Courting the next generation: How wealth managers are keeping family business assets within the bank

SINGAPORE – Singapore banks and wealth managers have been rolling out exclusive leadership and personal development programmes targeting the children of affluent clients as part of their strategy to build early relationships with the next generation.

Financial institutions hope sustained engagement will keep these heirs banking with them, just as their parents have.

UBS next-generation lead Conrad Huber, who is also head of global wealth management for Indonesia and Japan International, said it is easier to broach succession planning when both parents and their children bank with the same institution.

The stakes are high: A November 2025 report by Boston Consulting Group, UOB Private Bank and NUS Business School describes Asia as entering “its most critical chapter of wealth” transfer.

The challenge, the report notes, is no longer just about creating wealth, but about managing its transfer across generations.

Singapore lenders DBS, UOB and OCBC each host three- to four-day programmes every July for affluent and high-net-worth families, introducing next-generation clients to financial and investment literacy, entrepreneurship and leadership.

The sixth series of UOB’s PriviGen 2026, held at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, attracted 63 second-generation youth aged 18 to 25 from Singapore and across South-east Asia.

Jacquelyn Tan, the bank’s head of group personal financial services, said the interactive sessions with industry leaders and experts are designed to empower young adults with the skills to face future opportunities and challenges.

Among the expert speakers was Mandy Tham, associate professor of finance (education) at Singapore Management University (SMU), who said such programmes connect successors at a similar stage of life with experienced professionals as well as one another. 

The sharing of perspectives and experiences makes the learning much more tangible, she added.

Kenneth Yeow, 19, said of the UOB sessions: “I came here to learn new skills and make new friends.”

He said the personal branding workshop taught him how to build his professional image and shape how others perceive him.

“No matter where you go, you will have to work with different people,” he said. “Not only do you need to learn how to carry yourself, but you also need to learn how to understand other parties and be able to talk to them and negotiate with them.”

Yeow noted that these soft skills will come in useful when he is ready to grow the family business.

His father is in the agricultural industry in Malaysia, and there are plans to expand the business beyond Malaysia and Singapore. 

“When going overseas, how you adapt to the local culture and how you position your business will determine your success,” Yeow added. 

The OCBC GENesis programme, now in its third year, recently brought together 27 young adults aged 18 to 25 from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

With more than half of the 2026 cohort coming from families with at least one business owner, OCBC head of segment Susan Tan said GENesis is designed to prepare these young adults for greater responsibilities – whether that means leading the family business, launching new ventures, or simply making well-informed financial decisions.

The sessions started with a personal development workshop where participants discovered their strengths, leadership styles and areas for growth. 

Undergraduate Chloe Wong, 19, learnt that she is people-oriented and relationship-driven, so a career that gives her opportunities to interact with others would suit her well. 

Another participant, Nicholas Harijanto, 22, said he gained insights into entrepreneurship from start-up founders who shared how they built their businesses while navigating a rapidly evolving market. 

The lessons will be helpful for him as he learns the ropes of his family’s business, he added.

“My family started with a private transport company providing buses and trucks, but we have since pivoted into the logistics space,” said Harijanto, who has also dabbled in private dining.

Workshops like OCBC GENesis bring together participants from different regions so they can connect and build cross-border friendships.

Harijanto noted that these international friendships are “valuable” as they broaden his network and could present opportunities for business collaborations.

Wong got to know participants from overseas universities and widened her circle of friends, brushing up on her conversational skills as she interacted with people from various nationalities.

Similarly, the second edition of DBS’ NextGen Excursion programme recently brought together more than 60 participants aged 18 to 25 from Singapore, Indonesia, China and Taiwan for a four-day event here.

P’ing Lim, regional head of ecosystems and cross-border payments at DBS’ consumer banking group, said activities extended beyond the classroom, giving participants the opportunity to experience sailing at Marina Bay and try their hand at padel, a racket sport.

She added that these experiential events encouraged participants to foster friendships that often endure well beyond the programme.

All three local banks have collaborated with SMU for their next-gen courses. 

