The Future Of Money In A Rich Man's World

In this third of four round-table discussions hosted by global insurance broker IPG Howden and The Peak, finance experts and passion investors exchange insights on asset class evolution.

- Lauren Tan

How would you react If you woke up one morning and all bank accounts and trading platforms were gone? The ice-breaker was posed at the start of IPG Howden’s FutureReady session, The Future of Money: The Evolution of Asset Classes, co-hosted by The Peak.

“That wipes out all trading losses and bank loans. I might be happier!’ replied Kevin Tan, Executive Vice President of a financial and commodity firm and seasoned watch collector, with a laugh. “Jokes aside, in the financial equivalent of a zombie apocalypse, survival mode kicks in. The logical thing to do is establish how much cash or cash equivalent you have on hand, down to illiquid assets from watches and art to properties, and then plan your survival and revival.”

A colossal collapse of the financial system would return society to the days of trading physical goods and services for other goods and services, noted Nicolas Monroy, Director for Southeast Asia, Cult Wines. “But the silver lining would be that my portfolio of fine wine, as a pure commodity, would have protected a good portion of my wealth,” he added.

“The question does make one stop and think,” replied co-host Vincent Lee, Senior Vice-President and Head of Malaysia at IPG Howden, who has spent more than 20 years helping clients achieve their intergenerational wealth transfer and liquidity planning goals. “People are always focused on chasing the alpha. But things can go south, things can go wrong. Defensive allocation can provide protection, and also with insurance, you are creating a forward value that’s certain.”