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

UBS delivered outstanding financial performance and client satisfaction over the review period, driven by successful integration efforts, distinctive ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) offerings, and an ability to engage next-generation clients.

Julius Baer’s global leadership in discretionary portfolio management (DPM) is centred on its base in Western Europe, where it wins this year’s best discretionary portfolio management award.

Julius Baer delivered standout services in the Channel Islands during the review period, backed by a team of 120 specialists in Guernsey.

Quintet Private Bank delivered a strong financial performance in 2023, showing resilience amid market volatility and inflationary pressures, while strategically expanding its investment offerings and geographic presence.

GFH Financial Group stands out for providing a wide range of attractive alternative investment opportunities with sustainable returns.

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

Julius Baer has emerged as a leader in philanthropic advisory across the Middle East, blending structured wealth stewardship with purpose-driven initiatives that resonate with the region’s growing emphasis on legacy and social impact.

Julius Baer has carved a distinct niche as Asia’s premier boutique private bank. Since establishing its regional presence in 2006, the Zurich-based firm has blended the agility of a specialist with the resources of a global institution. Asia represents 25% of Julius Baer's global assets under management and headcount. The bank consolidated its position as the largest pure-play private bank in the region and secured the title as Asia’s best boutique private bank this year.

ICICI Bank has cemented its position as a leader in Indian wealth management, driven by robust asset growth, a thriving family office business and cutting-edge digital innovation.

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

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is recognised as Thailand’s best private bank for its commitment to innovation and personalised financial solutions tailored to the needs of high net-worth clients.

Julius Baer walks away with the global award for best for discretionary portfolio management (DPM) for the second year in a row. The Swiss pure-play private bank is a veteran at DPM, the process by which firms manage money on a client’s behalf.

Julius Baer wins this award for the investment the firm is making in this core Asian market, as well as the global expertise it offers Indian clients.

Julius Baer wins the award for Singapore’s best for high net-worth clients in recognition of the impressive range of expertise and capabilities it offers this key client segment.

Serving the next generation of wealthy individuals and family members is at the heart of everything Julius Baer does. The Swiss pure-play wealth manager is cognisant of the vast amount of wealth in the process of being handed from one set of family hands to the next; it sees this segment as a key vehicle for it to, in its words, “live out [its] purpose” and “create value beyond wealth”.

Few manage to do discretionary portfolio management better than Julius Baer today. The largest pure-play private bank by assets under management has been busy during its latest strategic cycle, which runs for three years through 2025.

Investment research is about more than producing reports and roundtables. It is about creating quality resources that clients trust and respect.

Julius Baer’s commitment to Asia has certainly paid off. Bolstered by a team of 1,600 professionals, including over 430 relationship managers, the bank has achieved a doubling of its assets under management in the region since 2016, establishing itself as the largest pure-play private bank in the region.

Julius Baer has a distinct position in Asia. As the region’s largest pure-play private bank, it is unwavering in its commitment to personalized service.

India is a key market for Julius Baer. Onshore, it is the largest foreign private bank, with a history stretching back more than 30 years, catering to high and ultra-high net-worth customers.

Amid the constant hum of activity in the private-banking world, it can be easy to forget the importance of discretionary portfolio management.

UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse will further reduce the number of large international private banks in Brazil. Julius Baer has been quick to take advantage of this.

Julius Baer and the team led by Jimmy Lee, member of the executive board and head of Asia Pacific, look at the future in rather pragmatic terms: if you can’t predict it, why not at least do business with those most likely to shape it?

Julius Baer wins the category best for philanthropic services in Asia this year. For starters, the firm doubled the number of philanthropy advisory mandates in 2022.

Keep it simple: that is how Julius Baer approaches the pursuit of private banking. That is not to say that what it does is easy.

The echoes of 2014 have been loud in Brazil’s private banking industry over the past 12 months. A precipitous fall in interest rates – followed by a meteoric rise – has left the market completely the same but also very different.

Pure-play Swiss private bank Julius Baer has had to reconfigure its business model for the 2020s. Chief executive Philipp Rickenbacher talks to Euromoney about why scale and nurturing talent are key to the long-term success of a firm that does just one thing and one thing well: serving wealthy private clients.

The Swiss firm’s decision to sell specialist Zurich-based wealth manager Wergen & Partner is the latest in a series of M&A deals. Expect more activity as private banks expand into new markets, or exit non-core markets to focus resources and invest in technology.

The last 20 years of private banking have been all about building scale, international growth and professionalization; the top wealth managers are still getting bigger and are confident they have the right model – but as they struggle to maintain quality of service under pressure on revenues, new specialists are emerging.