A WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITIES
DR. METINEE “MAY” JONGSALISWANG, Head of SCB PRIVATE BANKING, shares her vision for being a “Trusted Thought Partner” for clients in Wealth Management
AS FIRST EXECUTIVE Vice President and Head of SCB PRIVATE BANKING, Dr. Metinee Jongsaliswang has been the force behind engineering exciting new initiatives. A remarkable feat for SCB PRIVATE BANKING was that in the pandemic year of 2020, SCB Financial Business Group was able to generate a return on its investments of 14.9 percent within a year (from January1 – December 31, 2020) through advising its clients on how to optimise their portfolios, despite the market’s volatility and uncertainties.
“I told my team, whether the market is going up or down, the most important thing is to stand by our clients through this hard time. This was a unique chance to really get to know our clients better and to be there for them – and that’s exactly what we did. She explains her motto and modus operandi, “Client first, always”.
SCB was the first bank in Thailand to set up a private banking unit providing one-stop, personalised financial and investment services alongside professional portfolio investment advice. When other banks followed suit, SCB decided to raise the bar even further. What you can be sure you’ll always get as a client of SCB PRIVATE BANKING, is a highly personalised service element in the management of your wealth, and of course personalised asset allocation, depending on your needs.
“What differentiates us from other private banking providers is that we sit down to really learn about you as an individual: who you are, the stage in your life, your family, whether you have children, are they going to study abroad, etc. Based on that, our advisory recommendations are based on personalised asset allocation. It’s not just about recommending stock, mutual funds or bonds – you can get that anywhere.
“At SCB PRIVATE BANKING, we take your individual profile into account,” she continues. “We are considerate in every single details of client’s needs. For instance, if you have children studying in the UK, we will ensure that we have certain recommended investments with right currency exchange that can generate enough wealth to help you support your children through their entire time in the UK.”
To stay ahead of the game and satisfy its diverse clientele, SCB PRIVATE BANKING has perfected its sophisticated and varied product suite that captures a vast range of financial products and services, as no client is the same. Leveraging the full range of its Financial Business Group and its access to Thai and global markets, the bank is able to continuously offer wealth advisory options at a scale not usually seen at other banks in Thailand. SCB PRIVATE BANKING’S access to an advanced Open Architecture Platform that is partnered with 19 asset management companies in Thailand, as well as key markets abroad, enables the bank to create the best possible return for its clients.
To enjoy the Advisory privileges of SCB PRIVATE BANKING customer, you must be able to answer the question whether you want SCB PRIVATE BANKING to preserve your wealth as it is currently, or do you want SCB to create more wealth for you?
“SCB PRIVATE BANKING can serve both. For those who choose to enhance their wealth, SCB PRIVATE BANKING has measures to do just that,” Dr. May explains. “For instance, in Thailand, many choose to invest in land and then sell to get the capital gain. But what about the time between buying and selling, how can you make the land work for you to generate money before you sell? Our solution, in this instance, harnessing the power of property-backed loans, is designed to make the land work for you and generate a yield before you sell.
“We want to be our client’s ‘Trusted Thought Partners’ when it comes to wealth preservation and creation. We don’t want to just provide investment advice – we want to see the success and results, and genuinely be a part of their wealth creation.” This dedication to partnering and being aligned with the client’s wealth creation is what has enabled SCB to win some of the most prestigious awards from global financial institutions. In fact, SCB has been awarded Best Private Banking in Thailand from Global Finance for five consecutive years (2016-2020), the Outstanding Private Bank – Southeast Asia Award from Private Banker International (2020), and Six awards from Euromoney.
In terms of investment approach for 2021, Dr. May reveals that her team is focusing on the changing direction of the global economy and the role disruptive technology plays in this. “Investment opportunities are most definitely there, you just need to know when and what to invest in; businesses catering to cloud computer systems, healthcare technology and of course ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance).”
Dr. May anticipates that with the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the USA and his plans to reduce our global carbon footprint, it will undoubtedly become very viable to invest in green energy this year. She explains: “Consumer and business trends are evermore steeped in environmental awareness and clean energy. And lastly is the search for yields. We believe that central banks will still help boost economies as long as the pandemic is prevalent. Any yields that offer more than savings will be of interest.”
Advice she has for people looking to create wealth in 2021 is to first “be flexible”. Markets are volatile, and this fact especially hit home during the current pandemic. The second important bit of advice is to know the “right market time”. During a pandemic, investing in retail or hospitality might not be the best move, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it will “never be the right time to invest” in such sectors. Partnering with SCB PRIVATE BANKING means finding answers and solutions to such pressing questions.
Last year was an unprecedented year for all, but as Dr. May points out, with every challenge comes opportunity. “Even in the face of Covid-19, we worked hard to grow our assets under management (AUM) to 850 billion Baht, which is the largest AUM for private banking in Thailand. This is our greatest success and a testament to our philosophy: know when to invest and when to divest.”