Premium clients in Asia want far more than tight spreads and
VIP labels. They want speed, trust, human relationships and “money‑can’t‑buy”
experiences delivered at scale – and they
are prepared to move their wallet if brokers fall short.
At the Finance Magnates Singapore Summit 2026, senior
executives from CMC Markets, IG Group, eToro, Orient Futures, USAM
Group/PitchFintech and Returning.AI explored what high‑net‑worth
and high‑activity traders in Asia really demand in 2026.
Speaking on a panel titled “Join The
Club: What Premium Clients Want,” they
described a market where affluent traders expect frictionless onboarding,
resilient technology and sophisticated tools, but still decide heavily on
relationships, referrals and lived experience on the platform.
Moderator Desmond Leong, CEO of Returning.AI, framed the
discussion around three questions: how to define a premium client beyond
deposit size; which services and benefits actually increase trust and lifetime
value; and how Asian “premium playbooks” differ from those in other regions.
“It’s not just the deposit size, it’s not just the account balance,” he told
the audience. “What else that we are not seeing but the data is showing will
give us ideas of how high‑value a client would be.”
More from the event: “What Differentiates Brokers Now Is Connectivity and User Experience”: Inside FM Singapore Summit 2026
On that definition, the panelists converged on behavior over
balance. IG Group’s Head of Premium Clients, Jaycee Lai, said trading intensity
matters more than headline deposits. A client with a 500,000 account who trades
once a month is less “premium” than someone with 100,000 who trades 20 times a
week.
From left: Desmond Leong, Oriano Lizza, Shane Syed, Q Tan Chuen Kiat, Qin Lang, and Jaycee Lai
CMC Markets’ sales trader Oriana Lizza focused on referral
power as an early signal: clients who can credibly introduce peers with similar
profiles are inherently more valuable than their initial ticket size suggests.
eToro’s Head of BD and Partnerships for Asia, Qin “Nemo” Lang, described a
layered segmentation model that combines referral activity, trading frequency
and even login patterns to drive CRM prioritisation.
Hidden Signals: From Slippers to Same-Day Withdrawals
The stories behind those metrics were striking. Lai
recounted a walk‑in client at IG’s office in
Singapore who arrived in slippers, asked “elementary” questions and deposited just 1,000 dollars after a lengthy
meeting.
Over the next three to six months, he kept coming back,
quizzed staff on pricing and margin across asset classes, and steadily
increased both deposits and trade sizes as his confidence grew. What looked
like an unsophisticated small account became a high‑value
relationship once curiosity and breadth of product exploration were taken into
account.
Nemo described another counter‑intuitive pattern: cautious Asian
clients who repeatedly deposit and withdraw small sums on the same day. On
paper, they look like a waste of sales time.
In practice, he argued, they are stress‑testing
the platform’s funding and withdrawal flows
before committing serious money. Focusing only on account balances would mean
missing exactly the kind of sophisticated investor who cares about operational
reliability under pressure.
What Keeps Premium Clients Loyal
Lizza warned that brokers also overlook value closer to
home: dormant accounts. Instead of pouring budget into new acquisition, he
argued, firms should revisit clients who previously showed high activity and
risk appetite but stopped trading after burning out or blowing up. Their
behaviour already proves they have the potential; the question is how to re‑engage
them more intelligently.
When the conversation shifted from who premium clients are
to what keeps them loyal, three themes dominated: speed, simplicity and
resilience.
Keep reading: “Stablecoins Are like Sending an Email and Fiat Is like Sending a Letter in the Post”: FM Singapore 2026 Highlights
For Lizza, the onboarding journey is now “the primary
killer” if mishandled. As competitors compress the time from application to
first trade, laggards simply drop out of a wealthy client’s consideration set.
Leong summed up the expectation bluntly: premium clients want to sign up fast,
fund fast and clear KYC fast.
Former banker turned fintech adviser Shane Syed argued that
time‑efficiency
matters as much as raw speed. High‑net‑worth clients may only devote an
hour or two a day to their portfolio, he said; if a single platform consumes
most of that time with friction, they will not return.
Q Tan Chuen Kiat, Head of Sales at Orient Futures Singapore,
emphasised what happens when markets turn. He cited a client with more than 200
option strikes heading into a volatile “liberation day” event. By liquidating
only two positions to lift the account out of margin call, the firm preserved
the relationship and demonstrated prudent risk management rather than blindly
liquidating the book.
