FACE VALUE | Ishrat Kiyani
less focus on recruiting wealth advisors,
and training and reskilling them as
investment opportunities lay in offshore
destinations where there was no need
for local relationship managers (RMs) and
advisors. All that the wealth manager had
was a product suite, which he would sell to
his clients. That trend is becoming extinct
as wealth managers are now refocusing
internally on local markets.
Going forward, I believe, the wealth
management business in the GCC is
well-placed despite what’s going on in
the global and regional markets. But 2016
will be a tough year for all businesses
including the wealth management
industry.
alone. As a consequence of this, we’ve
been able to reduce the ratio of clients
to RMs, thus giving them more time to
broaden and deepen the relationship with
their clients.
How would you describe Mashreq
Gold’s growth so far in terms of AUM,
client segments? What sectors have you
favored historically?
The AUMs have grown in line with our
expectations and whilst I cannot share
the exact numbers, we have grown by
mid-single digit during the last 12 months.
Regarding asset choice, we believe
there’s no one-size-fits-all concept since
asset class selection depends on each
individual’s needs and goals.
One of the issues in this part of the world is
that there’re no robust, independent regulation
related to mis-selling of financial products,
unlike many mature economies
How are you addressing the current
market needs?
Clients are now looking for simplicity,
clarity, alignment of interest and someone
they can work with and trust. We believe
it’s important to do need-based selling
rather than product push which happens
quite often in this region. We believe in
establishing a long-term relationship with
clients, understand their