DBS Targets S$1 Trillion Wealth Assets by 2030, Adds 600 Staff

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBSDY), Singapore's largest lender, is aiming to increase its wealth and retail assets to more than S$1 trillion ($775 billion) by 2030 as it accelerates its expansion across major Asian markets. The bank would need to grow those assets from S$632 billion at the end of 2025, a target that could move DBS closer to global wealth-management firms UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), which each oversee more than $1 trillion in client funds. DBS is pursuing a wider customer base than traditional private banks, including everyday millionaires and less affluent investors across emerging Asian markets. Analysts have said the bank may also benefit as China's tighter controls on capital outflows encourage wealthy regional clients to favor Singapore over Hong Kong. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with DBSDY. Is DBSDY fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. DBS plans to hire at least 600 relationship managers and platform engineers by the end of 2028, open 18 new wealth centers and upgrade 36 existing locations across Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. Shee Tse Koon, the bank's group head of consumer banking and wealth management, described the expansion as possibly the largest physical wealth buildout undertaken by an Asian bank. DBS said 58% of its wealth assets are actively invested in financial products, which represents a record level for the bank, while return on equity at its private-banking division is above 70%. Wealth assets have also been growing at double-digit rates even though relationship-manager headcount increased only at a single-digit pace over the past several years, suggesting the business has been generating strong productivity. DBS is also preparing to launch a redesigned AI-powered wealth platform in mid-August that will provide mass-market customers with personalized investment recommendations, chatbot support and the ability to execute trades without human involvement after giving consent. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., a Singapore-based lender, has separately announced plans to increase annual technology spending above S$1 billion, hire 600 additional relationship managers and introduce an AI-powered avatar banking app within a year. United Overseas Bank Ltd., another Singapore-based lender, is also benefiting from the city-state's growing position as a global wealth hub. With Singapore encouraging banks to invest in artificial intelligence and retrain employees, investors may view DBS's hiring, wealth-center expansion and automated investment platform as an effort to capture a larger share of Asia's expanding wealth-management market. View Comments