MS. Angela Chow, CEO, Cachet Group
Different people understand the word ‘wealth’ in different ways. For many it is financial security, for some it is good health, for others it is the freedom to pursue dreams or desires, and for the rest it is extravagant lifestyle. This illustrates that our traditional financial industry, to a large extend, is unfortunately fixated on only one form of wealth i.e., money.
As traditional financial institutions approach holistic wealth in a narrow-minded and short-sighted way, they face limitations—being bound by commercial, standardized, time-consuming and labour-intensive engagements. As a result, customers miss much wealth-making opportunities such as investments, financial planning, fund management and family wealth planning, just to mention a few.
Nearly a decade ago, Ms. Angela Chow with extensive managerial experience working for leading international financial institutions, ventured to ask the question: “What is wealth?” In doing so, she stepped away from the conventional definition of wealth as just money, as the general society readily and mistakenly believes. On her quest to better understand the nature of wealth, she discovered that wealth essentially improves someone’s quality of life, in one way or another. She realized that people must genuinely support each other in their endeavours to make, preserve, transfer or trade wealth—this wasn’t possible through traditional financial institutions.
So, in 2014, Ms. Angela Chow established the ‘Cachet Group’ in Hong Kong, as a privately-owned financial institution to provide a broad range of wealth improvement, wealth enrichment and wealth management solutions. In just seven years, the group has grown immensely: four subsidiary firms specializing in particular domains within wealth, an international network of clientele, services and products, as well as several multi-family offices in the Greater China region.
Providing a Broad Range of Wealth Development Services
Through the Cachet Group of companies, Ms. Angela Chow wants to spark curiosity, stimulate conversation and raise awareness about the nature of wealth in our society. She is leading the group to build and to foster trust in the financial industry, for the right and meaningful reasons, not only to make profits.
“Traditional financial institutions always charge fees for their services because of their professional and commercial relationships. In contrast, the Cachet Group was established to actually create value for any one or any party involved. When a client comes to us, our first priority is always to learn whether we can really bring in value to him or her, before becoming involved further. We simply can’t do this through traditional institutions,” Ms. Angela Chow, the Founder, Chairlady and CEO of the Cachet Group, explains.
The Cachet Group of companies consists of four main subsidiaries: Cachet Asset Management, Cachet Financial Auxiliary Services, Cachet Financial Communications and Clique of Cachet. Let’s briefly look into these:
- Cachet Asset Management: An asset management firm specializing in wealth and fund management. Some of its key services are equity funds, personalized investment advisory services, credit portfolio management, family wealth planning, as well as legacy planning through trusts and insurance. Thanks to global banking connections, being licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, multiple offices, expertise and a very positive track record with clients, this firm is regarded as a wealth development specialist.
- Cachet Financial Auxiliary Services: This firm offers comprehensive compliance and finance management services for institutions in Hong Kong.
- Cachet Financial Communications: This firm offers financial communications, media and fund-raising roadshows for private and public companies.
- Clique of Cachet: This firm provides exclusive luxury lifestyle services encompassing concierge, professional or private dedicated assistance as well as accommodation, food, beverage, fashion, art, culture and more, all for Cachet’s clients.
Further, the Cachet Group has partnered with the leading international and private banks like UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, to optimize and to provide the best wealth management services. The group also presents clients with exclusive opportunities to invest in innovative brands like Alibaba, Uber and SpaceX.
Putting the Clients’ Needs First
Most of the Cachet Group’s clients are successful business owners and entrepreneurs. Thus far, the group has performed very well, satisfying their clients’ needs well and realizing positive results. Their primary rule is to genuinely care for their clients in their endeavour to manage wealth. “We start by understanding our client’s needs clearly. With lots of care, we assess the client’s situation and develop an optimal solution. We only proceed when we ascertain that we can help them,” Ms. Chow says.
“Our motto is we don’t charge commission or fees initially. We only make money when we can successfully help our clients make money. If we cannot help our clients, we aren’t good at our jobs. This is a very important rule for us. Fortunately, all of our clients have succeeded. All of them have stayed with us from the start and have given us positive feedback,” she goes on.
Contributing to the Society and the World
The Cachet Group largely works in China and Hong Kong regions. They excel as a boutique-style financial institution: despite their small size, they practise a client-centric approach to provide their services and are capable of delivering excellent services internationally. “As an organization, we have three strong principles helping us succeed. First, we always put our clients first. Secondly, we treat everyone, including staff members, clients and partners fairly, with respect and care. Thirdly, we practise honesty in our workplace,” Ms. Chow says.
Ms. Angela Chow as well as the Cachet Group has received several awards over the years. For instance, Cachet Asset Management was received the Best Fund Provider Award by Asian Private Banker Asset Management Awards for Excellence in 2020. Also, the group was recognized as the most reliable financial group in Hong Kong in 2016 by MediaZone. “It’s very important to give our best each time. We should keep pushing ourselves to our limits and see how far we can go. We should never give up. We must have the grit to face challenges and work hard to overcome our difficulties. Even though we all make mistakes, we must always learn from them,” Ms. Chow reflects on her professional success.
“Cachet Group is doing pretty well today, but we will continue to strive for more. It is important to me that everyone—our staff members, clients and partners—succeed professionally as well as personally. Moreover, it’s very important to have social responsibility. We want to contribute to the society, to the world and we are also looking to partner with good companies with similar interests,” Ms. Chow concludes.