Dear Members

Happy Valentine’s Day! May 2024 be a year blessed with the deepening and broadening of relationships in all spheres of your life.

Reflecting on the past years of serving in the association, it’s been really encouraging to see both new entrants and old friends come together as a community. We will all agree that the industry has evolved and grown over the past decades, but we also recognise that on the global stage, while Singapore is the jurisdiction of choice for the region for wealth management, we as the body of independent wealth managers are barely a ‘teenager’ when compared to our more developed and mature peers.

There is much to be thankful for in our youth. We have a very supportive ‘parent’ in the Monetary Authority of Singapore – pro-business and consultative. We ‘grew up’ in the privileged family of Singapore – one where we are known for our independence, stability & trustworthiness. We as members of the AIWM have all benefited from these tailwinds.

As the saying goes, it takes years to build trust (& reputation) and seconds to destroy it. We as stewards of the reputation and trust of our industry, must recognise the weight of that role.

I’m really looking forward to the first OM’s CEO and founders sharing session where we hope to gather feedback but more importantly, collectively discern what we envision for our industry in the decades ahead.

We also recognise that the AIWM only represents a limited segment of the market, and we would love to connect and reach out to the other firms in the country who are yet to be members. If you are friends with any of these, do share with them about the association, get them in touch with one of us and invite them to one of our events for them to know us better.

It’s really encouraging that some of you have stepped up to promote Philanthropy & Giving to your network and peers, and on behalf the association, I would like to say that we hope more leaders will come alongside the committee as we serve together – whether it be in the area of compliance and engaging the MAS, or in upskilling and education and training. If you have a passion for these areas, please come and grab a coffee with one of the committee members.

In the Year of the Dragon, may the fires in our hearts and our bellies burn together for the future of stewardship in the region!

With my best regards,
Edwin Lee