As Greater China’s private wealth market continues to deepen, private clients are increasingly looking for more than access to investment products. They want advice, interpretation, product discipline, portfolio relevance and institutional-quality solutions delivered in a way they can understand and apply. For Gabriel Chan, Managing Director, Head of Investment Services, Hong Kong at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, the bank’s proposition lies in combining the breadth of a universal banking group with the selectivity of an open architecture platform, the depth of a large investment services team, and a growing focus on technology-enabled advisory delivery.

Key Takeaways


Chan’s role sits across markets, products, advisory and client outcomes, and he is focused as much on shaping the platform as on deciding what reaches clients.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management combines proprietary capability with open architecture Chan points to the advantage of being able to tap the wider group’s capabilities while still keeping an open architecture approach. .
Depth matters: He argues that strong wealth management depends on specialist investment capability, not just frontline coverage.
The platform is moving beyond brokerage: Chan says the objective is to institutionalise client relationships, advisory delivery and product knowledge, rather than operate as a transactional broker.
Private assets require selectivity: BNP Paribas Wealth Management has offered private assets since 1998, but Chan says the focus is on product diligence and track record, not simply building the broadest shelf.
DPM should remain customised: Chan argues that in-house discretionary portfolio management is especially important for UHNW clients who need tailored mandates, manager access and portfolios that evolve with their needs.
Greater China, private assets and AI are key priorities: Greater China, private assets and AI all feature prominently in how he sees the next phase of the business.

 

Chan leads investment services for BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Hong Kong, with a geographic focus across Greater China. His remit covers Hong Kong, Taiwan onshore and offshore, and offshore Chinese clients, many of whom are booked in Hong Kong or Taiwan.

He has spent 13 years with BNP Paribas, beginning in investment banking before moving into wealth management in 2017. He has held his current role for almost seven years, a position he sees as sitting between markets, products, advisory and client performance.

“I see myself as both a builder and a gatekeeper,” he says. “We build the platform so that advisory can be delivered in a repeatable way, but we also make sure that the right products come onto the platform and that complex solutions can be explained to clients in a way they understand.”

That distinction is central to how Chan views investment services. The role is not only to source investment opportunities, but to assess them, understand how they are constructed, and ensure they are relevant to the client. The platform must support advisers while also protecting clients from undisciplined product proliferation.

Universal Bank Strength, Open Architecture Discipline

BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s proposition begins with the wider BNP Paribas Group. Chan points to the bank’s universal banking model as an important advantage, particularly when clients need access to more sophisticated or complex solutions.

“We have access to other parts of the bank, including the investment bank, where we source many of our sophisticated and complex solutions,” he says.

The group’s capabilities also extend beyond capital markets. Chan highlights BNP Paribas’s European real estate platform as one example. For clients interested in investing in European real estate, the bank can help with sourcing, managing, funding and eventually exiting those investments.

“For clients who are interested in investing in real estate in Europe, we can help them source, manage, fund and exit those investments,” he says. “That is part of the BNP Paribas Group itself. We are not outsourcing it to a third party.”

At the same time, the platform is not limited to internal solutions. Chan says BNP Paribas Wealth Management operates an open architecture model, sourcing products and services from external institutions where appropriate. The result, he argues, is a combination of proprietary access and market breadth.

 

“It is the best of two worlds,” he says. “On one hand, we have access to proprietary solutions. On the other, we have access to the broader market.”

 

People, Product Knowledge and a Transversal Platform

For Chan, the clearest differentiator is still people. BNP Paribas Wealth Management has built substantial investment-services capability in Asia alongside its relationship managers, and he sees that as a sign of how seriously the bank takes advisory depth. .

“We have one of the largest investment services teams in terms of the ratio between investment people and relationship managers,” he says. “That shows that we have invested heavily in the investment services side.”

The purpose is to move beyond brokerage. Chan says wealth management clients increasingly need expertise across different products and segments, particularly as they gain access to solutions that were once largely institutional. That requires product specialists who understand how products are built, priced and positioned within a portfolio.

“We are not just brokers,” he says. “We are advisers and wealth managers for clients. That means we need expertise across different products and segments.”

Team stability is also important. Private clients do not want to meet a different specialist each time they speak with the bank. Consistency helps build trust, particularly when the advisory relationship is intended to be long term.

“Clients do not want to see different people every time we meet them,” he says. “If you want to gain trust, you need consistency in products and services.”

The bank’s model reflects the need to combine specialist depth with broader platform awareness. Senior hires often bring experience from institutional markets, while graduates go through a two-year rotation across asset classes before taking on permanent roles. Chan says the aim is to avoid silos.

“We need specialists who understand products well,” he says. “But it is also a transversal business. We do not want clients to see us as separate equity, fixed income or DPM people. They should see us as one team.”

That does not mean every specialist must cover every product in detail. Rather, each adviser should understand enough to identify when another solution may be relevant, then bring the right specialist into the conversation.

Private Assets and the Discipline of Selectivity

Chan sees a broad industry push to gather more assets, especially across private assets, alternatives and DPM. But he also thinks firms are taking very different approaches. .

In private assets, some firms have moved quickly to build large product shelves, particularly around semi-liquid evergreen structures. Chan is more cautious. BNP Paribas Wealth Management has offered private assets to clients since 1998, and he says the bank places significant emphasis on track record and due diligence.

 

“For private assets, we care a lot about track record,” he says. “Instead of taking a supermarket approach, we would rather spend more time on product diligence and act as a good gatekeeper.”

 

Chan is particularly careful on liquidity. Asian clients often value liquidity, but he says semi-liquid structures can create misunderstanding if the underlying investment horizon does not match the client’s liquidity expectations.

