, or strategically committed,” said a panellist.
This creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Dormant or underused structures may be rationalised over time. Families that created offices without a clear operating model may need external advisers to help professionalise, simplify, or reposition their arrangements.
The Next Generation May Not Want to Run the Money
One of the more practical points raised was the role of the next generation. Some family offices have been created because founders or patriarchs believe it is sensible for the next generation to manage family wealth. However, younger family members may have little interest in running investment operations or administering family capital.
For these individuals, inherited wealth can feel less like an opportunity and more like a burden. They may prefer to pursue their own ventures, careers, philanthropic interests, or personal priorities rather than manage a family office.
This creates a meaningful opening for independent wealth managers. Advisers can help families separate ownership from day-to-day management, giving the next generation the freedom to focus on what they want to do while ensuring that family capital is professionally managed.
“The next generation may not want to be CIO of the family balance sheet. For many, the real value is having someone else manage the complexity properly,” said a panellist.
This also reinforces the importance of alignment. Families need advisers who can act as long-term stewards, not just investment providers. The more complex the family, the more valuable it becomes to have an independent platform capable of coordinating across banks, jurisdictions, and structures.
The One-Stop-Shop Model Has Limits
The panel concluded that it is difficult for any one booking centre or financial institution to deliver everything a UHNW family may need. Tax alignment, lending, custody, investment access, structuring, execution, reporting, and regulatory treatment may vary significantly across jurisdictions.
This makes the idea of a single global one-stop shop less realistic. Instead, families may need a carefully selected set of jurisdictions and institutions that complement each other. The aim is not duplication, but functional diversification.
For example, one booking centre may serve as the main anchor for stable custody and wealth preservation. Another may support market access, lending, or specific regional exposure. A third may be relevant for residency, structuring, or family mobility.
“The goal is not to mirror the same portfolio in several places. The goal is to make each jurisdiction serve a clear purpose,” said a panellist.
This requires advisers to be disciplined. Multi-booking-centre models can create resilience, but only if they are designed with clarity. Without that discipline, they can become expensive, inefficient, and administratively burdensome.
Singapore’s Future Role Will Depend on Discipline and Adaptability
The panel suggested that Singapore is well placed to remain one of the world’s leading hubs for UHNW wealth. Its stability, regulatory credibility, professional ecosystem, and scale give it a strong foundation. It is particularly well positioned for families seeking long-term preservation, governance, and access to a sophisticated advisory infrastructure.
However, the discussion also made clear that Singapore cannot stand still. It faces growing competition from other jurisdictions, rising client awareness of tax and residency incentives, and pressure to balance regulatory rigour with client experience. It must continue improving efficiency while preserving the standards that make it trusted.
For independent wealth managers, the opportunity is to use Singapore as an anchor within a broader global architecture. The best firms will not simply argue for one jurisdiction over another. They will help families understand where Singapore fits, where complementary booking centres add value, and how to avoid unnecessary complexity.
“Singapore’s advantage is strongest when it is used deliberately – not as the only answer to every question, but as a stable anchor in a broader wealth strategy,” said a panellist.
As UHNW families navigate geopolitical fragmentation, market volatility, tax competition, and intergenerational change, the role of the independent adviser is becoming more important. Clients need judgement, orchestration, and clarity. Singapore may remain central to that equation, but the real differentiator will be how effectively advisers convert jurisdictional choice into long-term family optionality.
