Yuri Bender

The change in focus at the Fund Forum in Monaco last month was striking. At previous gatherings, the audience of European asset and wealth managers listened to panels highlighting ESG investments and emerging markets. But, in 2024, these once in-vogue topics have been replaced by geopolitics and artificial intelligence. “Family offices have largely fallen out of love with emerging markets, due to underperformance of EM stocks — led by Chinese stocks — since 2021,” explained Edmund Shing, global…

William Chow recalls his schooldays in the UK in the 1990s as he plots the investment strategy of Raffles Family Office from the 23rd floor of The Center, one of Hong Kong’s signature skyscrapers. The deputy group chief executive of the company, which handles the wealth of some of Asia’s richest families, befriended Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea and England international footballer, at Brentwood School in Essex. “Frank would always take a look at how I did my maths homework,” Chow remember…

After the shock of invasion, the country’s lawyers are looking to the future

There are only a handful of serious financial institutions left, but a buzz surrounds them

Uneasy truce in conflict and ongoing sanctions see fund houses look to other emerging markets

As Kazakhstan’s economy grows, some are concerned at the power of its elites and the competing influences of Russia and China

The veteran investor sees positive factors in all fear-fuelled regions

Malaysia’s growing number of wealthy families are finally being taken seriously by the region’s banks

The role of Swiss private banks has changed beyond recognition, writes Yuri Bender

The rock star and political activist says fast-growing African markets should not be ignored