Dunhill Family Office Network to set up in Hong Kong, a boon to city's wealth hub status

Dunhill Ventures will set up its Family Office Network in Hong Kong, expanding its web of investment vehicles between wealthy families to the city in response to the invitation to establish a regional hub for wealth management.

The network, comprising a community of "thousands" of private investors, is considering locations around Asia to set up a social clubhouse to host in-person events for its members, with Hong Kong as a potential location, said Dunhill Ventures' Managing Director Natalie Torin.

The network has "received a warm welcome here, and believes in Hong Kong as the preferred hub for business in Asia," she said after attending SCMP's Redefining Hong Kong: Family Office conference last week. "We want to actively bring ventures interested in the region to [set up in] Hong Kong, from hi-tech companies ready for an international company base to other areas like sustainability, education, healthcare."

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The London-based network is headed by Piers Dunhill, the great grandson of the English tobacconist and entrepreneur Alfred Dunhill, whose eponymous luxury goods company is now owned by Richemont.

The management team of Dunhill Ventures, at the China Club in Hong Kong in September 2024. (Right to left) Managing Director Natalie Torin, Chairman Piers Dunhill, Director of International Development Jonathan Barry and Investment Director Ambra Berselli. Photo: Handout. alt=The management team of Dunhill Ventures, at the China Club in Hong Kong in September 2024. (Right to left) Managing Director Natalie Torin, Chairman Piers Dunhill, Director of International Development Jonathan Barry and Investment Director Ambra Berselli. Photo: Handout.>

Dunhill is the latest to consider establishing in Hong Kong. The city is already home to 2,700 single-family offices, more than half of them managing the fortunes of ultra-high-net-worth individuals exceeding US$50 million, according to Joseph Chan Ho-lim, the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.

The number of single-family offices in Asia-Pacific may surge by 40 per cent to 3,200 by 2030, outpacing all regions globally, according to a recent report by Deloitte. To develop more cohesive investment strategies, Hong Kong's family offices and professional teams are working more closely together, family members said.

"Many family offices have sophisticated wealth management practices and many of them are hiring in-house [chief investment officers] to oversee larger investments," said Karina Wong, EY's tax services leader for Greater China. "Compared to Asian and Asian-funded offices, [Western family offices] tend to have heavier influence from family members over investment strategy and investment decisions."

Dunhill ran its 'Raising Impact Investment Summit Series' during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. The series followed summits in New York, London and Dubai during COP28, gathering family offices and wealthy individuals to discuss topics such as sustainable impact investments and new technology.

"It would make sense for us" to hold similar events here because "we believe Hong Kong will always be the centre of business in Asia, [which] will attract the top companies from the US and bring the most disruptive technology to the world", Torin said. "There are so many themes we can choose from. [What is] important for us is projects that have the greatest impact in profitability based on current markets, and the most potential for social mobility, democratising access, working towards sustainable development goals and meeting healthcare needs."

The Dunhill network's priority is to bring new companies and talent, particularly US clients, to Hong Kong from a diverse range of industries with a focus on impact investing- a type of investment strategy that seeks to achieve social or environmental goals as well as generate profit.

"The aim is a win-win situation of developing mutually beneficial partnerships and ultimately increasing the number of cross-border transactions," said Torin. "We are excited to start."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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