By FRANCOIS MONNET

CREDIT Suisse has proven itself to be a safe haven for our clients around the globe in the recent market turmoil. In a period of industry change, Credit Suisse's clear strategy and integrated business model provides a decisive competitive advantage. We are committed to our integrated business model which is remarkably well suited to serving the long-term total financial needs of entrepreneurs and wealthy families.

As one of the best capitalised global banks and thanks to our resilient strategy, Credit Suisse has managed through the storms without diluting its capital base. In wealth management, we have attracted many new clients in the first nine months of this year and have received 49 billion Swiss francs (S$61.8 billion) in net new assets from existing and new clients globally, underscoring the strength of our franchise and the trust placed in us by our clients.

In Asia, we are dedicated to serving our wealth management clients with our integrated bank platform and have continued to grow our private banking team. In the first nine months of this year, we expanded our team of relationship managers and investment and portfolio specialists to support and serve our clients better.

In Asia, many private banking clients are entrepreneurs or first or second generation owners of businesses whose wealth is tied to their business and real estate. Ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) are also the natural beneficiaries of our integrated bank business platform as they have complex financial requirements beyond classic private banking services.

These increasingly higher levels of client needs are giving rise to a concept we term 'Private Investment Banking', which requires us to deliver sophisticated solutions leveraging our capabilities in investment banking and asset management, to help our clients protect and grow their wealth over the long term.

At Credit Suisse, we focus on helping these clients successfully handle complex transitional phases in their professional, business and personal lives. We manage not only clients' assets but also their liabilities and illiquid assets such as real estate or large equity stakes, as well as meeting their corporate needs. In many cases, our private banking clients have a wide range of quasi-institutional investment banking needs, while family business and succession planning via trust formation is also important for them. They need a global bank to assist in the development of their business and in growing their wealth through the entire economic cycle.

Single point of entry

Each of our relationship managers represents a single point of entry for the delivery of the full range of solutions across our integrated bank. We bring together cross-divisional teams of bankers from private banking, investment banking and asset management to meet our clients and customise holistic financial solutions for their needs as both private investors and entrepreneurs. In private banking, we have a dedicated team that provides customised solutions on how to finance, manage, optimise and protect the UHNWI clients' private and corporate assets and operates as an interface with our investment banking business.

We have more than 1,000 of such solution specialists based across key hubs in Zurich, Geneva, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York, working on investment solutions, with nearly 100 working on the delivery of complex solutions alongside the relationship managers.

These solutions include global investment banking services such as corporate and structured finance, merger and acquisition advisory, capital raising and real estate issues. Furthermore, the integrated bank enables Credit Suisse to set up investment funds and family offices with access to specialist expertise in private equity and hedge funds, unique investment opportunities, theme-oriented investment options, analysts and technical trading ideas. Cross-border services are also available via our network of 60 private banking offices around the world.

The client at the centre

At Credit Suisse, we understand that entrepreneurs and high net worth clients have different and diverse needs. Therefore, we strive to deliver advice that is relevant and personal, and spans a broad range of investment services and products that are tailored to meet their complex and fast-changing needs.

First, we place the client at the centre. Our interaction with any client begins with a structured consultation process that is simple and clear, comprising five stages of advisory. All client investments are selected after a comprehensive needs-based assessment of their risk appetite and are executed on our open platform. We actively advise our clients in this process and draw upon our outstanding set of products, extensive research and related specialised services.

Structured approach

The best way to protect and build wealth is to establish a solid asset allocation reflecting the risk/return profile of the investor. According to studies, clearly more than 80 per cent of the portfolio return is determined by asset allocation. A well-structured and diversified portfolio following robust advisory process will help to grow their portfolio in a sustainable basis.

A more challenging investment environment requires investors to focus even more on proper asset allocation which will limit the downside risk while still maintaining a certain participation in up-markets. The last few months of market dislocation and extreme volatility have reinforced the critical importance of diversification and dynamic rebalancing of portfolio assets.

On the whole, we believe clients should divide assets between a core portfolio - the central portion and representing a well-diversified allocation to cash, bonds, equities and alternative investments - and a smaller satellite portfolio - where the focus is on higher-risk growth potential. The core portfolio helps preserve capital, and comprises assets that reflect their risk appetite and balances this against return goals and liquidity needs.

Meanwhile, satellite investments tend to be on a stand-alone basis and thematic, where the focus is on rapidly growing wealth, taking advantage of possible tactical plays. A well-established portfolio will have several relatively uncorrelated satellite investments that do not significantly compromise a client's portfolio's total risk.

Dr Francois Monnet is the head of private banking (South-east Asia and Australasia) for Credit Suisse.

This article was first published in The Business Times on November 28, 2008.