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This news service recently sat down with a Singapore-based wealth management business that has been formed by a group bringing varied experiences from law, investment and private banking. Farro argues that its strength lies in the fact that it aligns itself more tightly with what clients actually want.
Serving the needs of ultra-high net worth individuals and
families and the businesses they run requires years of
experience, and such clients are most receptive to people who’ve
got their hands dirty working in this space. Step forward
Singapore-based Farro Capital.
Farro, a multi-family office with more than $1 billion of assets
under management was established in the latter part of 2022. It
took its name from an ancient grain that dates back many
millennia and still thrives today.
“We see ourselves as an extension of a family and see ourselves
in this way when doing investments, structuring, legacy planning
and other tasks,” Hemant Tucker, co-founder and chief executive,
told WealthBriefingAsia in an interview. This
publication met Tucker and his colleagues in the firm’s Singapore
office.
There is a problem in parts of the banking and financial services
sector over a general lack of “alignment of interest” between
client and the firms – a point that Farro is trying to address,
Tucker continued.
Tucker spoke alongside Manish Tibrewal, co-founder, and Mahesh
Kumar, co-founder and managing partner. Tucker certainly knows
the financial landscape and its pressures. He has 23 years’
banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking
experience. Among his roles was that of MD, market head for
global South Asia and Middle East and global head of
non-resident Indians at Barclays Wealth. He has also worked at
UBS, ABN AMRO and BNP Paribas.
Tibrewal, meanwhile, was CEO at Maitri, the fund manager and
multi-family office in Singapore. He has over 19 years of
experience working in various leadership roles across India,
Africa, and Singapore at the multi-billion-dollar Tolaram group.
Kumar, who was a tax partner at Withers Worldwide, is experienced
in areas such as cross-border structures for funds, investments
and business operations. He also advises on multi-generational
succession, wealth planning strategies as well as structures for
family offices, trusts and cross-border philanthropy.
What clients want
With all this experience across multiple fields, Tucker said
Farro can cut to the heart of what clients want. Much of being a
relationship manager in 2023 is about the ability to change
and keep learning – something that applies to everyone.
Farro is all about building a “culture” that is the sum of the
people in the firm and what they bring to the table, he said.
Tibrewal said wealth managers must increasingly focus on
how Asia is not just a big driver of new wealth, but is
witnessing a large amount of NextGen wealth transfer.
Recent dramas in the US and Swiss banking industry have only
reinforced the case for unbiased advice, Tibrewal continued. “We
remove [risk] and we bring independent risk management,” he said.
Another issue is that while investment bankers have knowledge
about specific financial topics – often superbly so – they aren’t
necessarily experienced in handling the complex wealth needs of
families, he said.
Farro charges fees as a percentage of client assets and is
structured as a private company limited by shares. It has a team
of 15 people.
As for Farro’s home turf, Singapore has become the best place in
the world to hold this sort of family wealth, Kumar said,
reflecting on his experience at Withers. However, a problem that
families have wrestled with is their limited ability to “scale
up” certain operations where necessary – hence the appeal of an
MFO.
Asked later about the benefits of Singapore, the firm told this
publication: “When one looks for an ideal location for setting up
a family office, Singapore checks all the boxes: infrastructure
to red carpet welcome from government agencies, and with growing
geopolitical tensions, it will only benefit and cement its place
as a leading global family office hub. We don’t see a shakeout in
the foreseeable future as Asia will keep creating massive wealth
for the decades to come due to its demographics, and Singapore is
well poised to capture a big chunk of that.”
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