Tham said these programmes introduced new ideas and concepts, providing the “starting point” for the young adults to reflect and learn. 

“I hope they left with the understanding that leadership is not something you simply inherit,” she said.

Whether these aspiring young leaders eventually join the family business, pursue a corporate career or start their own venture, they will have to earn trust, develop good judgment and learn how to make decisions in situations where there are no clear-cut answers, Tham added. 

Courting the ultra-rich

Banks also curate exclusive programmes for the heirs of ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Major players in this space include local banks DBS Private Bank, UOB Private Bank and Bank of Singapore (OCBC’s private banking arm), as well as UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager for the ultra-rich.

DBS has been running its Future Leaders Programme for young adults aged 25 and above for the past decade.

Lee Woon Shiu, the bank’s group head of wealth planning, family office and insurance solutions, said the curriculum is structured to groom leaders for the family business.

The focus is on cultivating capabilities that are not so easily taught in a classroom, such as leadership, judgment, resilience and the ability to navigate complexity. 

Lee said the hope is that next-gen leaders who are already financially savvy will be inspired to see their wealth in a broader light and give back to society one day.

Another objective is to create meaningful connections and networks among the participants.

Lee added: “We want to help create ties between key business families in different regions who otherwise would not have the chance to meet one another.

“If individuals from different cultures have a chance to start building relationships with one another at a younger age, when they eventually take over as CEO or CFO of their companies, it will be easier for them to work with a peer from the Middle East or India, for example.”

Russell Wee, 31, a second-generation director at Jean Yip Group and a DBS Private Bank next-gen client who took part in the 2024 Future Leaders Programme, found the networking sessions useful. He returned as an alumni speaker at the 2025 edition.

“Getting to know my peers and learning from them, we formed friendships that will stay with us for life,” he said. “We still keep in touch with our entire cohort.”

UBS’ Huber emphasised the importance of connecting with peers who are in similar situations so they can learn from one another.

“One day you will come to a crossroad where you have to decide to go right, go left or go straight, and there is nobody else but your peer participants who have to make similar decisions,” he said.

UBS offers next-generation programmes for ultra-high-net-worth individuals at different stages of life.

Two of its flagship initiatives – the Global Rising Investors Program (GRIP), for those aged 20 to 35, and the Leadership Excellence and Development Series, for the 18 to 25 demographic – have both been running for more than two decades.  

The primary intention is to prepare the next generation to inherit, manage, grow and steward wealth for the future.

Building lasting relationships

Though brief, these programmes provide the starting point for participants to forge close ties that endure today.

Young adults who have gone through GRIP are eligible to join the Young Investors Organisation, a community of next-gen successors from similar wealth backgrounds. They can speak freely, Huber noted, knowing their peers face the same challenges of managing family wealth. 

The local banks have their own initiatives to connect different cohorts of participants: UOB has its PriviGen alumni community, while OCBC is exploring a formal alumni network for GENesis attendees.

As for DBS, Lee noted it has actively cultivated an alumni community among its ultra-high-net-worth clients. “Alumni are invited to future editions of the programme, creating opportunities to expand their networks and exchange experiences with new cohorts.”

For the September 2026 programme, he said there will be an alumni segment where former participants can reflect on how they balance family stewardship with innovation.

“Hearing directly from peers who have recently faced similar challenges makes the discussions relevant and practical,” he said.

Wee, the DBS Private Bank next-gen client, particularly enjoyed the “candid conversations” with other next-generation leaders.

He recounted sharing experiences with his peers on institutionalising family businesses. It is a process that can be quite challenging, he noted, adding it was reassuring to hear from mentors who have gone through it.

“When opportunities come up, we test each other’s thinking,” he said.

“Most of us are weighing decisions on a 10- or 20-year horizon, so the conversation goes beyond any single deal to whether it truly strengthens the business. I have learnt as much from the deals we talked each other out of as the ones we pursued.”

Source : https://www.straitstimes.com/business/courting-the-next-generation-how-wealth-managers-are-keeping-family-business-assets-within-the-bank