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Investing is not a simple matter. In an era defined by rapid interest rate shifts, persistent inflation and complex geopolitical currents, the traditional investment playbook is being rewritten. The number of choices is constantly growing, the quantity of information can feel overwhelming, the market is always evolving, often in volatile and unpredictable ways, and then there is the fear of missing out on the best opportunities. Investors who want dependable income, durable growth and resilience from their portfolios are often seeking expert guidance through those tempestuous market waters.
“Timely advice on market developments is a fundamental expectation from our clients,” says Arnaud Tellier, Asia-Pacific CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management. “They rely on us for flexibility, responsiveness and a product range that evolves with their needs, and we are constantly rethinking and improving our product range in order to meet this demand.”
Asset allocation is at the heart of a successful portfolio. A well-constructed allocation gives people the confidence to stay invested through market cycles, allowing them to harness the power of compounding for long-term growth. In today’s environment, this means going beyond the standard 60-40 equity-bond split, which has faced significant challenges in recent years as the traditional negative correlation between stocks and bonds has faltered.
Modern diversification requires a more sophisticated approach. According to the 2024 Asia-Pacific Family Office Report, jointly published by BNP Paribas Wealth Management and Campden Wealth, 32 per cent of family offices in the region say diversification is their immediate investment priority, with 40 per cent of them turning to private market to achieve it.
This is where the bank’s expertise comes to the forefront. The foundation of its investment advisory and discretionary services is its award-winning Chief Investment Office (CIO) team. This global unit is renowned for its out-of-consensus views, which are built on deep, proprietary research that challenges conventional wisdom. The team makes bold, conviction-led calls on markets and asset classes that have consistently led to outperformance in both strategic and tactical asset allocation. The CIO’s capability is rooted in a disciplined process that allows the team to identify structural shifts and cyclical opportunities before they become mainstream.
But for many clients, translating these expert views into an actionable, globally diversified portfolio can be a significant challenge. The process is time-consuming, requires constant monitoring and demands a deep understanding of financial instruments.
To bridge this gap, BNP Paribas Wealth Management has introduced the CIO strategy solution, an efficient solution designed to give clients direct access to the collective expertise of its investment teams. The fund follows a disciplined, multilayered process. It begins with the Chief Investment Office, which provides market views on investible asset classes such as equities, bonds, alternatives and commodities. Next, an advanced asset allocation engine then translates these strategic views into optimised portfolio weightings designed to maximise returns for a given level of risk.
From there, the Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM) team takes charge. “The DPM team selects the best-in-class managers or exchange-traded funds based on rigorous due diligence and has the discretion to adjust weightings within pre-agreed bands based on market conditions and liquidity,” explains Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer, Asia, at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. This due diligence process is exhaustive, covering manager track records, investment philosophy consistency and operational robustness. “Finally, our colleagues from BNP Paribas Asset Management execute the trades and monitor the fund’s liquidity to ensure a smooth experience for our investors.”
The result is a solution offering a sophisticated, constantly updated investment mix that does not demand clients’ attention or action on a daily basis – ideal for busy individuals such as entrepreneurs who need to stay focused on growing their own businesses. Instead of a complex statement with dozens of positions, clients are presented with a single line item that makes it easy to track performance, supported by a high degree of transparency.
“Our clients receive monthly updates on the portfolio with performance attribution, market commentaries and risk analysis,” Tellier explains. “This is handled by the investment fund advisory team mainly, but all departments are involved in the investment process and can talk about the product’s latest developments.”
The fund’s dynamic nature ensures it remains aligned with the CIO’s evolving perspectives. The global CIO team meets weekly, and the fund is rebalanced at least monthly to translate fresh insights into action. “The fund can be very reactive,” Bhayani says. “We have a monthly investment committee in order to discuss and implement the change in views, but we can also meet ad hoc if there is a more sudden change of regime or if some views are updated outside the usual calendar.”
Bhayani notes: “Our strategic asset allocation is a mix of equity, fixed income and alternative investments. In alternative investments, we include private assets in the form of semi-liquid strategies for private debt and private equity. It is time-consuming for investors to create a complete investment portfolio, so having a readily available solution investing from day one into all these asset classes is very attractive.”
Tellier adds that the fund exemplifies the power of the bank’s integrated model. “One key differentiating factor is the access to alternative investments on the private market side, where liquidity and size can be challenging or prohibitive. Partnering with our Asset Management colleagues helped us to find a creative and robust solution. We see this as a very good example of what the BNP Paribas ‘One Bank’ approach can deliver in terms of service and added value for our clients.”
This “One Bank” approach means that clients of the Wealth Management division benefit from the institutional scale, market access and execution capabilities of the broader BNP Paribas group. The collaboration between the CIO, the DPM teams and the Asset Management arm ensures a seamless process from idea generation to implementation, all within a robust risk-management framework.
With its CIO strategy solution, BNP Paribas Wealth Management is answering the needs of wealthy individuals by providing a simple way for them to start accessing the advantages of discretionary portfolio management, and by quietly delivering income, growth and resilience.
