DBS and Avaloq Extend 18-Year Wealth Platform Alliance Across Asia

DBS and Avaloq have agreed to extend an alliance that has run for 18 years, covering the development of wealth management services for customers and advisers in Asia.

The two firms framed the agreement around three areas: business growth, joint innovation, and the exchange of capabilities. The extension is positioned as part of a broader effort to develop the technology and people behind wealth management in the region rather than a single product launch.

An Ambitious Asset Target

The tie-up forms part of DBS' plan to increase its retail and wealth assets under management to S$1tn ($781bn) by 2030. Reaching that scale implies work on the advisory side as much as the platform side: the companies said the collaboration will include strengthening the skills and capacity of advisers and specialists.

DBS and Avaloq will assess whether the Avaloq platform can be used more widely across DBS' markets and business lines, with adaptations for individual market requirements.

That wider deployment question matters for how wealth platforms are built across Asia, where market requirements can differ substantially from one jurisdiction to the next. The assessment is described as a possibility under review, not a completed rollout.

Innovation and Talent

Beyond platform reach, the companies will consider developing solutions together across digital platforms, products, execution, and future wealth management models. They will also draw on their respective staff and expertise to support training and the exchange of knowledge, an approach that treats talent development as part of the technology programme.

Avaloq Group CEO Martin Greweldinger said the two firms plan to expand into new markets, deepen coverage across business lines, co-create the next generation of wealth technology and equip wealth-management talent with skills for an increasingly AI-enabled industry.

DBS group executive consumer banking and wealth management head Shee Tse Koon said Avaloq has been a critical enabler for the bank's wealth management operations over the past 18 years, and that the latest partnership brings together DBS' wealth and investment expertise with Avaloq's platform and data capabilities to co-create solutions that can address the evolving needs of customers and advisers.

A Wider Pattern of Partnerships

The extension follows a separate move in July, when DBS and Samsung Securities forged a wealth management partnership aimed at clients across Asia. That arrangement links Samsung Securities' role in South Korea's capital markets with DBS's wealth management platform, increasing the range of services available to customers in their home markets.

Taken together, the two arrangements sketch a bank assembling regional reach through alliances rather than wholly in-house builds. For advisers and clients, the stated focus is on capability and service range; for the institutions, the measure of progress will be the asset target set for 2030.