What’s behind the rise of Hong Kong’s boutique banking firms?
From Hong Kong to London, industry superstars disenchanted by red tape and cost-cutting are leaving big name institutions to set up more nimble companies – and taking their loyal clientele with them
Where do you start if you want to track down Asia’s leading banking rainmakers? If you rattled off the names of Wall Street powerhouses like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, you would be only partly correct.
From Hong Kong to London, a rising number of industry superstars disenchanted by a seemingly unending tide of post-crisis red tape, cost-cutting and stagnating paychecks are leaving big name financial institutions to set up smaller, more nimble “boutique” firms, and taking their loyal clientele with them.
In Asia, industry insiders say these smaller outfits are steadily encroaching on the dominance of the so-called “bulge bracket” banks – marquee lenders that cross-sell services – because clients value their deep relationship with the founders and the customised services the companies offer.
A majority of the breakaway firms are in the merger and acquisitions (M&A) advisory space, while the rest focus on a wide range of areas from wealth management to debt funding.
Hong Kong’s burgeoning number of such financial services boutiques came to the fore this week following a report about a new boutique investment advisory firm co-founded by Teresa Teague, a high-profile former Goldman Sachs partner based in the city, and fellow banker Jonathan Bond, the son of former HSBC chairman John Bond.