Lai stressed that none of this matters if the platform fails
in stress conditions. During the pandemic and again around recent tariff
headlines, he said, brokers saw unprecedented volumes, exposing the weakest
systems. For premium clients trading larger tickets, unfettered access and the
ability to execute and exit positions without outages or rejections during
volatility are non‑negotiable.
The panel then turned to a more strategic question: how to
double the premium book without doubling headcount. Here, AI, loyalty
programmes and events entered the picture.
Scaling the Premium Book: AI, Loyalty and Guanxi
Lai argued that artificial intelligence should underpin the
operating model rather than sit at the front end as a shiny marketing tool. By
using AI‑driven analytics to identify leading indicators of
future premium behaviour, he said, brokers can reserve human relationship
managers for the highest‑potential accounts and sharpen
their daily priorities. Instead of calling 50 clients at random, an RM could
focus on a tightly defined subset where the data suggests a decisive
intervention will matter.
Nemo described eToro’s approach as combining a “solidlocalized loyalty program” with brand‑building sponsorships and
structured referrals. The firm’s club
programme offers premium research subscriptions, dedicated account managers,
discounted fees and exclusive invitations.
Premier League Sponsorship Tie-Up
Its long‑running Premier League sponsorship and more recent Formula 1 tie‑up create inventory for genuinely
scarce experiences, such as paddock passes, that “even
if you want to pay 20,000 you won’t have
access to.” In his view, premium clients are
increasingly seeking these “money‑cannot‑buy” experiences alongside financial incentives.
Q challenged the orthodoxy of one‑to‑one
relationship coverage. At Orient Futures, professional clients join encrypted
chat groups staffed by the full dealing desk and sales team rather than a
single point of contact, a model he said reduces key‑man risk and
improves 24‑hour responsiveness. Syed, for his part, would start by
“beating the market” on
technology, assembling a best‑of‑breed stack to wow existing
clients so they become the loudest advocates.
In the closing segment, the panelists compared Asia with the
“old world” of Europe. Lizza framed Asia’s premium playbook in one word
repeated three times: relationship. Deals take longer, trust is built
incrementally, and once established, that trust radiates through tight‑knit
communities.
Premium clients in Asia want far more than tight spreads and
VIP labels. They want speed, trust, human relationships and “money‑can’t‑buy”
experiences delivered at scale – and they
are prepared to move their wallet if brokers fall short.
At the Finance Magnates Singapore Summit 2026, senior
executives from CMC Markets, IG Group, eToro, Orient Futures, USAM
Group/PitchFintech and Returning.AI explored what high‑net‑worth
and high‑activity traders in Asia really demand in 2026.
Speaking on a panel titled “Join The
Club: What Premium Clients Want,” they
described a market where affluent traders expect frictionless onboarding,
resilient technology and sophisticated tools, but still decide heavily on
relationships, referrals and lived experience on the platform.
Moderator Desmond Leong, CEO of Returning.AI, framed the
discussion around three questions: how to define a premium client beyond
deposit size; which services and benefits actually increase trust and lifetime
value; and how Asian “premium playbooks” differ from those in other regions.
“It’s not just the deposit size, it’s not just the account balance,” he told
the audience. “What else that we are not seeing but the data is showing will
give us ideas of how high‑value a client would be.”
More from the event: “What Differentiates Brokers Now Is Connectivity and User Experience”: Inside FM Singapore Summit 2026
On that definition, the panelists converged on behavior over
balance. IG Group’s Head of Premium Clients, Jaycee Lai, said trading intensity
matters more than headline deposits. A client with a 500,000 account who trades
once a month is less “premium” than someone with 100,000 who trades 20 times a
week.
From left: Desmond Leong, Oriano Lizza, Shane Syed, Q Tan Chuen Kiat, Qin Lang, and Jaycee Lai
CMC Markets’ sales trader Oriana Lizza focused on referral
power as an early signal: clients who can credibly introduce peers with similar
profiles are inherently more valuable than their initial ticket size suggests.
eToro’s Head of BD and Partnerships for Asia, Qin “Nemo” Lang, described a
layered segmentation model that combines referral activity, trading frequency
and even login patterns to drive CRM prioritisation.
Hidden Signals: From Slippers to Same-Day Withdrawals
The stories behind those metrics were striking. Lai
recounted a walk‑in client at IG’s office in
Singapore who arrived in slippers, asked “elementary” questions and deposited just 1,000 dollars after a lengthy
meeting.
