Awards
Winners Of WealthBriefing MENA Awards for Excellence 2020

Here is the list of the winners of this year's awards programme for the MENA region.
The winners of the WealthBriefing MENA Awards for Excellence 2020 were honoured at a gala evening dinner in Dubai yesterday. Below are the winners with the citations from the judges where they are available. (See here for full details of the event.) As the results show, a number of banks with footprints in a variety of regions - such as Bank of Singapore and Standard Chartered - picked up prizes.
Congratulations to all involved.
Banking Categories - MENA
Best Overall MENA Private Bank
LGT Middle East
With its strong market presence our winner impressed our judges
by offering a wide spectrum of services for private clients. Its
particular focus on sustainable investing was commended as was
its client-centric servicing.
Best Overall International Private Bank (HQ outside MENA
region)
HSBC Private Banking
Our judges were impressed with the longevity and presence in the
region and impressive partnerships that our winner provides. This
gives effective access to its other global businesses in order to
provide a most comprehensive client offering and service model.
Best Asia-based Private Bank Active in MENA
Bank of Singapore
Our judges were impressed with their winner’s investment in
tech-enabled growth. Its ‘Client Front End’ tool provides instant
online sign-up to its digital universe of products, much quicker
than industry standards. Its tracking of client issues via a
state-of-the-art software tool means that it resolves issues
quickly and maintains positive client experience.
Best Private Bank Servicing the Expat UHNW Community
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Judges were impressed with their winner providing multicultural
teams specialised in managing international clients. This
provides the benefits of an integrated model and leverages the
bank’s institutional capabilities and a range of digital
solutions to provide ease of connectivity and engagement.
Best Private Bank Servicing NRI/NRP Clients
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Our winner impressed the judges because it understands the unique
behaviour and needs of NRIs and has created a dedicated and
improved offering, ramped up the team in key jurisdictions and
implemented a co-ordinated NRI governance proposition. “The
income and asset growth results speak for themselves”, said one
of the judges.
Best Private Bank – Client Digital Offering
Citi Private Bank MENA
“An industry-leading digital offering that empowers their clients
to interact with their account manager makes our winner stand out
in this category,” said one of the judges. Others drew attention
to the comprehensive features that allow all products,
transactions and reports to be easily managed.
Best Private Bank – Overall Client Service
Deutsche Bank
Through challenging times our winner has transformed and adapted
its client service model in order to ensure the best possible
coverage for its clients. This was the stand-out factor that
swayed our judges.
Best Private Bank – ESG Offering
Standard Chartered Bank
Sustainability is a key emerging trend amongst HNW investors and
our winner has become a MENA market leader in this space our
judges report. They offer a unique product offering and
proprietary tools in this area of investing and enable their
customers to reach both their investing and social impact goals.
Our judges were very impressed with their winner’s submission.
Best Private Bank – Discretionary Fund Management (DFM)
Offering
Arbuthnot Latham & Co
Our judges were very impressed by their winner’s submission. It
demonstrated that it has an unparalleled number of investment
mandates GBP, USD and EUR and dedicated investment managers who
ensure that they understand their client’s business, family and
life goals in order to deliver a bespoke portfolio service.
Best Private Bank – Credit Provider
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Through its presence and set-up in the region, our winner’s
clients have access to a comprehensive list of financing
solutions including credit facilities, derivatives limits,
residential and commercial real estate financing, as well as jet
and yacht financing. Our judges were also impressed that Shariah
compliant financing is part of the services our winner offers.
Best Private Bank – Investment Management Platform
Citi Private Bank
Our winner believes that clients can invest according to
alignment with their values and this is what drew the judges’
attention this year. This bank calls the simultaneous pursuit of
financial returns and societal benefits “Investing with Purpose”.
The social benefits that Investing with Purpose seeks to achieve
were seen as particularly worthy of comment.
Best Boutique Private Bank
Nedbank Private Wealth
With an impressive highly qualified team and strong parent
financial strength, this boutique bank delivers a highly
responsive and personalised service tailored to suit each
client,” said one judge of our winner. “It lives up to its
promise of making clients’ lives easier, providing a joined-up
approach to protecting and growing wealth, removing complex
chains and offering a choice of servicing options – digital or
face-to-face,” said another.
Best Pure Play Private Bank
Bank of Singapore
The judges were drawn to a comprehensive and impressive
submission. One said “By driving innovation and growth across
their client key segments our winner delivers best-of-class
private banking for their MENA clients.”
Best Shariah-Compliant Wealth Management Offering
Lombard Odier
Our judges were impressed with our winner’s Shariah mandate which
is an innovative, bespoke and fully customisable solution,
setting it apart from other products available in the sector. A
holistic offering rather than a fund, it gives clients seeking
Islamic solutions access to the full capabilities of a global
wealth manager, on a truly personalised basis.
Best Private Bank Customer-Facing Digital Capabilities
LLB
Our judges’ winner engaged the panel by demonstrating that it has
an exceptionally high level of commitment focusing exclusively on
GCC resident HNWI, UHNWI and institutions with one of the
broadest open architecture private banking platforms, including
specialised regional products such as access to the local stock
market, local deposit products as well as Sharia friendly managed
portfolios.
