Wealth managers hope for integrated monetary authority
Wealth managers hope for integrated monetary authority
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As wealth management services become more popular, banks and
customers need to really understand what the wealth management
profession is all about, an association says.
Certified Wealth Managers' Association (CWMA) chairman Martha
Bambang Priambodo said people needed to be able to differentiate
wealth managers from other professionals who also deal with money
management, such as financial planners and treasurers.
"A wealth manager's duty is to manage, grow and allocate the
wealth of his or her customer. What differentiates this
profession from that of financial planner is that a wealth
manager works for an institution, such as a bank, or an insurance
or securities company," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
Bambang said that a wealth manager even dealt with how to
bequeath his customers' wealth to their heirs.
"In some developed countries, wealth managers also give advice
on fashion and lifestyle. That's why this profession has become
number one in the U.S. in terms of generating money, beating
lawyers and website managers," said Bambang, who is also vice
president of Bank Niaga.
"When customers come to a wealth manager, they not only want
to save their money in the bank, but also to grow their cash
through various kinds of investments based on the advice of their
wealth managers," he said.
Therefore, the profession was linked to related industries,
such as the insurance and capital markets industries.
The problem is, Bambang said, that the banking, capital
markets and insurance industries all had different regulatory
frameworks and regulators, which forced wealth managers to
familiarize themselves with all the regulations in the related
industries.
"That is why the association focuses on providing education,
formulating codes of ethics and promoting the profession to the
public," he said.
Founded in July, the CWMA has published a code of ethics for
wealth managers that, among other things, requires them to
provide accurate and well-researched advice to their clients.
"Wealth managers must advise their clients on how to formulate
tax strategy, meaning how to diversify investments to avoid huge
taxes, but they are forbidden from advising their customers to
evade tax," he said.
CWMA deputy chairman for professional standards and ethical
codes, Darmadi Sutanto, said the association provided
certification for would-be professional wealth managers to
improve their quality.
Bambang hoped this would improve the competence of local
wealth managers and allow them to compete against their overseas
counterparts.
"We are familiar with the term `UFO', which stands for
"Unidentified Financial Officer". They come from abroad to offer
their services to rich Indonesians," he said.
"Through this certification program, we hope to boost the
competence of local wealth managers and increase their numbers."
At present, Indonesia only has 50 certified wealth managers, a
third of the overall CWMA membership of 150.
"We are bringing a roadshow to Yogyakarta and Surabaya to give
training to would-be wealth managers. We hope that by the year's
end, we will have 150 additional members," Bambang said.
CWMA literature says that a wealth manager must pass a seven-
stage course, and study such subjects as investment, legal
aspects, and pension and estate management.
"The first six levels can be studied through the Gadjah Mada
University's Master of Management program. But the final level
should be studied at the University of Greenwich's School of
Business in London," Darmadi said.
Another problem faced by wealth managers, Bambang said, was
the absence of an integrated monetary authority here that could
synchronize banking, capital market and insurance industry
regulations.
"We hope the government will establish a financial services
authority (OJK) soon," he said. (006)