Athena Best: Ten years of growth with a purpose

Athena Best offers personal financial planning, backed by a range of insurance products and investment tools.

In an era of buzzwords, Athena Best Financial Group has been steadily building up its business based on core principles rather than progress for its own sake. The Group consistently strives towards a quartet of aims - to be Asia’s most reputable independent financial adviser; offer access to the best offshore products and platforms; be the most innovative, technologically advanced asset management company; and build the region’s most dynamic, ethical and responsible management team of financial leaders.

To these ends, Athena Best provides a diversified suite of products, services and solutions which serve clients’ personal wealth, investment planning and indeed lifestyle needs at every stage of their lives, whether it’s taking the first steps on a successful professional career or planning an active retirement.

Expanding their footprint in Asia
The company enjoys a geographically diverse client base – covering Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mainland China, Taiwan and many more – always mindful that the solution, and delivery mechanism, which best suits a client in one country is not always the same for a client elsewhere. In addition to its growing geographical footprint, Athena Best has also sought to diversify its product, service and solutions offering over the past 10 years.

“Unlike many other companies in Hong Kong, Mainland China isn’t the only important market to us. Our footprint has been expanding in terms of geography so we now cover most countries in Asia,” explains Managing Director Danny Tse. “But we have also been expanding our business lines, from originally being a broker for insurance and securities products to stepping into the fund management industry and then launching family offices for HNWI (high net worth individuals).”

Athena Best offers personal financial planning, backed by a range of insurance products and investment tools which aim to cover every possible eventuality and goal in clients’ live, as well as investment planning through its bespoke fund platform, which offers a broad range of portfolios and other investment vehicles.

Furthermore, it offers mutual funds via partnerships with a wide range of top global financial institutions; insurance planning to help clients tackle unexpected events, with products ranging from whole life insurance to critical illness protection; and, for the most sophisticated clients, Athena Best provides customised fund management services.”

The professional private wealth management team at Athena Best has close partnerships with numerous marketing leading banks and financial institutions to ensure it leaves no stone unturned in seeking the best possible solutions for clients. The Group’s technological expertise and resources mean it is dedicated to seeking new and innovative ways of delivering its high quality products, services and solutions. But just its rapid growth over the past decade has been “growth with a purpose”, so the company views technological innovation not as an end in itself, but as a way of continuing to serve its clients in the best way possible. It would not have been able to continue its expansion over the past 10 years without making technology work for it, and its clients.

Personalised service for all
“We will continue to excel in our core services, but also strive to create our own competitive edge. The market changes very rapidly, and it is our job to educate families about new ideas,” Tse says. “So, when we develop new ideas we always build something that will benefit our existing base. Any original idea must also be something that benefits our business right now. We are constantly adding innovative options, Tse added. “Athena Best is looking at vanguard ideas such as robo advisory, but strongly believes many clients will continue to require the high-touch, personalised service of conventional wealth management. Many clients in Asia, especially the high net worth ones, still enjoy personal interactions, more traditional services, and these will never fade out. But we need to follow market trends, so are well prepared for the next development,” Tse notes.

Athena Best invests so much in its staff development, and is planning an employee shareholding scheme – firmly believing that if the company invests in its staff, its staff will in turn find the best solutions for the company’s clients. Just as it is dedicated to advancing clients lives and careers, so it is dedicated to providing staff with the opportunity, and incentive, to grow with the company. “Our turnover is quite low compared to the rest of the industry. Our objective is to create harmony,” Tse concludes – further testament to Athena Best Financial Services’ long term-commitment in its areas of business.