DBS Group has set an ambitious target to grow assets under management (AUM) in its wealth business to more than S$1 trillion (US$774 billion) by 2030, betting that Asia’s expanding affluent population and accelerating cross-border wealth flows will continue to position Singapore as one of the world’s premier private banking hubs.
The target represents a roughly S$400 billion increase from the S$632 billion in wealth AUM the bank managed at the end of 2025, effectively requiring DBS to replicate the asset growth it achieved over the previous decade in just five years.
The accelerated growth strategy underscores intensifying competition among Asian and global banks to capture the region’s rapidly expanding wealth pool, as geopolitical uncertainty, changing investment patterns and the creation of new fortunes through technology and entrepreneurship reshape private banking across Asia.
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“From full year 2015 to 2025, in 10 years, we grew our AUM by S$400 billion,” Shee Tse Koon, DBS’ Group Executive and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said during a media briefing.
“Looking at the traction, our ambition now is to grow the same S$400 billion by half the time.”
He attributed the optimism to powerful structural trends.
“Many of the macro trends that we see, for example the rise of wealth in Asia, and also the shift of wealth into Asia, I think these macro trends are what will be tailwinds,” Shee said.
Riding Asia’s Wealth Creation Boom
DBS’ strategy is built on one of the fastest-growing wealth markets globally.
Asia continues to produce new millionaires at one of the quickest rates worldwide, driven by technology companies, manufacturing, financial services, and family-owned businesses. At the same time, wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking geographic diversification for their assets, creating opportunities for regional financial centers.
Singapore has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of that trend.
The city-state has attracted substantial inflows from entrepreneurs, family offices and high-net-worth individuals seeking political stability, a predictable regulatory framework, competitive tax policies and sophisticated financial services. Rising geopolitical tensions, including U.S.-China strategic rivalry, have further reinforced Singapore’s status as a preferred destination for wealth preservation and management.
The influx has supported robust growth across Singapore’s banking sector, particularly for its three largest lenders, DBS, OCBC, and UOB, whose wealth management businesses have become increasingly important earnings drivers alongside traditional lending operations.
One of the strongest indicators of Singapore’s growing appeal is the rapid expansion of family offices. DBS said it now banks more than one-third of all single-family offices established in Singapore, giving it a dominant position in one of the fastest-growing client segments in private banking.
The bank also reported that, as of May, the number of newly onboarded high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients had increased 20% compared with a year earlier.
Family offices typically generate higher-value relationships than conventional private banking clients because they often require investment advisory services, estate planning, philanthropy management, lending, corporate banking, foreign exchange, trust structures, and succession planning.
As more wealthy Asian families establish formal investment offices, banks with integrated capabilities across these services stand to benefit from deeper and longer-term client relationships.
To support its growth ambitions, DBS plans to hire more than 600 additional employees by the end of 2028, including relationship managers, frontline advisers, platform engineers and technology specialists. The recruitment will focus on the bank’s major Asian markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
There is a growing shift in wealth management that has seen digital capabilities become as important as traditional client advisory services.
“It’s not just about the frontliners,” Shee said.
“We need the engineers, the tech people, the platform people to create that capability and the capacity.”
Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, data analytics and automated portfolio management are increasingly becoming competitive differentiators as wealthy clients expect seamless digital experiences alongside personalized financial advice.
Largest Physical Expansion of Wealth Franchise
The hiring drive complements DBS’ largest-ever investment in its physical wealth management network. Last month, the bank announced plans to open 18 new wealth centers across Asia by the end of 2027 while upgrading another 36 existing centers over the following 18 months.
The expansion signals that, despite rapid digitalization, face-to-face advisory services remain central to serving affluent and ultra-high-net-worth clients, particularly for complex investment strategies, succession planning and cross-border wealth structuring. The new centers are expected to strengthen DBS’ presence in key Asian wealth markets while supporting higher client acquisition and deeper engagement with existing customers.
The announcement underpins the growing importance of fee-based businesses for banks facing a more challenging lending environment. Unlike traditional banking, wealth management generates recurring income through advisory fees, portfolio management charges and investment products rather than relying primarily on interest income. That makes earnings less sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates and credit demand.
For DBS, expanding wealth management also aligns with broader demographic and economic trends. Asia is expected to account for an increasing share of global wealth creation over the coming decade, supported by rising incomes, expanding capital markets and rapid growth in entrepreneurial businesses. At the same time, an intergenerational transfer of wealth across the region is expected to create significant demand for financial planning, trust services, and investment management.
DBS is positioning itself to capture those long-term opportunities by building a “wealth continuum” that serves customers across every stage of their financial journey, from affluent retail banking clients to ultra-high-net-worth families.
“Our wealth continuum is about really winning in every segment,” Shee said.
“It’s about serving them most appropriately in that segment, because, as I said, customers are not homogeneous.”
DBS’ ambitious target comes amid intensifying competition for Asian wealth. Global financial institutions, including UBS, HSBC, JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America, have expanded their private banking operations across Asia, while regional lenders are investing heavily in digital wealth platforms and advisory capabilities.
Singapore remains one of the focal points of that competition because of its growing concentration of family offices, stable regulatory environment and role as a gateway for Southeast Asian and Greater China wealth.
If DBS achieves its S$1 trillion AUM target by 2030, it would further cement its position as Southeast Asia’s largest wealth manager and augment Singapore’s status as one of the world’s leading international wealth management centers.