Great Eastern expands focus on HNW segment with new offerings

[SINGAPORE] Great Eastern is moving upmarket with the launch of a dedicated client segment proposition for high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, as it seeks a bigger share of Asia’s growing wealth and legacy planning market.

The insurer on Tuesday (Mar 3) introduced Great Eastern Private, a new offering tailored to HNW individuals and families across Asia. The move provides “a new suite of solutions and services that support established clients looking to preserve their financial legacy for future generations”, said Great Eastern.

This follows comments made by Greg Hingston, Great Eastern’s group chief executive, during a results briefing on Feb 24. He stated that Great Eastern would introduce an HNW proposition in Singapore on Tuesday, in collaboration with the wider OCBC and its private banking arm, Bank of Singapore (BOS).

The initiative is part of efforts to improve new business embedded value and total weighted new sales.

The insurer also noted it has the added advantage of offering HNW customers the collective strength of OCBC. This includes the private banking capabilities of BOS and asset management capabilities of Lion Global Investors.

“As clients successfully accumulate wealth, the focus is now shifting to preserving, and transferring wealth intentionally, efficiently and meaningfully,” said Hingston.

Last August, he told The Business Times that there is a “meaningful” opportunity in the fast-growing HNW segment, where Great Eastern is currently relatively underweight.

In 2025, Great Eastern launched three succession-focused products for HNW clients: Legacy Income, Index Universal Life and Prestige Wealth Legacy.

The launch of Great Eastern Private comes as wealth transfers gather pace across Asia amid heightened geopolitical and market uncertainty. An estimated US$5.8 trillion in assets is expected to be passed down in Asia-Pacific between 2023 and 2030.

Against this backdrop, Great Eastern Private aims to strengthen the insurer’s position among clients seeking multi-generational wealth planning solutions in Singapore.

It added that the HNW proposition is expected to evolve over time, with further developments to be announced in due course.

New dedicated HNW space

Great Eastern Private combines tailored HNW insurance solutions with a curated panel of expertise and services.

Delivered through a Private Client Privileges programme, the insurer said there will be a thoughtfully assembled network of private wealth partners across seven domains.

These are next-generation leadership; family advisory and trust services; health and longevity; international tax advisory; legal advisory; philanthropy; and global lifestyle concierge.

Great Eastern Private will host an industry-first cross-generational family programme, in partnership with Singapore Management University Executive Development.

Through this initiative, founders and family members will explore topics such as enterprise continuity, leadership transition and long-term legacy.

Great Eastern also announced the launch of Hewton Fair Suite on Tuesday – named after the insurer’s founder, Alfred Hewton Fair – an exclusive space within the Great Eastern Centre designed for HNW clients.

The suite includes an on-site medical facility in partnership with Raffles Medical Group, offering same-day health assessments as well as access to “Healthy Longevity and Medi-wellness” services.

Membership in Great Eastern Private includes 24/7 support from a dedicated, multilingual global concierge service, catering to bespoke travel, dining and lifestyle experiences worldwide.

Expanding OCBC’s wealth pie

Great Eastern Private reflects OCBC’s strategy to expand its wealth business across banking and insurance – a priority that new group CEO Tan Teck Long intends to drive.

Speaking at the lender’s fourth-quarter results briefing for the period ended Dec 31 on Feb 25, Tan said OCBC plans to step up cross-selling through a “whole-of-wealth” approach – particularly via BOS and Great Eastern Holdings (GEH), its insurance unit. At the same time, it will reinforce its twin wealth hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tan cited the example of servicing older clients whereby deposit accounts could be managed through OCBC, succession planning handled by BOS and retirement-focused insurance solutions provided by GEH.

The bank will also set up a new wealth management committee comprising Tan, Hingston along with BOS CEO Jason Moo and OCBC head of global consumer financial services Sunny Quek.

The aim is to ensure a “coordinated tone from the top” so the group’s wealth heads can jointly lead new initiatives, said Tan.

He also outlined further measures to strengthen OCBC’s wealth proposition. In Malaysia, for instance, the bank plans to expand its affluent customer base through GEH’s ecosystem.

Tan noted that the insurer’s customer base there is equivalent to nearly half of Singapore’s population. He also ruled out acquiring additional shares in Great Eastern following OCBC’s unsuccessful privatisation bid last July. The 93.7 per cent stake that the lender holds in GEH is “good enough” for collaboration, he said.