DB WM to launch app for Apac relationship managers

The Asia-Pacific structured products market is supporting its growth on new technology developments that are addressing issues around standardization and fee compression. SRP spoke to Lavanya Chari (pictured), managing director and head of global products and solutions in Asia-Pacific at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, about the impact of technology, the demand for structured products in the region and the value of simple solutions.

"Technology is the area that we are definitely focusing on and we are spending a significant amount of time and resources on this," said Chari adding that DB WM is planning on spending €65m on technology over the next couple of years in order to improve the experience of both its relationship managers (RMs) and clients. "We believe that it is as important to empower our relationship managers as it is to make life easier for clients," said Chari.

Internally, Deutsche Bank launched EQ Connect Pricer to enable relationship managers to price and execute equity derivative transactions, according to Chari. Deutsche has also released a client analytics tool called Luna to facilitate the work of its RMs, and the bank is now working on the development of a tool called Pitch book which will enable relationship managers to "create pitch books on the fly by using an online database".

The German asset manager is involved on a number of projects based on technology such as "an internal app for relationship managers and investment advisors called Spotlight, which provides market news, CIO Insights, trade ideas, etc. in an app format on mobile phone," according to Chari. The app was released in January, 2017 in Asia, and is currently being distributed globally.

This will be followed by the launch of an external app aimed at providing clients access to their portfolios, transaction history, upcoming maturities e-statements, etc. In addition, Deutsche will launch an external client app with a flat fee model for the bank's clients. "Clients will have the ability to pay a flat fee and they will be able to execute cash equities, fixed income, mutual funds and hedge funds through that model," said Chari.

The wealth manager is currently working on expanding its business, according to Chari. "We are definitely in growth mode," said Chari adding that the bank is looking to hire 100 more relationship managers globally of which 50 will be based in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Chari, Deutsche was traditionally more focused on the ultra-high net worth clients but now is making a concerted effort to grow the high net worth business as well. "We present multiple solutions to our clients across a suite of investment products in wealth management and lending in wealth management and we also have a strong partnership with our investment bank which certainly differentiates our offerings for clients," said Chari. "If the client wants to do an IPO or complex financing, we have the ability to provide that to our clients which clearly helps us stand apart from many of our competitors."

Deutsche's structured products platform is "certainly among the best", and the German bank enjoys a very strong presence across its managed investments business and also wealth planning, which includes its trust and insurance divisions.

"There is a lot of demand [for structured products] in Asia as the clients are fairly sophisticated," said Chari. "The client's preferences combined with the sophistication level of clients is what has driven the growth the structured products market in the Asia-Pacific."

Deutsche is a leading provider of structured products in the Asia-Pacific region and 2017 has been a record year in terms of structured products across different asset classes for the bank, according to Chari.

"Equities have seen record volumes partly because of the market itself but in addition we have also seen significant demand for structured products across credit, rates, FX and fund derivatives," said Chari.

The regionalisation of the market for structured products is a phenomenon and "a function of the client interest and sophistication" as clients in Asia are "more sophisticated when it comes to capital markets and structured products", according to Chari.

"Clients in the Asia-Pacific are more interested in yield enhancement as well as in capital growth, which is one of the main reasons you see interest in structured products here," said Chari pointing that in Germany there is much more interest in discretionary mandates.

The investment choice in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East is far from limited, according to Chari. "When you look at our offerings, most of the discretionary products and funds offered in Emea are also offered in Asia, albeit adapted to serve the needs of our clients here," she said. "I don't think anything is missing in particular. We do less of certain types of products but I think that this is largely a function of what the clients want and what they are interested in."

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