In recent years, the global proliferation of family offices has led to an increased demand for high-quality, comprehensive investment planning solutions among high-net-worth individuals. In response to this burgeoning market trend, Pyxis, a leading wealth management consulting firm, is expanding its operations and actively recruiting next-generation talent to spearhead the development of innovative wealth management expertise.

Pyxis co-founder and CEO, Janice Chan, noted that the company’s family office clients hail from around the world. With over 20 years of experience working at UBS, she has observed a growing trend in recent years, particularly in Asia and Hong Kong, where families are increasingly seeking to establish their own family office.

For clients, the greatest benefit of setting up a family office is gaining access to tailored investment solutions. Through the consulting firm’s provision of multi-asset class strategies, clients can create a bespoke investment portfolio across a wide range of products. With over 10 major banks and securities firms in Hong Kong as partners, the team can operate on behalf of clients, providing a seamless experience.

Greatest appeal: Convenience + Professionalism

In recent year, the demand of family office has been increased rapidly, to explain this, Pyxis’ managing partner, Karen Lam, stated that the increasing demand for family offices is driven by clients’ desire for a one-stop solution that offers ease, professional, and a wide range of services, all under one roof.

Before joining Pyxis, Karen served as the Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Relationship Management in Hang Seng Bank Private Banking, as well as General Manager of HSBC (China) in Shenzhen and Dongguan. In comparison, she believes that the convenience and breadth of services offered by Pyxis are the greatest advantages in attracting clients.

Karen also pointed out: ‘Banks typically have multiple departments and lengthy approval process, but consulting platforms can respond promptly to the constantly evolving market demands and trends, providing clients with a comprehensive perspective by comparing and selecting from multiple investment options.

Hong Kong family office clients’ characteristics: Emphasis on value for money

Karen also mentioned that many family office clients used to have the habit of opening various investment accounts with multiple banks, but due to factors such as increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, rapid innovation, and talent mobility, combined with the characteristics of Hong Kong family office clients have a characteristic on being ‘invest smartly, price-sensitive, and emphasizing professional services’, they have gradually changed their asset management mindset and approach in recent years.

Meanwhile, modern individuals are increasingly prioritizing the balance of life, and many next-generation family members have spread out to develop their careers globally, resulting in a significant number of clients residing worldwide. To save time on asset management, they tend to prefer entrusting their assets to independent, multi-platform, and diversified wealth management companies that offer one-stop comprehensive services.

Empowering the new generation of wealth managers with data-driven insights

Currently, the Pyxis team consists of around 30 to 40 members, all members have extensive experience in asset management, private banking, and wealth planning. As the company approaches its fifth anniversary, Janice believes that it has reached a sufficient level of maturity and is now seeking to attract new talent from the next generation of wealth management professionals to join its team

Janice specifically mentioned that, in addition to consulting talent, they’re also welcome to recruit more data management professionals to address the needs of rapidly changing markets. Since Pyxis receives comprehensive views (house views) from partner banks, they require backend experts to quickly integrate all information and perform analyses across different areas as needed.

Changes in client relationships and high autonomy in work

Karen believes that for consulting professionals, deepening relationships with clients is a major draw to join the company. She explained: ‘Pyxis has always prioritized client interests, working together as a team, so bankers who thoroughly understand client needs align better with the company’s development spirit.’

She explained that many families face succession issues, and consultants often need to help manage assets across several generations. Attending family gatherings is also an important communication channel, which is vastly different from the way she used to work in banks.

Additionally, individuals who pursue a high quality of life are also well-suited to join their team. In contrast, banks have numerous key performance indicators (KPIs), fixed meetings, procedures, and tedious paperwork, whereas Pyxis does not rigidly pursue KPIs. She explained that since the team’s goals align with those of their clients, consultants have high degree of autonomy, and members have a great deal of freedom to plan their work.

Clients flock to Hong Kong for its tax-friendly environment

When it comes to attract family offices to Hong Kong, they discovered that clients are more open to the idea than expected, the city’s favourable tax environment and proximity to mainland China as key advantages that offer greater growth potential for their assets, making them more willingly to establish a presence in the city.

Family Office Hub: Hong Kong’s Ambition

Janice and Karen also mentioned that the Hong Kong government is committed to establish Hong Kong as a leading international family office hub and has implemented various measures outlined in the ” Policy Statement on Developing Family Office Businesses in Hong Kong ” over the past year. Additionally, Pyxis is also a client of Invest Hong Kong, which gives them confidence in attracting more family offices to set up in Hong Kong.

Future Growth and Expansion Strategies

 Looking ahead, apart from attracting new generation of wealth management experts to join, Pyxis is planning to expand and relocate to a new office. At the same time, to meet clients’ trust needs, the company’s trust services is also looking for professionals from various fields, including lawyers, tax consultants, and auditors, to develop a comprehensive suite of services.

(Source from Reuters)