Spear’s Review

HSBC’s global strategy has been overhauled since George Elhedery became CEO in September 2024. While some parts of the business have been cut or even scrapped, one area identified for growth is the UK wealth operation. It has been set a target of doubling AuM as the bank aims to be among the top five wealth managers in the UK.

Much of the responsibility for making good on the plan falls to Charles Boulton, who has been at the helm of HSBC’s UK private bank since 2018. ‘We’ve got a black-and-white target to get to £100 billion [AuM] in the next four years,’ Boulton told Spear’s in July 2025. He added that the figure would be ‘managed assets based in the UK, across retail and the private bank’.

Boulton and his colleagues in the mass affluent division will be helped by significant investment that will see the bank open some 50 ‘wealth centres’ in the UK, as it replicates a strategy that’s proven successful across Asia. In June 2025 it opened the doors to a 7,000sq ft space in London’s St James’s and announced plans for others to follow in cities such as Leeds and Bristol. 

Despite the fact many wealthy people have left the country following the government’s tax changes, Boulton has remained bullish on Britain’s prospects. ‘The UK remains attractive,’ he said. ‘The Brits do a great job of criticising what we’ve got. But until you’ve lived somewhere else, you don’t know what you have.’ 

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