Sun Life, Hang Seng expand services for rich clients, tout Hong Kong's family office push

Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial and HSBC's subsidiary Hang Seng Bank are expanding their services to capture business from rich customers in the Greater Bay Area, leveraging the government's efforts to turn Hong Kong into a family office hub.

They join a wave of financial firms, including HSBC, Prudential and Manulife, that have recently announced expansion plans targeting the same customer base.

Sun Life has teamed up with HealthMutual Group, CUHK Medical Centre and Gleneagles Hospital to allow its high-net-worth clients and certain medical policyholders to undergo health examinations and treatments across the Greater Bay Area.

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High-net-worth customers, those who invest at least HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) in Sun Life's insurance policies, have been a growth engine for the company, representing almost 25 per cent of new business in the year's first quarter, Clement Lam Ka-yin, CEO of Sun Life Hong Kong, said in an interview on Wednesday.

The insurer's new business value in the first quarter jumped four times year on year to HK$2.23 billion. It was also substantially higher than 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic affected business.

"With the government having introduced many measures to promote wealth management and family offices in Hong Kong, we have seen an increasing demand from wealthy individuals and family office operators buying large sums of policies," Lam said.

"These wealthy customers come from mainland China, Southeast Asia and also include Hongkongers."

Hong Kong had more than 2,700 single-family offices - firms established to pursue investment, philanthropy and succession planning - at the end of last year, according to a study published by Deloitte in March. Each manages between US$10 million and US$100 million of assets.

The government introduced tax incentives for family offices in May last year and established the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy in November to nurture talent for family offices.

Sun Life launched the first family office training certificate course in Hong Kong in January. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Sun Life launched the first family office training certificate course in Hong Kong in January. Photo: Shutterstock>

Sun Life is also training family office professionals. In January, the insurer launched the first family office training certificate course in Hong Kong in collaboration with the Institute of Continuing and Professional Education of the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Some 680 Sun Life agents and brokers have finished the short course.

"Talent is important in promoting family offices, and we want our salesforce to know how to serve these customers," Lam said.

He added Sun Life was also issuing investment-linked insurance policies to meet the demand from applicants for the revamped Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, commonly known as the investment migration programme.

The scheme has attracted more than 250 applicants who can get fast track residency by investing HK$30 million in stocks, bonds, or investment-linked insurance policies.

Separately, Hang Seng Bank unveiled new services for its high-net-worth customers on Wednesday.

As part of these services, Prestige customers can open subsidiary accounts for family members, allowing those managing the family's wealth to allocate funds to different members, said Diana Cesar, CEO of Hang Seng Bank.

The bank has added many new service elements that wealthy customers need in their daily lives, Cesar said, adding that their survey showed the person who manages the family wealth needs to handle on average three other accounts.

Hang Seng customers need to have at least HK$1 million in deposits or loan facility to qualify for the Prestige services, according to the bank's website.

"Hong Kong residents have broader needs for banking services and wealth management," said Rannie Lee, head of wealth and personal banking at Hang Seng Bank. "They need to plan not only their finances but also the financial needs of their family members."

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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