Roundtable
August 2012
HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL
SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
For technology and systems vendors looking to access the opportunities in Asia’s wealth management industry, the first thing they need to do
is understand the differences they are
likely to encounter when doing business in the region.
This includes the approach of local
and regional banks and other financial institutions to the analysis and
decision-making process for any new
purchases relating to solutions.
This formed the basis for many of the
issues discussed by many of the leading, Switzerland-based technology and
software specialists at a roundtable
discussion which Hubbis hosted in Zurich in July 2012, around the concept
of how to ensure successful implementations in Asia.
In particular, it is important for vendors to be aware that the first thing
many local firms look at is price and
how to convince the business of the
need for the solution, rather than
what the product does or the benefits
it might bring.
For further information,
please contact:
Reto Merazzi
Managing Director
Head of Technology Solutions
Hubbis
T 852 2563 8955
E [email protected]
Equally vital for vendors to note is
the pitfall of simply trying to import a
Western-style solution into the Asian
market. Tied to this is the need to be
present on the ground in the relevant
local markets, in order to network and
maintain regular contact with clients.
Even in some cases, however, and especially in the least developed markets, identifying who has which role in
the decision-making process is challenging.
Establishing genuine partnerships is
also a key way for vendors to make
in-roads into the region, said some
practitioners, as the foundation for
sustainable businesses.
Other participants at the roundtable,
however, said it is important to gain
experience in markets directly before
starting to look for a partner. It might
then be possible to localise operations,
although this requires additional local
resources and a dedicated budget to
further promote the product and enable lean implementation.
Participants also discussed the scope
and potential for mobile banking within Asian wealth management, given
the different dynamics around the distribution of wealth in Asia and the demographics of wealthy clients.
Data was another topic of discussion,
given the inconsistent quality available
despite the importance of getting relevant data in order to do valuations.
In general, participants said they think
the greater take-up of technology in
Asian wealth management is inevitable, given the need for more comprehensive systems and data-support
software to meet the various regulatory requirements and deadlines.
Ultimately, however, a lot of success
around implementation will likely
come down to the engagement of new
software and technologies by the advisers themselves, linked in part to
differences in leadership styles and
cultures.
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
Chairperson
Reto Merazzi
Managing Director
Head of Technology Solutions
Hubbis
Participants
Markus Benz
Head of Global Software Partner
Business
SIX Financial Information
Dr Fred Davies
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Insa Investment Software
Memo Dener
Chief Executive Officer
axeed
Pascal Foehn
Head of Marketing and Sales
Avaloq
Thierry Zuppinger
Chief Executive Officer
Quartal Financial Solutions
Peter Staub
Chief Executive Officer
Allocare
Emma Page
Key Account Management &
Business Development
Starmind
Raphael Bianchi
Associate Partner
Solution Providers Management
Consulting
Gerd Klask
Sales Director
Quartal Financial Solutions
Nicholas Hacking
Director, Sales
ERI Bancaire
PROVIDING
SOLUTIONS IN ASIA
Reto Merazzi: What does the competitive landscape look like in Asia
from a technology and systems solutions point of view?
Dr. Fred Davies: When servicing the
local market in Asia, the main challenge comes in trying to convince
people to spend money on software.
There is generally a much greater reluctance than in Europe, for example,
to spend money in this area.
Nicholas Hacking: Our experience
in Asia, especially when dealing with
local banks and securities houses,
is that the first thing they look at is
price. It’s less about what the product
does or the benefits it will bring.
At the same time, it is important that
providers from Europe aren’t simply
seen as trying to import a Westernstyle solution into the Asian market,
with an attitude that comes across as
“knowing better”. It is a very different
market.
have found there to be a certain relationship in Asia between the IT and
business functions.
For the IT people, for example, it
seems their biggest worry is how to
explain to the business side that a previous estimate may change due to new
requirements or a change of scope.
Reto Merazzi: So what pricing techniques have proven to work well to
date in Asia, to potentially serve as a
benchmark?
Thierry Zuppinger: When it comes
Memo Dener: I agree that selling
to the issue of pricing, especially in
relation to implementation costs, we
software solutions in Asia is all about
negotiation, given the importance of
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
pricing. I have found that an effective way to deal with this is to offer
customers term licenses. These mean
we incur higher ongoing maintenance
costs but lower entry costs, as with
term licenses we have been able to
sign up customers very quickly.
It is also very important to be on the
ground, to be able to visit the customer once a month. This is also key to
increasing the potential for upselling.
