The Evolution of Wealth Management: A Conversation with Gabriel Chan
In the dynamic landscape of wealth management, where clients demand more than just access to investment products, the role of an expert like Gabriel Chan, Managing Director and Head of Investment Services at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, is both pivotal and transformative. Chan's insights into the industry's evolution, particularly in Greater China, offer a unique perspective on how wealth management is not just about product access but also about advisory discipline, portfolio relevance, and institutional-quality solutions.
A Universal Banking Model with an Open Architecture
One of the key strengths of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, according to Chan, lies in its universal banking model. This model allows the bank to combine the breadth of a universal banking group with the selectivity of an open architecture platform. By tapping into the wider group's capabilities, the bank can offer clients access to sophisticated and complex solutions that might not be available through traditional channels.
For instance, the bank's European real estate platform is a testament to this. For clients interested in investing in European real estate, BNP Paribas can help with sourcing, managing, funding, and eventually exiting those investments. This level of integration and access is a significant advantage, particularly for clients seeking diverse and complex investment opportunities.
The Importance of People and Product Knowledge
What sets BNP Paribas Wealth Management apart, in Chan's view, is its substantial investment-services capability in Asia. The bank has built a strong team of investment professionals alongside its relationship managers, indicating a serious commitment to advisory depth. This team stability is crucial, as private clients do not want to meet a different specialist each time they interact with the bank. Consistency helps build trust, especially in long-term advisory relationships.
The bank's model reflects the need to combine specialist depth with broader platform awareness. Senior hires often bring experience from institutional markets, while graduates go through a two-year rotation across asset classes before taking on permanent roles. This approach aims to avoid silos and ensure that each adviser understands enough to identify when another solution may be relevant, bringing the right specialist into the conversation.
The Discipline of Selectivity in Private Assets
In the realm of private assets, Chan sees a broad industry push to gather more assets, especially across private assets, alternatives, and DPM. However, he notes that firms are taking very different approaches. BNP Paribas Wealth Management, for instance, has offered private assets to clients since 1998, but the bank places significant emphasis on track record and due diligence, rather than simply building a broad product shelf.
Chan is particularly cautious about liquidity. Asian clients often value liquidity, but he warns that semi-liquid structures can create misunderstandings if the underlying investment horizon does not match the client's liquidity expectations. Similarly, he takes a measured view on secondaries, emphasizing the need for advisers to understand whether a secondary fund is genuinely adding value or simply providing a temporary exit route.
Keeping DPM In-House for UHNW Clients
Another area of divergence is how banks approach discretionary portfolio management (DPM). In Asia, many clients remain less accustomed to paying explicit fees for investment management services, and transactional capital markets activity can be more commercially attractive in strong markets. Some banks have responded by outsourcing DPM to asset management arms or external managers.
Chan, however, sees this as a shorter-term approach. BNP Paribas Wealth Management keeps DPM in-house within wealth management, despite the strength of the group's asset management business. For ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients, who require customized service, access to the manager, and mandates that can evolve with their circumstances, in-house DPM is essential.
Key Priorities: Greater China, Private Assets, and AI
BNP Paribas Wealth Management's priorities are shaped by Greater China growth, private assets, and the practical use of technology. The first priority is client geography, with Greater China identified as a growth area. The bank sees continuous wealth creation in the region, particularly in Taiwan, which is benefiting from the development of AI.
This also changes how advice must be delivered. Clients need communication that reflects how they prefer to understand investment products. Over the past 18 to 24 months, the bank has seen stronger results when the same product is presented in a more relevant and accessible way.
The second priority is private assets. BNP Paribas' acquisition of AXA Investment Managers has strengthened the group's private alternatives capabilities, giving the wealth management platform access to more proprietary solutions. The third priority is AI, with immediate applications in translation, marketing material, portfolio analysis, and lifecycle management.
The Future of Wealth Management in Asia
Looking ahead, Chan sees the future of wealth management in Asia being shaped by two forces: generational transition and more practical use of AI. Generational transition is becoming more important as many Asian families have historically left wealth transfer and legacy planning until late. Next-generation clients are more tech-savvy, globally exposed, and demanding in terms of speed.
This creates pressure on the advisory model. The traditional 60-40 portfolio is no longer the default answer for every client, and no single relationship manager can be expected to understand every asset class or product in depth. The platform needs to equip advisers with better tools and better specialist support.
AI is part of that shift. BNP Paribas Wealth Management is developing internal AI capabilities in a controlled way, with accuracy and privacy as key considerations. One practical use case is lifecycle management, where AI can help analyze large numbers of client portfolios, identify gaps, incorporate preferences such as liquidity needs, and match relevant ideas from the platform.
A Personal Journey
When Chan reflects on his career, he tends to split it into two chapters. The first was his time as an equity research analyst in investment banking, where the pace was fast, the scrutiny was intense, and every investment idea had to stand up to challenge. The second has been about leadership, management, and building platforms, first as Head of Equity Research in APAC on the sales side at BNP Paribas, and later in wealth management.
One of the experiences he still talks about with real energy is Macau gaming. He was among the first analysts to cover the sector in the early 2000s, long before Cotai had taken shape and before the market became the regional powerhouse it is known as today. For Chan, it was one of those rare assignments where you could actually see a story unfolding in front of you, not just model it on a spreadsheet.
The irony was that, as the covering analyst, he could not invest in the stocks himself. He watched the sector's rise from the sidelines, including the transformation of Galaxy from a construction materials company into a major gaming name. Then there is the Manchester United story, which Chan tells with the kind of smile that makes it clear this one still means a lot to him. As a long-time supporter, he found himself in the unusual position of working on something connected to the club's listing process, which eventually gave him the chance to visit Old Trafford and meet Sir Alex Ferguson. It was one of those moments where work suddenly became personal in the best possible way.
