Investment manager Milltrust International has launched East West Private Wealth (EWPW), a global, sustainability-focused multi-family office with a focus on protecting and investing assets for families who prioritise sustainability and impact.
The new independent advisory and investment management platform will unlock the investment landscape for families and entrepreneurs through a “bold new approach”, says Milltrust in an Oct 4 announcement.
With offices in Singapore and London, and a presence in Geneva, Monaco and the United Arab Emirates, Milltrust says it draws on a roster of the world’s leading boutique managers, structured as segregated, bespoke managed accounts for clients.
EWPW today offers non-cyclical investment opportunities across venture capital, listed funds and direct, “impact-driven” co-investments. This is in addition to delivering all the standard liquid asset classes.
Through Milltrust’s existing investment platforms, such as the British Innovation Fund II, the Climate Impact Asia Fund and the Global Emerging Markets Fund, EWPW benefits from an unparalleled network of institutional-calibre investment expertise, says the firm.
Private deal flow is secured through investments with the eight leading UK universities, European public-private innovation partnership Climate-KIC and Enterprise Singapore.
Milltrust has in the past worked with these partners, making over 80 successful start-up investments in the past decade across health, global food systems and waste management.
Founder and chair Simon Hopkins has 30 years of experience holding senior roles at UBS Warburg, HSBC James Capel and Nomura before going on to found and lead several financial services companies focused on investment solutions for institutions and family offices, including Fortune Asset Management, now part of Close Brothers Group, and Milltrust.
Hopkins was formerly a founding director of CITIC Investment Partners’ One Belt One Road Fund, investing across Asia; and Novare Fund Manager, one of the largest indigenous asset managers on the African continent.
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“EWPW seeks to deliver uncorrelated returns whilst addressing the most pressing issues of our time, including the development of emerging economies, the advancement of new technologies, and combating climate change,” says Hopkins.
He adds: “The wealth industry is crying out for innovation and investable thematics. Too often it’s a homogenised offering trying to squeeze clients into one of a number of model portfolios. There is far too little granularity or transparency.”
Hopkins will be supported by Milltrust co-founder Alexander Kalis, who brings over two decades of experience in asset managers like Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management and Santander Asset Management.
“Leveraging a proven ability to work across varied asset classes and geographies, EWPW offers genuinely bespoke investment solutions, addressing return requirements and personal impact aspirations through a highly flexible platform that accesses the world’s top skill-based investors,” says Kalis.
EWPW chief investment officer, Gary Dugan, has spent more than three decades in the industry, with a career spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia, where he held CIO positions at Barclays Private Bank, Emirates NBD and Coutts, and senior roles at Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan.
Finally, in Singapore, long-standing Milltrust director and veteran fund manager Dennis See leads EWPW’s affiliate, First Estate Capital Management. See founded PointWorth Management, the first exempt fund manager in Singapore, and held leadership roles at Indosuez and Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan) in Singapore.
