Standard Chartered's private banking business in the UK has seen notable growth and strategic developments over the past year.

Goldman Sachs’ wealth management business inevitably centres on the US – because of the size of that market, and because that is where the firm was born and is headquartered. Proportionally, however, it is growing faster internationally. That is especially apparent is Western Europe, where it is the region’s best international private bank.

A quarter of a century ago, Goldman Sachs – North America’s best chief investment office – established its Investment Strategy Group (ISG) to shape and guide its asset allocation strategy. This group comprises investment professionals from around the world, with a significant number based in the US, reinforcing its strong presence at home. ISG is a diverse and highly qualified team, operating an asset allocation process that is independent of its implementation vehicles.

Goldman Sachs, North America's best for discretionary portfolio management (DPM), showcases outstanding growth in its DPM assets across unique client portfolios.

Goldman Sachs – recognised as North America's best for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients this year – maintains a strong focus on the wealthiest clients globally, and within its North American home market.

Goldman Sachs boasts decades of experience in assisting clients with the transfer of wealth across generations. The firm, which wins the award for North America's best for succession planning, has a global team of wealth strategy professionals, many of whom are based in North America and focused on the home market.

The North America market, centred on the US, is at the heart of Goldman Sachs’ leading private banking and wealth management business. The New York-based firm wins this year’s award for North America’s best private bank.

Goldman Sachs’ dedication to client service, innovative solutions, and strong performance solidifies its position as the best private bank in the US. The firm’s holistic approach, exclusive opportunities, and commitment to sustainability and innovation make it a trusted partner to its US clients.

As the largest generational wealth transfer in history unfolds – with an estimated $84.4 trillion poised to shift hands by 2045 – Goldman Sachs has positioned itself as a critical architect of intergenerational continuity.

ADCB Private and Wealth Management has demonstrated excellent financial growth, commitment to sustainability and digital innovation over the review period.

As the global financial landscape braces for an historic generational wealth transfer, Goldman Sachs has positioned itself at the forefront of addressing the evolving needs of younger clients in Asia. Through a blend of tailored education, innovative digital tools and cross-generational relationship-building, the firm has cemented its position as a trusted partner for families navigating complex wealth transitions.

DBS’s private banking business has achieved impressive growth, driven by a strategic focus on talent, client retention and a thriving family office segment.

Entrusted with $1.6 trillion in client assets, Goldman Sachs’ wealth management is a colossus of the private banking world. Drawing on over a century and a half of experience, it leverages its resources, investment platform, global network and lending capacity to deliver a host of tailored solutions to clients.

If there is an Asia market on which Goldman Sachs has most clearly placed its chips in the past 30 years, it’s China. The Wall Street giant is a pan-Asia powerhouse, but it was one of the first investment banks to recognise China’s vast potential and invest in the market accordingly.

“We focus exclusively on meeting the needs of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, endowments and foundations, and have the privilege of working with some of the most successful people in the world.” Everything you need to know about Goldman Sachs’ dedication and commitment to serving ambitious, sophisticated ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients around the world is summed up in those words from co-head of global private wealth management Meena Flynn.

It is turning out to be an equities year for the big investment banks, as fixed income revenues fall or stall and fees from dealmaking recover slowly.

Goldman is transforming its provision of research and insights to make it much easier for investors to form trade ideas.

In tough markets, changes in banks’ market share can be particularly telling. Mergers and acquisitions had another down year in 2023, with total volume falling to $3.13 trillion, from $4.3 trillion in 2022, when rates first started rising, and $5.7 trillion in the post-Covid boom of 2021.

In 2023, HSBC further solidified its position as Hong Kong’s best bank. Under the leadership of Luanne Lim, HSBC Hong Kong’s chief executive, the bank’s profit before tax soared to $10.7 billion, representing 80% year-on-year growth and contributing 35.3% to the group’s overall pre-tax profit.

Goldman Sachs has been the preeminent mergers and acquisitions advisory firm for almost as long as the business has existed in its modern form. Its performance in the difficult environment of 2023 showed how resilient its franchise is, and it once again wins the award for North America’s best bank for advisory.

Derivatives structurers are thriving, but regulators aren’t convinced the biggest Wall Street banks have a firm grasp of their complex exposure.

Junior bankers should relax about the threat to their jobs from AI and lean into opportunities to bluff their way to Wall Street glory.

A move back up in rates is creating a PR battle among Wall Street banks. JPMorgan was punished for a cautious outlook, Goldman Sachs promoted strong fixed income trading results and Bank of America projected a Zen approach to rate moves.

At the heart of Goldman Sachs’s approach to discretionary portfolio management is the belief that all the bank’s institutional clients ought to have access to the kind of expertise and strategies that historically might only have been accessible to the very biggest.

At a time when geopolitical and macroeconomic turmoil are more bewildering than ever, the need for the guiding hand of a thoughtful investment research and strategy operation is greater than ever for private-banking clients.

Key to succession planning is having a team with that critical combination of technical expertise in the relevant fields of estate and trust planning, but also a history of advising the wealthiest families in approaches that can then be successfully deployed and tailored in the service of new clients who might have similar characteristics.

Goldman Sachs has been helping clients manage the tricky process of safely and seamlessly moving money from one generation to the next for, well, generations.

Goldman Sachs has a 22-year track record of outperformance in creating, analysing and constantly reassessing wealth management portfolios. Key to this is its internal Investment Strategy Group’s (ISG) proprietary strategic asset-allocation data crunching, and the way its wealth advisers engage with the ISG team to provide tailored investment recommendations to ultra-high net-worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors.

Caution at local commercial banks – coupled with the eagerness of large investment banks to foster relationships with private equity players – means large real-estate deals fuelled by back leverage could be primed for a comeback in Europe.

The annual Senate quizzing of US big bank chief executives threw up all the usual favourite partisan arguments, but little else. If this is oversight, it often lacks insight.