“Some liquid structures are not truly liquid at the end of the day,” he says. “There can be a mismatch between the investment horizon of the asset and the client’s liquidity needs.”

He takes a similar view on secondaries. They may provide liquidity and create value, but he says advisers must understand whether a secondary fund is genuinely adding value or simply providing a temporary exit route.

Keeping DPM In-House

Chan also sees divergence in how banks approach discretionary portfolio management. In Asia, many clients remain less accustomed to paying explicit fees for investment management services, and transactional capital markets activity can be more attractive commercially in strong markets. Some banks have responded by outsourcing DPM to asset management arms or external managers.

Chan sees that as a shorter-term approach. BNP Paribas Wealth Management keeps DPM in-house within wealth management, despite the strength of the group’s asset management business.

“If DPM is outsourced in a wholesale way, what is the difference for the client between investing in a mutual fund and investing in DPM?” he says. “If you are not providing customisation, tailoring or access to the manager, the distinction becomes less clear.”

This is especially relevant for UHNW clients. Chan says clients investing at very large scale have the right to expect customised service, access to the manager and mandates that can evolve with their circumstances.

“The portfolio mandate can evolve together with the client,” he says. “Today the need may be one thing, tomorrow it may be another. We can continue to monitor and work with the client as those needs change.”

For Chan, this is where DPM should be meaningfully different from a fund. It is not only a managed portfolio. It is part of a continuing advisory relationship.

 

Key Priorities

BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s priorities are shaped by Greater China growth, private assets and the practical use of technology.

The first priority is client geography, where Greater China is identified as a growth area. “We see continuous wealth creation in Greater China,” he says. “Taiwan in particular is benefiting from the development of AI, and that has created significant wealth.”

That also changes how advice must be delivered. Chan says clients need communication that reflects how they prefer to understand investment products. Over the past 18 to 24 months, he says the bank has seen stronger results when the same product is presented in a more relevant and accessible way.

The second priority is private assets. BNP Paribas’s acquisition of AXA Investment Managers has strengthened the Group’s private alternatives capabilities, giving the wealth management platform access to more proprietary solutions.

“With AXA Investment Managers becoming part of the group, we have more proprietary private alternative solutions,” he says.

The third priority is AI. Chan sees immediate applications in translation, marketing material, portfolio analysis and lifecycle management. The objective is not to replace advisers, but to help them work more efficiently and deliver ideas more effectively.

“AI can help us improve efficiency and client experience,” he says. “It can support better translation, faster portfolio analysis and better lifecycle management.”

 

Into The Future

Chan sees the future of wealth management in Asia being shaped by two forces: generational transition and more practical use of AI.

Generational transition is becoming more important because many Asian families have historically left wealth transfer and legacy planning until late. Chan notes that some next-generation clients are already in their 60s or 70s, while others are in their 20s and 30s. These younger clients are often more tech-aware, more globally exposed and more demanding in terms of speed.

“Next-generation clients are more tech savvy and they expect delivery to be faster,” he says. “They are also more exposed to global developments and different types of investments.”

That creates pressure on the advisory model. The traditional 60-40 portfolio is no longer the default answer for every client, and no single relationship manager can be expected to understand every asset class or product in depth. The platform needs to equip advisers with better tools and better specialist support.

AI is part of that shift. BNP Paribas Wealth Management is developing internal AI capabilities in a controlled way, with accuracy and privacy as key considerations.

“We are taking a step-by-step approach,” Chan says. “We need to test it, make sure it does not hallucinate, and make sure it does not give the wrong answer.”

One practical use case is lifecycle management. Chan points to structured products, one of BNP Paribas’s largest transactional businesses. Even where products are commoditised, he says advice can be improved during the life of the trade.

A second use case is portfolio analysis. AI can help analyse large numbers of client portfolios, identify gaps, incorporate preferences such as liquidity needs, and match relevant ideas from the platform. Chan says the long-term goal is to make advisory delivery more efficient and more personalised, while keeping the human relationship at the centre.

“Nothing can replace the human touch,” he says. “We still need relationship managers to focus on relationship management, and AI should help us deliver ideas more efficiently.”

 

Getting Personal With Gabriel Chan

When Chan talks about his career, he tends to split it into two chapters. The first was his time as an equity research analyst in investment banking, when the pace was fast, the scrutiny was intense and every investment idea had to stand up to challenge. The second has been about leadership, management and building platforms, first as Head of Equity Research in APAC on the sales side at BNP Paribas, and later in wealth management. But when he reflects on the journey, what stands out most is not only the job titles. It is the sense of having had a front-row seat to some remarkable moments along the way. “The first half of my career was as an equity research analyst,” he says. “That trained me to identify ideas, deliver them quickly and be challenged on them.”

One of the experiences he still talks about with real energy is Macau gaming. He was among the first analysts to cover the sector in the early 2000s, long before Cotai had taken shape and before the market became the regional powerhouse it is known as today. For Chan, it was one of those rare assignments where you could actually see a story unfolding in front of you, not just model it on a spreadsheet.

“I was lucky enough to be the first analyst to cover Macau gaming,” he says. “To witness everything being built out and become even bigger than Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenue was amazing.”

The irony was that, as the covering analyst, he could not invest in the stocks himself. He watched the sector’s rise from the sidelines, including the transformation of Galaxy from a construction materials company into a major gaming name.

Then there is the Manchester United story, which Chan tells with the kind of smile that makes it clear this one still means a lot to him. As a long-time supporter, he found himself in the unusual position of working on something connected to the club’s listing process, which eventually gave him the chance to visit Old Trafford and meet Sir Alex Ferguson. It was one of those moments where work suddenly became personal in the best possible way.

“Being a Man United fan, having the chance to visit Old Trafford and meet Sir Alex Ferguson was amazing,” he says.