Welcome to the inaugural edition of TheAsset+, your first and best stop for authoritative insights and discussions of some of the issues and relevant themes in Asia's financial industry. 

We open this edition with a special series, Wealth Management Taiwan 2015, which gives an overview of the latest developments in Taiwan’s wealth management and private banking industry.

Wealthy Taiwanese demands are broad, seeking sophisticated products that augment their wealth, with the expectation their relationship managers will play a key role in advisory services and portfolio management. With these, private banks across the island are focusing on training staff to provide better services and seeking new ways to connect with their clients like never before.

With the new leadership in the Financial Supervisory Commission, private banks, trustees and wealth management departments look forward to regulations that would further open up the sector to greater product selections for clients. In Taiwan, being one of the more conservative developed markets in Asia Pacific, liberalization of financial markets will be welcomed by private bankers and their clients alike.

ETFs, an already popular and booming investment instrument in Hong Kong and Singapore, are beginning to take root in Taiwan. We will discuss this, and in addition, look into the myriad issues surrounding distribution platforms, investor education, and how intermediaries are working in the market.

The development of renminbi-dominated products are also written extensively throughout the special series, which will run for the month of July. We attempt to explore how banks are working with their clients to open them up to new product suites, and capture some of the liquidity, as plenty of their capital is sitting in deposit.

The reports include insightful articles and analysis from the island’s leading practitioners, including private bankers, heads of wealth management, and other professional advisors.

We hope this special series demonstrates the growth, excitement, and opportunities echoing from Taiwan. The island has over 39 banks, some of the most competitive in Asia.