SocGen To Expand Singapore-Based Trust Arm Staff By One Third

Vanessa Doctor

27 February 2011

Societe Generale is catching up with the growing wealth demand from Asia through a planned 33 per cent expansion of staff numbers at its Singapore trust arm, Bloomberg reports.

In an interview with the publication, Steven Lim, chief executive of SocGen, said the company will boost its workforce from the current 30 to about 40 people over the next two years. Estate planning, Lim said, will be particularly important, given that at least 50 per cent of Asians with assets of not less than $3 million will be seeking advice on passing on their wealth within the next half decade.

"The rich worry about their wealth. When people are getting more affluent, they will start seriously thinking about having succession-planning structures," Lim was quoted as saying.

Succession is a critical part of the wealth manager's job, particularly in the region, where most family business and empires are still being held by the conservative-thinking patriarchs themselves. With the rise of the so-called emerging affluent, succession also becomes a key point of discussion.

According to the latest Credit Suisse global wealth survey, 245 of the over 1,000 billionaires worldwide are in the Asia Pacific.