Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s revenue from its Asia-Pacific wealth unit hit a record last year as ultra rich clients turned to the bank to navigate volatile markets and political tension, according to a regional executive.
The ultra wealthy have become less “self-directed” with a shift toward diversification and globalisation, Ronald Lee, a Goldman partner who leads the firm’s Asia-Pacific private wealth management, said in an interview.
“The turbulence of the Chinese markets, the slowdown of the Chinese economy, the geopolitical tensions have all made our clients more willing to think about how should they manage their wealth,” said Lee, a Korean American from Cleveland, Ohio, who has lived in Hong Kong for more than two decades. “That has given way to a shift in mindset and then a shift in behaviour.”
Reflecting the shift, the bank’s long-term fee-based assets have jumped about 80% in the past five years, according to Lee. Client assets and revenue all hit records in Asia for the New York-based powerhouse in 2024, with wealth management client assets increasing 40% over the past two years and revenue doubling over the past five years, he said.
Goldman doesn’t disclose its assets in Asia, but according to Asia Private Banker, it oversaw US$100 billion ($136.81 billion) under management, excluding onshore China, in 2023.
The lender has been ramping up in the region in recent years, even as it, along with other global banks, faced difficulties in China. President Xi Jinping’s tightening grip on the Chinese business landscape and the slowing economy have forced many of Wall Street’s biggest banks to recalibrate plans to expand the world’s second-largest economy.
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Goldman will “definitely seek to hire” in the coming years, and is looking at “high-single digit” growth in headcount across the Asia Pacific region, with most of its hiring to serve Chinese clients, said Lee. Since 2019, the number of wealth advisers in the region have increased almost 30%.
The bank this week reported that its asset- and wealth-management business posted revenue of US$4.72 billion during the fourth quarter, up 8% from a year earlier. Management fees for the division hit a record of US$10.4 billion in 2024. Total wealth management client assets stood at around US$1.6 trillion.
China billionaires
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Goldman Sachs banks the ultra wealthy — the global average account size of a client is US$70 million and the Asia average is comparable. China, including Hong Kong and Chinese money in other markets, typically accounts for two thirds to almost three quarters of the bank’s business, according to Lee.
“We’ve always been very, very China focused,” he said.
China’s billionaires are slowly starting to recover their wealth after three years of losses from a property crisis and Xi’s push for common prosperity at the expense of powerful private business owners.
The Wall Street bank has offices onshore in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen and it doesn’t have plans to expand to other cities “for the time being,” said Lee.
China’s wealthy have been seeking to diversify their wealth and where they are based — with many moving to Singapore during Covid. Since the reopening of the borders in 2023, Hong Kong has been winning some money back as Singapore has stepped up scrutiny of foreign money following a major money laundering scandal.
During Covid, there was “probably a little bit of a spike” of wealthy individuals who went to Singapore, but it feels like that’s “receding a little,” said Lee. The Hong Kong business, where roughly two-thirds of its wealth staff is based, is “doing very well” in terms of client engagement and interest, according to Lee.
“Chinese wealth around the world is a growing trend,” said Lee, adding that the bank currently has a Chinese banker in Melbourne to help Chinese clients set themselves up in Australia. “Given the net worth of the clients that we have, they generally tend to be kind of global people.”
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Geopolitics
As US-China tensions simmer, and with wars in Ukraine and Israel, geopolitics are a top concern among ultra wealthy clients.
“I don’t remember a time when geopolitics was so high on the list of things that we were discussing with our clients really,” said Lee.
In the past, ultra-rich Chinese clients had more of a home bias, but are now looking to diversify. The strong performance in the US markets has boosted its appeal, according to Lee. Similarly, Australian billionaires, who used to be very “inwardly focused,” are also increasingly looking outside, he said.
Goldman also sees an opportunity in banking non-resident Indians — which typically congregate in London, Dubai and Singapore — though it has no plans for now to go onshore, according to Lee.
“India is probably where China was, 15, 20 years ago,” said Lee. “We see a lot of the same types of dynamics over there,” adding that its growing “very fast” but is “very small” by comparison.
Diversity
Goldman Sachs last year promoted Ling Pong, head of capital markets, equity structuring and managed strategy for private wealth management in Asia Pacific to partner, marking the first such promotion within its Asia wealth business.
She was one of 95 partners promoted globally, and the second partner in the Asia wealth business. Her appointment indicates the commitment of the firm to the wealth business, according to Lee.
“The business in wealth management is very, very diverse. it’s pretty much 50:50 at every title. Men and women,” said Lee. “The only title which that hadn’t been the case was for partner. Because it was just me. And so now we’re actually 50:50 even at every level.”
