PHL's nouveau riche guns for riskier investments – BDO Private Bank

The number of the new wealthy Filipino is growing and they are turning to riskier and more sophisticated class of asset, officials of BDO Private Bank Inc. said Wednesday. 

 

“There's an increasing number of emerging wealthy... These are businessmen, professionals with really high compensation, retirees and they are more into risky assets, unlike the traditionally wealthy and landed,” said Stella Cabalatungan, executive vice president at BDO Private Bank, which currently handles P230 billion in assets. 

 

Cabalatungan said customers are shifting to sophisticated products that include equities, real estate, trust and even art. 

 

“Now, they don't just buy equities to play... but for long-term dividends. There's growing interest in real estate, small businesses and art... Yes, art,” she said. 

 

The Philippines “emerging” wealthy, composed of a relatively younger age bracket, are more experimental when it comes to investments. 

 

“We see more younger investors going into the market,” said Rafael Ayuste Jr., senior vice president at BDO Private Bank. “You see the acceleration of the risk profile has been quite fast, and we see that moving faster even.”

 

Ayuste attributes the attitude to the wealth of information a prospective investor can get from the internet as well as classes in investment now being taught in some schools. 

 

As Filipinos become more informed, they further diversify their investments. 

 

BDO Private Bank acts as a “one-stop shop” for clients by tapping other financial institutions' products and allowing “access to a wide-array of domestic and offshore investment products and services,” said Ayuste. 

 

Clients are becoming more specific in their desire for wealth creation and preservation, prompting wealth managers to create bespoke structures, he added. – VS, GMA News