APAC AWM on Track for USD 34 Trillion by 2030: HK-Singapore Rivalry and the Profit Paradox

It is projected that by 2030, Asia-Pacific assets under management (AuM) will reach US$34.5 trillion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%, surpassing North America’s 6.2% and Europe’s 5.6%. Over the next five years, it will unleash up to US$47 billion in new revenue opportunities. On the surface, this is undoubtedly a blue ocean with limitless potential.

Behind the Eye-Catching Figures: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

From the perspective of a frontline accountant and corporate advisor, it is believed that people must squarely confront the deeper structure behind these macro figures. One data point in the report deserves attention: by 2030, Asia-Pacific asset and wealth management (AWM) institutions are expected to manage less than one-quarter of the region’s total investable wealth—a proportion far below Europe’s nearly 40% and North America’s nearly 60%. This reveals that the industry still has enormous room for growth.

However, growth opportunities do not equate to guaranteed profits. The report notes that as many as 95% of Asia-Pacific asset managers have come under profit pressure over the past five years. At the same time, while 71% of institutions reported cost increases of 1% to 20%, 90% still recorded revenue growth, and revenue growth has partially offset cost pressure—a resilience not seen in other regions. Nevertheless, under the continued impact of the following two major cost factors, the traditional business model still faces severe tests:

Technology infrastructure investment

77% of Asia-Pacific institutions regard technology and digital disruption as the foremost trend reshaping the industry, and capital expenditure on system upgrades and digital transformation has surged. High mobile phone penetration, government digitalization projects, and local technology competition have made technology adoption a business imperative, and related infrastructure investment continues to push up operating costs.

Compliance and talent costs

Dealing with vastly different regulatory regimes across Asian countries, combined with fierce competition for high-end data analytics talent, has significantly driven up overall operating costs.

The Hong Kong-Singapore Rivalry: From "Zero-Sum Competition" to a "Twin-Engine" Landscape

In this race for wealth management, Hong Kong and Singapore, as the two core hubs of Asia-Pacific, are demonstrating different strategic advantages and policy paths:

Singapore: Proactive Capital Injection and a Digital Moat

Singapore is further consolidating its advantage in accelerated growth, leveraging deep sovereign wealth, forward-looking tokenized finance regulation, and a mature fund tax regime to attract high-net-worth capital. To deepen capital market liquidity, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has expanded the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) to S$6.5 billion, aimed at investing in funds managed by local fund managers; it also plans to launch a CPF Lifecycle Investment Plan in 2028, which is expected to channel up to S$9 billion a year into the stock market. Its advanced digital infrastructure is regarded as a benchmark that others in the region are eager to emulate.

Hong Kong: Core Hub with Vast Hinterland Support

The report explicitly points out that Hong Kong is Singapore’s main competitor in wealth management. Benefiting from the strong performance of Asian stock markets and technology industries such as semiconductors, plus the continued growth of wealth and high-net-worth populations in Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong stands out as a core engine of regional wealth growth. According to the latest survey by the Securities and Futures Commission, in 2025 Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management business saw total assets under management rise 20% year-on-year to HK$42.2 trillion (US$5.4 trillion), a record high; net fund inflows during the year reached HK$2.1 trillion (US$265 billion), surging 193% year-on-year and marking a third consecutive year of increase. Among this, assets under management in private banking and private wealth management grew 24% year-on-year to HK$12.9 trillion (US$1.7 trillion). Hong Kong also surpassed Switzerland for the first time to become the world’s largest cross-border wealth management center.

With its vast capital pool, deep market liquidity, and the irreplaceable advantage of being backed by mainland China’s economic hinterland, Hong Kong has strong capacity to capture family office relocations, Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect, and alternative investments, consolidating its core position as the gateway for mainland China to global markets.

Abandoning "One-Size-Fits-All" and Focusing on Core Competitiveness

Facing a fragmented Asia-Pacific market, the old “one-size-fits-all” approach has become ineffective. Asset managers and family offices should not view Hong Kong and Singapore as a zero-sum game, but rather position them as complementary “twin engines.”

Institutions must make clear strategic choices:

Define the positioning of operating centers: Assess what core capabilities to build in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively (such as asset allocation, compliance hubs, or technology R&D), and provide differentiated services for the two locations’ different client groups.

Focus on high-value areas: Outsource non-core businesses such as back-office administration and routine compliance reviews, and concentrate core resources on client experience, digital platform development, and the alternative investment sector, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.3%.

In summary, the trillion-dollar feast in Asia-Pacific asset management does indeed exist, but not everyone will get a share. For asset managers and entrepreneurs positioning themselves in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, blindly pursuing expansion of assets under management will only accelerate profit erosion; only by clarifying the strategic division of labor between Hong Kong and Singapore and optimizing operational efficiency and technology architecture can they transform the “potential blue ocean” into “substantial profits” amid this upheaval.

Paxson Fung, Partner of CityLinkers Group