Innovation, creativity and the ability to implement novel solutions to address market needs, client demand and new ways of working are crucial. Olzhas Zhiyenkulov, CEO of Paladigm Capital gives his views on factors for success within the asset and wealth management sector
Singapore based Paladigm Capital is an innovative asset and wealth management, consulting and advisory organisation working with clients in the emerging economies of Central and South-East Asia. Operating within a growing sector representing the world’s sixth largest economy, and home to more than 600 million people, Paladigm Capital’s vision to bring clarity to an overcrowded world of finance through in depth research, market insights and a tailormade service of private investment, wealth management and advisory services, faces many challenges and opportunities.
Success is achieved by understanding and focusing on outcomes, delivering on not only promises, but business change – global demographics, increasing regulation, technological disruption and even emergency conditions, such as those currently enforced by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the success of any organisation depends on the strength, market knowledge and expertise of its leadership, Olzhas Zhiyenkulov, CEO of asset and wealth management company, Paladigm Capital tells us about the unique background concept behind their innovative business, differentiating factors and the qualities needed for success in the asset and wealth management sector and how the innovative company has responded to challenges and opportunities.
Could you describe the business concept for Paladigm?
Think back to a time when you went on a shopping trip to buy your first mobile phone. One can spend hours or even days trying analyse differences between various types of a deceptively similar product. I realised that the same predicament is present in the world of finance. Individuals don’t always have time to research and analyse seemingly immaterial differences in available products and services and make effective investment decisions, whereas the same differences can result in significant discrepancies in long term performance.
Technological companies strive to achieve perfection within a certain set of parameters. They do not necessarily reinvent the wheel, but they identify a problem and often take available components and assemble the most effective tool to solve that problem for a certain target audience. We, at Paladigm Capital, are similar in that respect. We are a boutique set-up offering best in class investment opportunities for a certain target audience by employing innovation and engaging into meaningful partnership to access existing solutions as and when necessary to solve a centuries old problem of effective investment.
How does Paladigm Capital differentiate itself from similar organisations in the asset and wealth management sector?
Firstly, I like to think it’s our ability to combine a high level of situational awareness with industry expertise It’s about really understanding current market realities and getting to know our clients’ goals and tolerance of risk, and having an extensive range of innovative products designed to match client demand.
Secondly, it’s our constant strive for innovation in both our product line and service quality. One of the biggest pains that we aim to solve as an organization is to offer our investors automated and effective reporting capabilities for them to maintain awareness of their portfolios in a meaningful way. On the other hand, our desire to innovate combined with natural advantages offered by our expertise and background enabled us to build a pipeline of unique, sustainable and disruptive investment opportunities in the frontier markets of Central Asia and emerging economies of Southeast Asia.
Thirdly, our ability to foster strategic partnerships. For instance, to facilitate our reporting capabilities we have partnered up with some of the leading technological providers in Singapore. Also, I am proud to announce that in order to deliver what we believe to be one of the best-in-class multi-asset investment solutions as of this month we have partnered up with Schroders, a global investment manager with a large presence and market leadership position in the Asia Pacific region. The new product will be called Paladigm Atlas Fund. It will benefit both from our financial and structuring expertise in the role of the Investment Manager and Schroders’ immense investment experience in the role of the Investment Advisor.
Lastly, our product range. our broad portfolio of multi-asset, private investment, venture capital and advisory products appeal to a wide range of investors.
Offering personalised and investment advice is quite a responsibility. What would you consider the most important quality for an asset and wealth manager to possess?
There’s two overlapping aspects at play here. Being a leader brings daily challenges, and for me failure will never be an option for three important reasons. Firstly, your livelihood and income are at stake, secondly, your employees are reliant on you for their day to day needs, and thirdly, you have immense responsibility towards your clients. The ability to embrace the fear of failure is crucial, but I’ve always felt that passion, dedication and love for the role are the overriding factors for success.
Secondly, I firmly believe that integrity and trust are vital qualities for every business, but even more crucial in the world of finance. It’s about making honest, ethical choices for your client, firm in the knowledge that their best interests are at heart. Building a reputation takes time, expertise and commitment, but the rewards follow in the shape of repeat business, and word of mouth recommendations.
External influences play a significant role when determining risks, but there’s also a need for asset and wealth managers to adapt to a changing world. Can you tell us about the some of these challenges and the ways in which Paladigm Capital has responded?
Global supertrends, sustainable investment and technological development are three such areas. Paladigm Capital focuses on identifying and researching global long-term socio-economical, demographical and environmental trends in order to identify potential disruption and the next high growth emerging markets and technologies and incorporating that information into our investment decision and product design. Coupled with this is increasing speed of technological development and automation – smarter, more efficient ways of working which we’ve had to adopt and embrace. Last, but not the least, we have always advocated for sustainability in investments, but we intend to take it further by developing a systematic, long-term approach to incorporate sustainability into decision-making across our organization.
Coping with the coronavirus pandemic has been a journey in itself. COVID-19 has brought forth a whole array of social, financial, logistical and compliance issues. Unlike us, many companies of our size did not survive this trying period. On the other hand, the pandemic also helped us underline the importance of strategic partnerships with industry leaders for boutique financial institutions. Once again, I learned that if you want to be the best, work with the best. We are excited about the relationships we have fostered with our technological partners and Schroders and will continue to build meaningful collaborations in order to provide exceptional investment solutions for our investors. After all, the secret is not in reinventing the wheel but carefully applying it to achieve your destination in the most effective manner.
Further information on Paladigm Capital together with products, services and contact details can be found at https://paladigm.capital/