W&F Issue 10 2018

www.wealthandfinance-news.com 28 Wealth & Finance International - Issue 10 - 2018 Private banking and wealth management business was rebranded as Alfa Private and became a separate area of Retail Business in April 2017. The Bank decided that such clients and their families needed service of a higher standards. Effective solutions for HNWI/UHNWI clients lie on the intersection of classic banking service and products offered by the Investment Bank, and management, insurance, leasing, and other companies of the group and its external partners. Judging by the world practice, the operating model can satisfy the needs of such clients better if there is a dedicated platform, and Alfa Private has become such. This approach offers better solutions to clients, and their price and quality can vary depending on the used instruments, including those provided by the Bank and its partners. For instance, Alfa Private is actively developing portfolio investment consulting, crediting, and special wealth structuring and management services. Beginning the interview, Katerina starts off by going more in-depth about Alfa Private’s overall mission, and the steps the team takes to ensure that they achieve their main goal. “Here at Alfa Private, one of our biggest achievement is that we have several thousand clients. It is not our primary objective to increase the number of clients, instead we are trying to provide top-notch service, offering our clients and their families a comprehensive view of finance. We like being recommended, and we can see that our business is growing with people-to-people recommendations instead of advertising. Of course, we appraise our results from inside, but client feedback is also important. Clients return and tell us that we have helped them deal with the problems they did not know how to resolve or that our solution is faster and easier. They are not just our clients; they are working with banks of Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK, and have what to compare us with. We are delighted that the level of our service is not inferior to what foreign colleagues have to offer.” Ensuring that the firm is able to deliver to their client’s such high-levels of service, is the dynamic team that form the backbone of Alfa Private. When discussing the internal culture with the firm, Katerina is keen to highlight the atmosphere they have cultivated within Alfa Private. “Our team is the second most prized asset after clients. At Alfa Private, we are focused on developing team skills and competences above all. Also, we give much attention to financial advisors, who are crucial to our relations with clients. It is our task to provide world-class expertise. This is why we regularly arrange coaching courses on key trends in tax and compliance laws and management of compliance and portfolio risks. In September 2018, our private bankers graduated professional development program ‘The Future Private Banker Today’, in collaboration with the Skolkovo Business School. The program is based on research conducted by the Skolkovo Wealth Management and Philanthropy Center, polls of Russian businessmen and their associates, Alfa Private is a service for HNWI/UHNWI established in Alfa Bank In 2007. Alfa Private provide the most convenient and highly professional wealth management service in Russia and the CIS countries. Recently, we spoke to Managing Director, Katerina Mileeva who provided us with greater insight into Alfa Private following their success in Wealth & Finance’s Best in Banking Awards 2018 where they were awarded the accolade 2018’s Leaders in Private Banking – Russia. Creating Confidence in Success 1808WF11 and survey on the mentality of capital owners. In addition, Alfa Private has implemented a mandatory staff appraisal system. We have given much attention to the development of our service division and the voice of the client. The opening of an Alfa Private call centre applying the most innovative client service technologies was one of the results. From the angle of the client service team, we have reorganised the operating model, united financial advisors into teams, and designated service roles for improving daily service to our clients and enabling financial advisors to concentrate on the most difficult and comprehensive assignments. A whole team is now working for our clients and their families, which results in the smooth daily service on the one hand, as well as offering the best possible expert support whenever that is necessary on the other.” Looking ahead to what the future holds, Katerina signs off by revealing the exciting plans that lie in the pipeline for the firm. “Moving forward, we will continue developing our daily banking service expertise. Our primary objective is speed, limits, and fine-tuning of remote-banking channels. Also, our primary offer to clients is that they do not have to visit a bank office for conducting most of their transactions. We want 100% of investment and banking transactions to be conducted without a visit to a bank office, while maintaining high levels of security. “Lastly, we have bold and ambitious plans. We will do the utmost to build the best Private Banking service for clients who speak Russian both inside Russia and far beyond its borders, which means we have to compete with global banks. To this end, we will continue the intensive development of our team, its competences, and, of course, our technologies with a focus on investment tools in open-architecture collaboration with our partners. We know that our goal is not easy to reach but are confidently moving towards it. However, we have no doubt that in the end we will make the life of our clients, their families and proxies much more comfortable and easier.”