Are there too many old white men working in UK private banking?
As a sector, private banking isn't really considered a bastion of diversity. Not only is there a still relatively small proportion of women, but UK wealth management is, according to some recruiters, littered with too many fusty, old, white, upper class men.
If you're a relationship manager in wealth management it helps to be able to, well, relate to your client base and have the right contacts to bring in new business. In Singapore, private bankers have even started aping the hobbies of their wealthy clients.
But ex-sports stars are often taken on to manage wealthy athletes, banks in Asia and the Middle East generally prefer local candidates and non-resident Indian focused desks are broadly staffed by Indians.
In the UK, traditionally a lot of the wealth in has been within the upper echelons of society - generally, white upper class aristocrats - so it made sense to employ relationship managers of a similar social background. Today, this is no longer relevant, yet these wealth management relics are clinging stubbornly on to their roles.
One head of recruitment at a global private bank tells us: "It's getting to the point where these guys can't relate to their client base. You've got fusty old English gentlemen dealing with the demands of young female Portuguese expats, for instance. There needs to be shake-up."
Wealth in the UK is clearly changing. A recent report by Barclays Wealth says there are more than 619,000 millionaires here, a figure expected to increase to 826,000 by 2020. The majority are still in London and the South East, but Scotland and Yorkshire have been highlighted as hot spots.
Clearly, therefore, the types of wealth managers being hired has also shifted.
"There's still a place for the long-lunching, aristocratic private banker; largely to deal with inherited wealth in the UK, but wealth managers now want to tap into the entrepreneurial money," says Stephen Heal, CEO of private banking recruiters HB International. "Big banks especially want hunters; well-educated, sophisticated investors who can bring in new business."