Reto Merazzi
Hubbis
It is also very important to be on the
ground, to be able to visit the customer
once a month.
Pascal Foehn: In addition to the
challenges of pricing, understanding
our value-add in the Asian context and
ensuring IP rights are upheld, another
challenge in the region is the networking and being able to get close to the
right people who can help open doors
in new markets.
Avaloq is present with fully-fledged offices with sales, services and product
localisation capabilities in Singapore
and Hong Kong – two financial centres which are mature, sophisticated
and also, from a labour market perspective, comparable in certain ways
to Switzerland.
But in countries like China, Malaysia
and Indonesia, for example, to identi-
Pascal Foehn
Avaloq
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
fy who has which role in the decisionmaking process is challenging. This is
made more difficult given that every
country in Asia Pacific is completely
different.
MOBILE BANKING
Reto Merazzi: To what extent is
there scope for more development of
digital banking in Asia?
Raphael Bianchi: After being based
in Singapore for four years, until late
2011, I could see that the digital banking aspect of wealth management in
Asia was a hot topic, but not many
banks started to put in place concrete
initiatives.
From 2011 until today the larger banks
have set the priorities for digital banking higher.
When I look at Switzerland today, it reflects somehow the status of 2009/10
in Singapore.
There is interest in topics like mobile
and social banking but only projects
Emma Page
Starmind
around the classic e-banking take
place.
usually been initiated in the head office.
There is a lot more happening in retail banking, especially in the area of
payment- and location-based services.
Most banks follow the strategy of being a quick follower, but there is not
yet much to follow. I believe that first
innovative changes in digital banking
might be realised in Asia first, and will
later be introduced in Europe. This
would be a paradigm shift for European banks, where IT innovations have
Pascal Foehn: The potential is huge.
For the first time we will have in 2012
more mobile devices than banking accounts in the world.
In addition, it is interesting to note that
out of the 24 billion downloads of apps
from iTunes since it was launched, 8
billion of these are finance-related.
So customers want to access financial
services via mobile devices.
Our experience in Asia, especially when
dealing with local banks and securities
houses, is that the first thing they look at
is price. It’s less about what the product
does or the benefits it will bring.
Gerd Klask
Quartal Financial Solutions
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
Avaloq launched an innovative and integrated product line, the Avaloq Front
Suite, to address the key trend of mobile banking for client advisers, clients
and external asset managers in Asia.
Nicholas Hacking: It is important to
keep in mind that the distribution of
wealth is very different in Asia, with so
much more of it being held by younger
individuals than is the case in Europe.
My observations within the private
banking sector in Asia is that clients
are complaining about the banks not
offering mobile services, and some
bankers complain about their IT departments not allowing them to offer
it. So there is an element of mismatch
between the expectations of the endclient, and what is being offered to
them today.
PARTNERSHIPS
Emma Page: I believe it is key to
have a well-connected partner in Asia
to help open doors, especially for a
smaller company like Starmind.
Regardless of whether we are Swiss, in
each country we need to understand the
mentality of the people.
As we are currently not active in Asia,
we are unaware of the best route to
market. Is it best to establish a local
subsidiary or to partner with a local,
well-established Asian partner. We
are currently considering our options,
keen to learn from other experiences.
Raphael Bianchi: We cooperate with
several providers which want to set
foot in Singapore. One thing we have
noticed is that unless a company is
physically on the ground in Asia and
able to show off its brand regularly
and consistently, then the chance of
developing their business is limited.
It is key to have a representation in
the country and to build up its own
network.
It is expected that a vendor has a local presence in the country while also
having in mind that all Asian markets
are different and require local knowledge.
Gerd Klask: Understanding the mindset and decision-making process in
the local cultures in various markets in
Asia is key for European vendors.
For example, clients in India make decisions in totally different ways from
what happens in Singapore or Hong
Dr Fred Davies
Insa Investment Software
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
Kong, and also from what happens in
China. So bringing a Western mindset
won’t work.
Memo Dener: I think it is necessary
to gain experience in markets directly
before starting to look for a partner.
Reto Merazzi: So does this mean
that being a Swiss-based vendor is increasing tough in accessing opportunities in Asia?
Memo Dener: Regardless of whether
we are Swiss, in each country we need
to understand the mentality of the
people. For example, for individuals
in the Singapore wealth management
sector, the output is more important
than any functionality we can offer via
our software.
