Investment research plays a central role in the Asia Pacfic wealth managagement market, but firms in Hong Kong and Singapore are looking increasingly further afield to boost their coverage, writes Karl von Bezing.

BMB started life investing on behalf of the Brunei royal family, explains chairman Rayo Withanage, but as the Islamic investment industry expands, the group will continue to spread its wings. Yuri Bender reports.

The number of high net worth individuals in Asia has reached European levels for the very first time, but capturing this wealth is the key to the recovery of the private banking sector, writes Elisa Trovato.

Bond Yang, Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust

Taiwan’s master agent regime has fed the growing demand for overseas investments in the country, and has left domestic fund companies with the choice of either trying to compete with the foreign players, or going into partnership with them. Elisa Trovato reports from Taipei.

Christof Kutscher, UBS Global Asset Management

Mutual fund take-up in Asia remains very low, but private bankers are trying to encourage investors to increase the usage of these instruments, which can represent core allocations in diversified portfolios, writes Elisa Trovato.

Desmond Ng, Invesco’s head of distribution in Asia ex Japan, tells Elisa Trovato why he has high hopes for China’s mutual funds industry

With a rapidly expanding economy, the prospects for the Indian wealth management industry are rosy indeed. However, as Rekha Menon reports, Indian high net worth individuals tend to be very conservative in their outlook, and given the healthy state of the domestic market, hardly possess a global outlook

Since their debut in the nineties, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become a popular tool for investors seeking cheap, liquid, flexible exposure to equities and other asset classes. By the end of 2009, assets managed by ETFs worldwide reached over one trillion US dollars^*. While the US and European ETF markets account for more than 90% of ETF assets globally, it is the potential for ETFs to take off in Asia which has really captured people’s attention.

Private investors looking to access growth in Asia’s emerging markets should consider investing in global funds, therefore taking advantage of Western companies looking to source increased profits from the region, writes Elliot Smither, although some local specialists remain unconvinced about this strategy

Indonesia and central Asian Muslim countries are seen as the next target markets for Sharia investments, which emerged largely unscathed from the financial crisis, writes Ceri Jones, but strict rules are off-putting to some