Over the next three to six months, he kept coming back,
quizzed staff on pricing and margin across asset classes, and steadily
increased both deposits and trade sizes as his confidence grew. What looked
like an unsophisticated small account became a high‑value
relationship once curiosity and breadth of product exploration were taken into
account.
Nemo described another counter‑intuitive pattern: cautious Asian
clients who repeatedly deposit and withdraw small sums on the same day. On
paper, they look like a waste of sales time.
In practice, he argued, they are stress‑testing
the platform’s funding and withdrawal flows
before committing serious money. Focusing only on account balances would mean
missing exactly the kind of sophisticated investor who cares about operational
reliability under pressure.
What Keeps Premium Clients Loyal
Lizza warned that brokers also overlook value closer to
home: dormant accounts. Instead of pouring budget into new acquisition, he
argued, firms should revisit clients who previously showed high activity and
risk appetite but stopped trading after burning out or blowing up. Their
behaviour already proves they have the potential; the question is how to re‑engage
them more intelligently.
When the conversation shifted from who premium clients are
to what keeps them loyal, three themes dominated: speed, simplicity and
resilience.
Keep reading: “Stablecoins Are like Sending an Email and Fiat Is like Sending a Letter in the Post”: FM Singapore 2026 Highlights
For Lizza, the onboarding journey is now “the primary
killer” if mishandled. As competitors compress the time from application to
first trade, laggards simply drop out of a wealthy client’s consideration set.
Leong summed up the expectation bluntly: premium clients want to sign up fast,
fund fast and clear KYC fast.
Former banker turned fintech adviser Shane Syed argued that
time‑efficiency
matters as much as raw speed. High‑net‑worth clients may only devote an
hour or two a day to their portfolio, he said; if a single platform consumes
most of that time with friction, they will not return.
Q Tan Chuen Kiat, Head of Sales at Orient Futures Singapore,
emphasised what happens when markets turn. He cited a client with more than 200
option strikes heading into a volatile “liberation day” event. By liquidating
only two positions to lift the account out of margin call, the firm preserved
the relationship and demonstrated prudent risk management rather than blindly
liquidating the book.
Lai stressed that none of this matters if the platform fails
in stress conditions. During the pandemic and again around recent tariff
headlines, he said, brokers saw unprecedented volumes, exposing the weakest
systems. For premium clients trading larger tickets, unfettered access and the
ability to execute and exit positions without outages or rejections during
volatility are non‑negotiable.
The panel then turned to a more strategic question: how to
double the premium book without doubling headcount. Here, AI, loyalty
programmes and events entered the picture.
Scaling the Premium Book: AI, Loyalty and Guanxi
Lai argued that artificial intelligence should underpin the
operating model rather than sit at the front end as a shiny marketing tool. By
using AI‑driven analytics to identify leading indicators of
future premium behaviour, he said, brokers can reserve human relationship
managers for the highest‑potential accounts and sharpen
their daily priorities. Instead of calling 50 clients at random, an RM could
focus on a tightly defined subset where the data suggests a decisive
intervention will matter.
Nemo described eToro’s approach as combining a “solidlocalized loyalty program” with brand‑building sponsorships and
structured referrals. The firm’s club
programme offers premium research subscriptions, dedicated account managers,
discounted fees and exclusive invitations.
Premier League Sponsorship Tie-Up
Its long‑running Premier League sponsorship and more recent Formula 1 tie‑up create inventory for genuinely
scarce experiences, such as paddock passes, that “even
if you want to pay 20,000 you won’t have
access to.” In his view, premium clients are
increasingly seeking these “money‑cannot‑buy” experiences alongside financial incentives.
Q challenged the orthodoxy of one‑to‑one
relationship coverage. At Orient Futures, professional clients join encrypted
chat groups staffed by the full dealing desk and sales team rather than a
single point of contact, a model he said reduces key‑man risk and
improves 24‑hour responsiveness. Syed, for his part, would start by
“beating the market” on
technology, assembling a best‑of‑breed stack to wow existing
clients so they become the loudest advocates.
In the closing segment, the panelists compared Asia with the
“old world” of Europe. Lizza framed Asia’s premium playbook in one word
repeated three times: relationship. Deals take longer, trust is built
incrementally, and once established, that trust radiates through tight‑knit
communities.