So when we started to explain about
the functionality we could offer in
terms of rebalancing, there was little
interest. But when we started to come
out with reports to show what we can
deliver in terms of output and what
they can send to customers, there was
a lot of interest. Everything else is an
add-on.
Peter Staub: I agree that it is important to start off by showing the results
in terms of reports, but this is the
same situation as in Europe. Then it is
a lot easier to successfully present the
software functionality.
Unless a company is physically on the
ground in Asia and able to show off its
brand regularly and consistently, then
the chance of developing their business
is limited.
However, we soon realised that it was
a mistake to not have a dedicated
team onsite. It is not possible to run
a project in Asia without an onsite
project manager. So even for relatively
small implementations – relative to a
core banking migration, for example –
we still need to have a full-time onsite
presence of three to five people.
In terms of developing a long-term
workforce on the ground in Asia, we
are now looking for people who will be
based in Hong Kong or Singapore for
one or two years to offer support to
clients post-implementation as well as
to support new projects.
Reto Merazzi: So once initial projects have been done successfully, how
can vendors move to the next level of
engagement with the market and in a
more strategic way?
Pascal Foehn: It is necessary to localise, although doing this through the
local branch of an international bank
is very different that through a purely
local player.
Our approach will be to forge partnerships in Asia to be able to access the
local markets.
Thierry Zuppinger: Our client base
in Asia mainly consists of the Hong
Kong and Singapore subsidiaries of
two major Swiss banks, which meant
that with some similarities with our
work for them in their home market,
we did the initial implementation in
Asia by using our own resources from
Switzerland.
Markus Benz
SIX Financial Information
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
RMs still mostly do not like to use
technology, and therefore do not know
the benefits it can bring.
I think there is therefore more potential in other countries in South-east
Asia, such as Indonesia, especially
as the numbers of wealthy individuals with onshore wealth is much more
significant. It is in these types of markets where I think there will be more
growth.
ENGAGEMENT OF
TECHNOLOGY BY
ADVISERS
After our successful expansion with
Swiss banks to the Asia Pacific region
we achieved localisation by targeting
international banks headquartered in
Singapore and Hong Kong.
Our local team in Singapore has been
ramped up with additional local resources with a dedicated budget to
further promote the product localisation and to come up with a local best
practice to enable lean implementation.
Doing this successfully also requires
several senior individuals on the
ground.
We have been quite lucky, especially
in Singapore, in terms of staff staying loyal. In some cases this has been
five years and more. This is also partly
because we have made the effort to
involve them in the culture of the firm
without imposing it on them.
Dr. Fred Davies: One of the challenges in relation to staffing Asian
operations, especially in somewhere
like Singapore or Hong Kong, is that
management salaries for expats are
tremendously high – probably double
or triple the amount that companies
would be paying back home.
Reto Merazzi: What differences are
you seeing terms of what advisers
in Asia are looking for in comparison
with in Switzerland – especially in relation to their engagement of systems
as part of their interaction with their
clients?
Pascal Foehn: An additional observation I had as a former HNWI client
adviser and having worked in wealth
management in Asia Pacific is that the
leadership culture from a desk head in
Europe is different from what exists in
Asia.
Nicholas Hacking: We have always
kept our development in Europe, partly due to our desire to protect our IP.
But in terms of specifying and understanding what the market needs, we
prefer to hire local resources – and
often people who have worked in local banks.
This then requires us to constantly
work on ensuring there is a lot of interaction between our people in Asia
and our staff in Europe.
We do this by flying people to different offices, to spend time in the other
locations, to make sure there is a mix
of cultures.
Memo Dener
axeed
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
Nicolas Hacking
ERI Bancaire
Markus Benz: Additionally, as Asia
increases its regulatory requirements,
we have a greater need for technology solutions to be compliant. Comprehensive systems and data support
is necessary in order to meet these
regulatory deadlines.
This challenge actually presents a
good opportunity for vendors with solutions which can help the banks and
other wealth management firms meet
their requirements.
Raphael Bianchi
Raphael Bianchi: I agree. More and
more responsibility is being placed on
RMs from a regulatory and compliance
perspective.
Technology could support the RM, or
realistically the RM’s assistants, in the
daily work – for example, tools for
individualised reporting and an RM
workbench which provides aggregated
client data and CRM information could
make the daily work more efficient.
Combined with built-in alerts and busi-
ness rules, technology helps to manage the regulatory burdens as well.
However, RMs still mostly do not like
to use technology, and therefore do
not know the benefits it can bring.
