Thirdly, Henley will increase its back-office capabilities and product selection offering catering for this part of its business. “The UHNW product offering will need to be fine-tuned, and the back office service requirement will have to be gold-plated. At the moment we don’t have the distinction between the mass affluent and the UHNW end of our client base,” said Rawson. He also plans to enhance the skill set of the product advisory team and make more of talented investment gurus like former Coutts advisor Peter Wynn Williams, who is “our best-kept secret,” according to Rawson.

Lastly, Henley is undergoing a large client segmentation project at the moment to analyse who its target audience is, what they want and how they can best be attracted.

Referrals make up around 90 per cent of senior consultant business, said Rawson, so he expects the UHNW division to grow through reputation as well as its new branding strategy.

As for the local Hong Kong market, this is “not quite there yet” in terms of appetite for an advisory model, said Rawson. Although around a fifth of its clients are locals, who have usually studied or lived abroad. They have an international slant on investment. “We don’t want to change the culture of our firm and we are very specific on who we can’t serve,” said Rawson.

“Our perception of the local market is that it is highly transactional and theme-based. Investors are looking for what is hot at the moment rather than creating long-term value. This is not what we are about. For example, we missed the run on the equity markets this year, as we felt it was too frothy. We are here for long-term wealth creation, not short-term capital gains.”

Rawson points to the group’s investment strategy, which is heavily weighted towards tangible assets like precious metals, property, agriculture and commodity-rich emerging markets. Fixed interest and mainstream equity markets are a no-no. “We see them as barometers of health in the economy, and the economies are not healthy,” he said.

So without the allure of high, short-term gains, and in an increasingly competitive environment, how is Henley going to differentiate? A simple and transparent fee structure is one way, says Rawson. Henley charges a flat rate of approximately 1 per cent on all assets under advice. He adds that the other “major USP is the combination of financial planning and wealth management disciplines, which looks after wealth from start to finish of a client’s earnings cycle, and beyond. “You need to get the financial structures right to ensure the hurdles of your financial life are not going to get in the way of enjoying your wealth.”