Best Private Bank External Asset Manager (EAM) Proposition
Mirabaud (Middle East)
It was our winner’s commitment to the MENA region that really
caught the judges’ eyes. Its submission amply demonstrated that
the banking relationship is primarily useful to utilise its
investment platform with seasoned fund managers and some
selective unique external partners where they work very closely
to deliver an optimal return/service to the clients.
Best Private Bank Wealth Planning Team
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Our judges were swayed by their winner’s submission which details
their ‘Wealth Planning Charter’ which governs the operations of
all of their wealth planners, with special focus on ethical areas
including quantitative targets, conflicts of interest, and open
architecture.
Individual Country Categories
Best Private Bank Servicing the United Arab Emirates
Mashreq Private Bank
Judges commended their winner in this category as it demonstrated
providing the most accessible and broad range of products for
Middle East clients. Its regional presence and commitment really
swayed the judges’ decision.
Best Private Bank Servicing the Sultanate of Oman
LLB
Best Private Bank Servicing the Kingdom of Bahrain
LLB
For both categories: In this case our winner has been judged successful for their work in both the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Best Private Bank Servicing the State of Kuwait
Mirabaud (Middle East)
Our winner amply demonstrated its commitment to the Kuwait
market. The appointment as the head of MENA region and limited
partner of the bank who used to work for eight years with the
National Bank of Kuwait was key to the success of their
submission.
Investment Categories - MENA
Most Innovative Investment Proposition by a Private Bank
Lombard Odier
Our judges were particularly impressed with their winner’s
submission which emphasised partnering with local institutions to
ensure that the regional ecosystem is utilised while creating
products for the local client base.
Best independent Wealth Manager or External Asset Manager
(EAM)
Index & Cie
Independence was key in our winner’s submission which it
maintains by performing its own investment research through
proprietary models and primary investigative work, and not
depending on third-party contribution. Our judges were impressed
by the high calibre of professionals working in its investment
department, all of whom come from decades of market analysis and
active portfolio management for institutional and private capital
in major global financial centres.
Investment Management Categories - MENA
Best Overall Fund Manager
REYL Finance (MEA)
In a comprehensive and highly specific submission, our judges
found plenty to justify their decision in this case. One judge
picked out the 2020, launch of Fund Representation Solutions
services for international fund managers by representing foreign
collective investments for distribution in Switzerland. Another
mentioned the launch of asset management affiliate, Asteria
Investment Managers, exclusively dedicated to sustainable
investing.
Best Fund Manager - Global Reach
REYL Finance (MEA)
The judges pointed out that their winner has an innovative
approach focused on providing the highest level of service and
dedicated personalised attention to its dynamic clientele seeking
an innovative, multidisciplinary and integrated service offering.
“It constantly adapts and expands its services through its
entrepreneurial mindset, open architecture and dynamism of its
boutique structure,” said one of the judges.
Best Fund Manager - Regional Reach
REYL Finance (MEA)
In the MENA region, having a regulated presence in Dubai allows
our winner to make its full range of services accessible to a
local and international client base of private individuals and
financial institutions, with a specific focus on the areas of
wealth management, asset services and corporate advisory and
structuring. The judges were very pleased with such a well
considered submission.
Best Real Estate Investment Proposition or Service
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Our judges were impressed by the many examples that were given
showing that their winner benefits from an integrated model
leveraging on the global capabilities of the global group and
that the offering covers the full spectrum of real estate
investment.
Best Private Equity Offering
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
An international and dedicated team with a strong PE experience
is what caught the attention of our judges. This, combined with a
strict due diligence process and rigorous monitoring and
reporting, a long and proven track record over 21 years, swung it
for our winner.
Family Office Categories – MENA
Best Wealth Management Team Offering Family Governance Advice
Union Bancaire Privee
Our winner impressed the judges by providing such support through
its dedicated family office advisory unit. This has developed its
advisory process with a specific focus on providing tailored
practical guidance and understandable advice to help families
create their own custom single-family office. The process
consists of 12 dedicated ‘modules’ to ensure a structured
approach and this particularly impressed the judges.
Best Wealth Manager Servicing Family Offices
Citi Private Bank
Our judges were very impressed with their winner’s focus on the
important area for many family offices of succession planning and
the seamless transition of wealth to the next generation. Our
winner’s innovative Next Generation programme in partnership with
Singularity University, Cambridge Judge Business School and
INSEAD was marked out as being particularly helpful and
noteworthy.
Wealth Management – Estate Planning Team
M/HQ
A clear leader in the field, our winner has extensive experience
advising both local and international families – whether Muslim
or non- Muslim – with Middle East exposure on a broad range of
wealth and structuring issues, the gradual involvement of the
next generation and inter-generational legacy planning. It
notably advises on mitigating exposure to mandatory local
ownership rules as well as on circumventing – or accommodating –
Sharia principles.
Technology Categories – MENA: (Open to Non-banking Companies)
Best Front-Office Solution
Masttro
Our winner’s platform is continuously evolving, and it enriches
its solution with new functionalities and simplifies the platform
features to create a better user experience with the next
generation of its user interface. In 2020 our winner further
enriched the portfolio simulation possibilities, and developed
risk management features that fully comply with regulatory
requirements such as the Mifid II. All this won the judges’
favour in an extremely well put together submission.