It requires leadership from the desk
heads, as well as proper training to
address the will and skill.
Gerd Klask: While I agree that the
regulatory environment is in favour of
technology vendors from one point of
Getting the relevant data is one of the
biggest issues for everybody in order
to do valuations, and provide sufficient
reporting, yet this is not easy to
achieve.
Solution Providers Management
Consulting
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION IN ASIA
view, we nevertheless need to understand how the regulations will be applied. Given that labour costs are a lot
lower in Asia, it is crucial to determine
whether meeting regulatory requirements will be approached by the development of new solutions or through
simply hiring more people.
THE VALUE OF DATA
Reto Merazzi: How important is the
role, use and application of data in
Asian wealth management?
Thierry Zuppinger
Quartal Financial Solutions
Thierry Zuppinger: In the niche in
which we operate, which is related
to commission and fee management,
there is not much standardisation yet,
even in Europe. However, we have
found that ensuring a certain quality
of data is difficult as the availability of
this data is limited.
Markus Benz: As a data provider,
we have experienced high demand for
data in Asia. However, market entry
becomes a challenge if the application
is not available to use the data.
We see a need within the private
banking business to manage a large
universe of equity stocks with local
coverage. Therefore, the challenge
for us is to be able to go beyond just
meeting 80% to 90% of the requirements by overcoming the global and
local data coverage barriers to provide
a complete solution.
Memo Dener: Data is interesting
for advisers as well as for customers.
While there is so much data already in
a portfolio management system, ultimately it needs to be brought together and consolidated on to a platform
to provide a quick daily overview of
whatever is relevant on an individual
basis. This can come from data which
exists in existing systems instead of
buying a new solution.
Peter Staub: The situation is also
made more complex because of the
growth of family offices and the existence of special assets such as private
equity, hedge funds and real estate in
their portfolios, which are more difficult to valuate.
Family offices normally work with multiple custodians, so they want to collect, consolidate and valuate all the
data to view it on one platform. This
requires market data and functionality
in the software to calculate fair values
for certain types of instruments, posing another challenge.
Peter Staub: Getting the relevant
data is one of the biggest issues for
everybody in order to do valuations,
and provide sufficient reporting, yet
this is not easy to achieve.
As an industry, wealth management is
actually a long way from industrialisation, both in Europe and in Asia.
Peter Staub
Allocare
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
9
CONTACT DETAILS AND PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS
Peter Staub
Chief Executive Officer
Allocare
Dr Fred Davies
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Insa Investment Software
Memo Dener
Chief Executive Officer
axeed
Peter Staub has led Allocare since September 2004. He is also responsible
for sales, marketing and alliances. He
joined the company in mid-2002 after spending more than 10 years with
PricewaterhouseCoopers as Management Consultant in treasury and asset
management. Software development
company Allocare AG was founded in
2001 and is part of the Complementa
group, which belongs to State Street
Corporation.
Fred Davies has a first degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham
and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Fred
spent 15 years with Sperry Univac in
sales and management, finally being
vice president and general manager
of all English-speaking countries outside the US as well as Eastern Europe,
Russia and China. After Sperry Univac,
Fred was president of a major Swiss
International industrial group. Fred
established Insa in 1994 in Zurich to
develop and market portfolio management systems. Insa has grown over
the years and has a large customer
base of banks, institutional clients and
independent asset managers. Insa is
also very active in the Balkan countries and has an impressive portfolio
of banking clients. Insa opened an office in Singapore 18 months ago and
is rapidly expanding its client base in
South-east Asia.
Memo Dener has more than 20 years‘
experience in the financial services industry in Europe, Asia and the Middle
East. He is the owner and chief executive officer of axeed, responsible for
the global distribution of finance and
banking business intelligence applications in the fields of bank platforms
for optimised output and information
management. Memo’s previous roles
include: head of solutions, financial
services industry, at Isolutions, where
he was responsible for the global distribution of finance and bank applications in the fields of CRM/xRM/DMS/
Sharepoint/bank platforms for optimised output and information management; head of solution sales at
Expersoft Systems, responsible for
the worldwide distribution of wealth
management system PM1e; and, also
at Expersoft, head of project management and consulting, responsible for
all projects worldwide in the financial
services industry. Memo was also a
member of the board at Expersoft.
