In an African context in which private family wealth is growing rapidly, Standard Bank Wealth and Investment regards itself as one of the few large regional institutions with a comprehensive family-office service. It sees itself as a pioneer in this area, and wants to maintain a preeminent position in the category as the importance of African family offices continues to grow.
The result is that it has notched up not just strong growth in assets under management but also a high retention rate. Of course, the brand capital that comes with 160 years of history helps. Indeed, the bank says 44% of its family-office clients have been with the firm for almost 20 years, while a further 16% have been with the firm for nearly 15 years. In one case, it recently began to serve a family for its sixth generation.
The reason for this strategy is clear. Although family-office clients represent just 1% of total clientele, they represent almost 30% of assets under management.