World’s Best Private Banks 2015

GLOBAL WINNERS

Best In The World | J.P. Morgan Private Banking

Like most major financial institutions operating in the United States, JPMorgan Chase faced the fallout from the financial crisis. Dozens of regulatory investigations resulted in huge legal settlements. The bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, however, kept private banking and service to high-net-worth individuals at the core of its business and brand. With global reach and enormous resources in investment banking, asset management and the full range of wealth management services, the bank offers premier private banking services across the globe.

Boutique Ban | C. Hoare & Co

The United Kingdom’s oldest bank remains wholly owned by the Hoare family and has the kind of small-business, white-glove service that continues to attract wealthy clients. An admittedly conservative institution, Hoare is small enough to provide a personalized service for clients but big enough to invest in the technology and talent needed to cover every base.

Most Innovative Private Bank | DBS Private Bank

Singapore-based DBS Bank is a local standout in the region. DBS’s commitment to building out its private banking platform and using customer analytics and Big Data applications to improve its offerings to a range of customer segments has helped it compete with European and American banks. Last year it gave its relationship managers access to IBM’s Watson cognitive computing technology to improve customer service.

Socially Responsible Investing | Northern Trust

Whether a client wants to avoid investing in companies involved in specific industries or activities or to reward companies with good records on the environment, diversity or corporate governance, Northern Trust has plenty of ways to get there. It uses positive and negative screens to filter out or in specific companies and employs best-of-sector stock selection strategies. It undertakes shareholder advocacy efforts to help clients achieve socially responsible investing goals. The goals can be highly specific or can cover a range of different factors, and portfolio management is either active or passive.

New Customer Segments | Bank of America Global Wealth And Investment Management

Investor surveys consistently show that the financial crisis and recurring scandals that have rocked Wall Street have made younger investors deeply cynical about financial markets. Bank of America is making efforts to target this customer segment, which is rapidly accumulating wealth. A major step is the bank’s recharging of its recruiting and training program for young advisers to help serve younger customers.

Emerging Markets | UBS Wealth Management

UBS, the largest global private bank, surpassing $2 trillion in assets under management last year, has focused efforts on developing markets across all regions of the world. With smaller but still robust investment banking and asset management operations, UBS offers a full range of services for wealthy, often business-owning clients in emerging markets and remains a premier brand in global private banking.

Up-and-Coming Private Bank | Bank of Singapore

A product of the merger of ING’s Asian private banking operations with that of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Bank of Singapore has quickly become a major player in private banking in Asia and elsewhere. Managed independently, the bank has access to a wide range of banking and lending services through OCBC. With offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila and Dubai, Bank of Singapore has more than $50 billion in assets under management.

Islamic Private Bank | HSBC Amanah

Like other large financial institutions building out shariah-compliant private banking platforms, HSBC has faced challenges forging a profitable business in Islamic banking. HSBC Amanah restructured operations in 2012, closing offices in a number of markets. However, it continues to offer high-net-worth clients shariah-compliant products and services out of offices in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. HSBC is the largest issuer of sukuk—Islamic bonds—in the world.

Individuals Under 35 | Bank of America Global Wealth And Investment Management

Individuals under 35 years still want access to a relationship manager when needed, but increasingly they want their communications with advisers conducted digitally. Bank of America offers as broad a range of banking, lending and wealth management services as any institution in the world, and delivers it via a comprehensive digital platform.

Net Worth Under $1 million | Merrill Lynch

The minimum asset threshold for most private banks is $1 million, but increasingly many banks have offerings for different customer segments and sizes. The client account minimum required to work with a Merrill Lynch financial adviser is $250,000. Merrill’s investment advice paired with universal banking from Bank of America makes for a compelling offer to the so-called mass affluent.

Net Worth Between $1 million and $24.9 million | U.S. Trust

U.S. Trust is one of the oldest and largest wealth managers focused on serving high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth clients in the United States. Founded in 1853 as the first trust company, it was purchased by Charles Schwab in 2000, then sold to Bank of America in 2006. Although it had significantly lower account minimums in the late 1980s, U.S. Trust has refocused on higher-net-worth clients. With the resources of Bank of America to draw on, it provides a comprehensive package of wealth management, full banking and lending services.

Net Worth Of $25 Million Or More | Citi Private Bank

Commercial and investment banking, wealth management, tax and estate planning, philanthropy, lifestyle planning, concierge services: ultrahigh-net-worth clients expect it all to be accessible through their relationship manager. They also expect unique access to investment opportunities. Citi never lost sight of its strength as a global institution, with a presence across most geographies and asset classes, which is ideally suited to catering for very wealthy individuals with very complicated lives.

Intergenerational Wealth Management | Pictet

The more than 200-year-old partnership specializes in providing objective, conflict-free advice for family wealth planning, particularly in the context of family business owners. The third-largest Swiss private bank helps families craft organizational stuctures that protect wealth across generations but allow for changes in direction and the objectives of family members.

Discretionary Mandates | UBS Wealth Management

UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, has found its feet after a string of scandals during the financial crisis. The bank has significantly cut the size of its investment banking and trading operations, but with still-vast research and asset management resources, UBS has successfully driven its fee-based discretionary mandates business to new heights. The bank’s discretionary business has attracted huge inflows of assets after experiencing negative flows following the financial crisis.