Contact details:
E [email protected]
Contact details:
E [email protected]
Contact details:
E [email protected]
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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CONTACT DETAILS AND PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS
Markus Benz
Head of Global Software Partner
Business
SIX Financial Information
Emma Page
Key Account Management & Business
Development
Starmind
Raphael Bianchi
Associate Partner
Solution Providers Management
Consulting
Markus Benz serves as head of global
software partner Business at SIX Financial Information. He is responsible
for all SIX Financial Information software partners throughout the whole
Emma Page held various sales and
business development roles during her
nine years at Microsoft in Switzerland.
Besides managing Microsoft’s authorised distribution channel, she most
recently transformed and lead their
inside sales organisation. Before joining Starmind, Emma was part of IBM
Switzerland’s software group, were
she managed the largest software
resellers and drove business development for Midmarket, Application Specific Licensing (ASL) and Cloud Computing. She holds a BSc in Business
Administration with Major in General
Management from the University of
Applied Science in Zurich, and is currently enrolled at the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland
studying for her MSc in Business Administration with Major in Innovation
Management.
Raphael Bianchi is associate partner at
Solution Providers Management Consulting, an established Swiss management consultancy advising its clients
in the development of strategies and
their operative realisation as well as
supporting their technical implementation. Raphael started his consulting
career in his own company, providing
services and decision support systems
based on artificial intelligence. In
2004 he joined Solution Providers in
Switzerland as a consultant, and relocated 2007 to Singapore to establish
its business in Asia, where he spent
four years in the role of co-head Asia.
In 2012, Raphael relocated back to
Switzerland. Raphael studied Economics at the University of St. Gallen and
received his Master degree in Economics and Information Technology
at the University of Zurich in autumn
of 2003. He is married with twins and
passionate about his family, soccer
and hiking.
partner lifecycle. This includes assessment of possible partners, contract
negotiation, relationship management
and escalation management. With
more than 30 years’ experience in
the financial sector and his extensive
knowledge of the banking industry,
Markus ensures that SIX Financial Information partners get the most out of
their solution with SFI data. A former
banker, working in the securities business at Credit Suisse, he is well-versed
with how the banking and securities
markets operate.
Contact details:
E [email protected]
Contact details:
E [email protected]
Contact details:
E [email protected]
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
11
CONTACT DETAILS AND PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS
Pascal Foehn
Head of Marketing and Sales
Avaloq
Thierry Zuppinger
Chief Executive Officer
Quartal Financial Solutions
Pascal Foehn is head of marketing
& sales HQ in Avaloq. He joined the
company in 2010 and is responsible
for sales support activities, business
intelligence, and marketing and communication. He worked for more than
12 years for a large Swiss bank in
Hong Kong and Switzerland in leading positions in global marketing and
sales. Prior to joining Avaloq, he acted
as a HNWI client adviser, managing
an international client book of more
than CHF300 million. He holds a PhD
in Marketing from the University of Zurich.
Thierry Zuppinger is the chief executive officer at Quartal Financial Solutions, a leading provider for commission and fee management solutions to
the wealth management, asset management and fund industries, with
more than 50 clients worldwide. Thierry has a background in finance and
economics and has studied management at HEC in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He has been with Quartal for more
than six years and has successfully
contributed to the company’s recent
growth in Asia.
Contact details:
E [email protected]
Contact details:
E [email protected]
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
12
CONTACT DETAILS AND PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS
Gerd Klask
Sales Director
Quartal Financial Solutions
Nicholas Hacking
Director, Sales
ERI Bancaire
As part of the executive team at Quartal Financial Solutions, and in his role
as sales and marketing director, Gerd
Klask is responsible for the worldwide
sales, marketing and business development activities. Gerd has a track record of more than 25 years of relevant
experience within the financial services industry, including senior executive
roles as managing director at Diebold,
SunGard and CSC in Switzerland. He
holds a master’s degree in computer
science.
Nicholas Hacking is currently a director with ERI Bancaire. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Nicholas has overall
responsibility for ERI’s sales activities
internationally, and is also responsible
for its operations in the US / Carib-
Contact details:
E [email protected]
bean, the Middle East and Asia Pacific,
as well as the UK and Channel Islands.
He has been with ERI for almost 15
years. ERI’s software application, the
Olympic Banking System, is specifically designed for financial institutions,
especially in the private banking,
wealth management, fund and investment management areas. Prior to joining ERI, Nicholas worked for several
IT companies, and in client-facing and
operational roles in the wealth management operations of several international banks.
Contact details:
E [email protected]
RETO MERAZZI | MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | T 852 2563 8955 | E [email protected]
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