DBS and NTU team up to train Singapore’s next generation of wealth management talent
Singapore, 13 Feb 2018 - To groom job-ready wealth management talent and cater to growing industry demand for such expertise in Singapore, DBS Bank and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) today announced a partnership to build a sustainable talent pool of wealth management associates.
DBS and NTU will launch a new Applied Wealth Management track for undergraduates, and it will be introduced under the current Banking and Finance specialisation of the Bachelor of Business degree programme by NTU’s Nanyang Business School.
The new track, the first of its kind at undergraduate level in Singapore, aims to equip graduates with applied and academic competencies, including regulatory certifications and digital skill sets to become job-ready wealth management professionals ready to serve the emerging affluent.
Developed in collaboration with NTU’s Wealth Management Institute (WMI), the Applied Wealth Management track aims to accept up to 50 students for each academic year starting from this August, with the first cohort comprising those who enrolled at NTU in August 2017.
Singapore is one of the world’s leading financial hubs, and the demand for skilled wealth managers is increasing as Asia Pacific is home to the largest number of wealthy individuals
[1]
, and continues to have the largest and fastest growing mass affluent segment in the world
[2]
.
Tan Su Shan, Managing Director and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, DBS Bank said, “To meet the demands of the next generation of emerging affluent customers, we need to build a workforce of job-ready wealth managers today. From ensuring that these students have the best-in-class curriculum to hands-on training, through this course, we want to develop innovative and committed bankers who are ready to succeed in the future economy.”
Wealth management is a strategic priority for DBS, and the business has grown from strength to strength. Today, the business accounts for around 17 per cent of the bank’s income.
Professor Ling San, NTU Provost and Vice-President (Academic), said, “The new Applied Wealth Management track builds on NTU’s pedagogy of equipping our students with industry experience as part of their academic programme, and gives our students a head start in pursuing attractive careers in wealth management.
“By incorporating WMI’s practice-based wealth management curriculum in the degree programme, including mandatory industry certification, coupled with the comprehensive structured internships, our students will learn about wealth management in the ‘real world’ context, gain first-hand experience with clients, and understand what it takes to be successful in the wealth management business.”
Job-ready Wealth Management Associates
Students under the new Applied Wealth Management track will undergo two internships with DBS Bank – a 10-week and 20-week stint at the end of their second and third years of study respectively. The internships are designed to provide a solid understanding of wealth management, first-hand client interactions and an immersion into the digital banking environment at DBS.
They will graduate with the required regulatory certifications, including WMI’s Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Level 1 priority banking curriculum, and Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) papers.
This will enable graduates to start work immediately, instead of the current practice of being required to first undergo a six-month training and certification period. This will mentally prepare them for the demands of the job, and they can also leverage an extensive network made up of DBS senior management.
In addition, students who show an aptitude in banking will be offered a full-time job at DBS even before they graduate from NTU. These high performers will start their career as wealth management associates in the bank’s consumer banking group, and after a year, selected associates will be offered a place in DBS Treasures, the bank’s wealth management segment.
Ms Foo Mee Har, Chief Executive Officer of NTU’s WMI, said, “Fresh graduates joining the wealth management industry typically undergo a lengthy period of training and certification of about six months before they are deemed ready to serve clients. Furthermore, they are often overwhelmed by the additional learning required to be ‘licensed’ for practice in the industry, involving specialised skills and competencies.
"This new formula will help undergraduates to be fully job-ready on day one of their new jobs, and accelerate development of a strong pipeline of talent for the fast-growing wealth management industry.”
Students say new track will give them an edge
Applications for the new Applied Wealth Management track will begin at the end of the current academic year, but interest in it is already rising.
Randall Pay, 23, a first-year business student at NTU, said, “Clinching a job in wealth management before graduation is a tall order, so I’m excited to find out about the Applied Wealth Management track. Starting a banking career comes with many challenges, and being part of a programme that will prepare me for the corporate world will give me an edge over my peers.”
Ryan Lee, 22, also a first-year business student at NTU, also said, “In this volatile job market, I want to be job ready even before graduation. The new Applied Wealth Management track allows me to have a better understanding of the job, thereby raising the level of my professionalism. It will also equip me with the required industry certifications so that I can hit the ground running and have a head start when I start work.”
NTU’s Nanyang Business School is regarded amongst the best globally, and is one of the most established and comprehensive providers of business and management education in the Asia-Pacific.
The school’s MBA programme was ranked 22nd globally – a jump from 24th – in the latest Financial Times MBA rankings announced last month.
DBS was recently conferred the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ award at the 2017 Aon Hewitt Best Employer Awards, and was also named “Best Wealth Manager, Singapore” by The Asset.
[1]
Capgemini report -
https://www.capgemini.com/news/capgeminis-asia-pacific-wealth-report-2017-asia-pacific-continues-to-dominate-high-net-worth-individual-population-and-wealth/
[2]
Kepler Cannon report -
http://www.keplercannon.com/the-growing-asian-wealth-management-market-capturing-the-mass-affluent-opportunity/
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About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings, is among the highest in the world.
DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “
World’s Best Digital Bank
” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been named “Asia’s Best Bank” by several publications including The Banker, Global Finance, IFR Asia and Euromoney since 2012. In addition, the bank has been named “
Safest Bank in Asia
” by Global Finance for nine consecutive years from 2009 to 2017.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of its 24,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit
www.dbs.com
.
About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).
Ranked 11th in the world, NTU is top in Asia and has been placed the world’s top young university for the past four years. The University’s main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) buildings, of which 54 are certified Green Mark Platinum. NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore’s medical district.
For more information, visit
www.ntu.edu.sg
.
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