Strategic thinking and international experience: what Ausaf Abbas brings to his non-executive director role.

15 June 2017

Ausaf Abbas joined Multrees’ senior management team in 2013 as a non-executive director.

He brought with him more than 25 years’ experience working in the wealth management sector, along with an in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing the industry today.

Ausaf says: “I’ve run private wealth management businesses for both Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Through these, I’ve built up relationships and contacts with many people working in the City. This is a useful part of my work for Multrees.”

One of his main roles for Multrees is to support its expanding client base. And he says it’s here that his previous experience comes into play.

“I’ve held a number of senior roles across investment banking and private wealth management. These involved strategic management and looking at the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for these businesses. I hope Multrees, and their clients, can benefit from this approach.”

Ausaf believes that there are two related challenges facing the wealth management sector at present: increased costs and a squeeze on revenues.

He points out that costs have increased substantially in recent years, particularly as a result of the increased cost of technology and regulation. “A decade ago, many compliance departments were a couple of guys working from a basement office. Today, it’s more likely to be a team of 50 highly qualified staff.”

At the same time, many wealth managers face a downward pressure on fees, thanks to RDR and the move from active to passive management. “This presents a profitability challenge for many companies. Here is where companies like Multrees, which offers outstanding service and cost-effective outsourcing solutions, can help.” 

Ausaf says that one of the advantages that Multrees can provide is to tailor-make their services to fit the client’s needs.  “Too many companies do the reverse of this,” he says. “They build a one-size-fits-all system and then try to market it to clients.”

But by understanding the particular challenges that clients face — both today and in the future — the team at Multrees can come up with a customised solution.

“Times are particularly tough for medium-sized wealth management firms and strategic thinking has a vital part to play in this process. The smaller niche providers have their own market, and the largest wealth managers in the world are probably ok. But it’s a lot tougher for the larger group of companies that fall between these two extremes. “

For the past four years, Ausaf has chaired the judging panel for the WealthBriefing European Awards. He mentions: “This has allowed me to review many of the different business models and new developments that are being adopted within the wealth management industry. I can see which ones are working well and how Multrees’ solutions can help to address some of the challenges.”

Ausaf has a broad international experience and has spent more than 13 years living and working in Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Japan.

He continues: “Many of Multrees’ clients have an international outlook, particularly if they are focused on ultra high-net-worth individuals. These customers tend to have a more global focus, particularly when it comes to their investments. I believe that my experience working across Europe, the Middle East and Asia can be of use.”

Ausaf says his role as a non-executive director allows him to take more of an overview of the industry. “Hopefully my experience can help Multrees grow as a business. But this is a two-way thing: this is an industry that doesn’t stand still, so I continue to learn and gain new insights from my work at Multrees.”