Allfunds Asia and Quinlan & Associates have co-published a thought leadership report that examines the wealthtech landscape in Hong Kong and Singapore and how financial institutions are leveraging wealthtech solutions to capture new market opportunities. Titled Rich Pickings: Unpacking the WealthTech Revolution in Hong Kong and Singapore, the study looks at the rising demand from end investors for more accessible, affordable, and personalized digital wealth experiences and how financial institutions are responding to these needs. It draws upon responses from 64 C-suite and senior wealth executives in Hong Kong and Singapore to understand financial institutions’ key strategic priorities, outsourcing preferences, and partnership approaches when adopting WealthTech solutions.
Hong Kong and Singapore retain their status as key wealth management centres and remain well-positioned to capitalize on growth in personal investable assets
Hong Kong and Singapore are key wealth management centres in the Asia-Pacific region, with total wealth held by the domestic adult population of $3.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, respectively, in 2024. While the majority of adults fall under the “mass retail” category, with wealth below $1 million, a significant portion are still considered financially well-off when compared to global standards.
“The mass retail segment accounts for roughly 30% of the total wealth pool in both Hong Kong and Singapore, with an estimated combined value nearing USD 2 trillion,” said David Perez De Albeniz, head of Asia at Allfunds. “As leading cross-border wealth destinations, both markets are also well-positioned to benefit from the growing pool of personal investable assets in other jurisdictions, particularly from China, which is forecast to reach USD 103 trillion by the end of 2033.”
“With opportunities emerging both domestically and abroad, we see tremendous, continued growth potential for the wealth management sector in Hong Kong and Singapore,” added Benjamin Quinlan, CEO and managing partner of Quinlan & Associates.
Rising demand for WealthTech solutions and presence of digital native disruptors driving digitalization among traditional financial institutions
Traditional wealth management models face several challenges across the customer journey, including limited accessibility, high costs, low levels of automation, and a lack of personalization. With relationship managers often responsible for hundreds – sometimes even thousands – of clients, service delivery is frequently stretched and suboptimal.
“These pain points are increasingly driving investors toward digital wealth management solutions,” added Albeniz. “While face-to-face interactions remain important, investors in Hong Kong and Singapore have significantly increased their use of digital channels over the past two years.”
The study found that investors in Hong Kong and Singapore are increasingly relying on digital wealth management channels and becoming more comfortable with emerging tools, with 93% of Hong Kong investors and 85% of Singapore investors having accessed wealth management services through digital channels in the past two years. Against this backdrop, digital native disruptors have entered the market with highly competitive propositions, prompting incumbent players to accelerate their adoption of wealthtech solutions.
“Digital-native disruptors, such as independent robo-advisors and neobrokers, are showcasing remarkable growth, driven by the strong service propositions relative to more traditional peers,” said Quinlan. “Recognizing both the emerging market opportunities and the increasing competition, traditional financial institutions have increasingly been embracing wealthtech, either by launching direct-to-consumer platforms or by empowering their relationship managers with digital tools to enhance client engagement.”
Financial institutions engage multiple specialized vendors to meet business needs
When it comes to acquiring wealthtech capabilities across the value chain, institutions in Hong Kong prefer to outsource middle- and back-office functions to external vendors (21% in Hong Kong compared to 11% in Singapore), as compared to those in Singapore who lean more toward in-house development (21% in Singapore compared to 19% in Hong Kong). The study found that institutions favouring in-house development, or a combination of both approaches, tend to demonstrate higher wealthtech adoption maturity compared to those relying solely on outsourcing. There is also a gap between the perceived importance and actual adoption of wealthtech solutions across the value chain, possibly linked to a strong preference among financial institutions to retain core wealth capabilities in-house while outsourcing supporting functions.
When selecting solution providers, respondents generally favoured standalone offerings from technology companies over white-labelled solutions provided by their peers. Despite challenges such as integration complexity and cost control, many institutions prefer to engage multiple specialized vendors, citing difficulties in finding a single vendor capable of meeting all their specific needs.
“Wealthtech will be key for financial institutions as they respond to the market’s evolving demands,” said Sebastien Chaker, head of Hong Kong at Allfunds. “Looking ahead, we expect increased collaboration between financial institutions and wealthtech solution providers to fully capture the opportunities ahead,” added Max Toh, head of Digital Wealth Solutions (Asia) at Allfunds. “We are proud to be part of this journey by offering our wealthtech engines to clients, alongside our core fund platform services.”