Head of Wealth, Citigroup
Despite fears of Balkanization, globalization is here to stay: Citi's Andy Sieg
Andy Sieg, head of wealth at Citi, discusses his macro perspective and the company's wealth business.
About Andrew Sieg
Andy Sieg, head of wealth at Citigroup, has said that the global wealth management industry is undergoing a "more profound set of changes" than in the prior three decades, citing a generational wealth transfer and smaller families receiving larger balances. He stated that the firm is focused on clients whose businesses and families cross jurisdictions, and that Citi's global network allows it to serve wealth creation around the world. Sieg described the private bank as the "crown jewel" of the business and said the firm had flattened its structure and increased focus there. He also said that Citi had "redoubled" its client focus in China and that its strategy for the country had not changed despite selling its onshore consumer wealth portfolio, with the firm now serving that market exclusively offshore from Singapore and Hong Kong. Regarding market conditions, Sieg said in April 2025 that the US was undergoing a "tectonic shift in policy" on trade and that it was "not a time to add to risk assets." He has stated that despite fears of "balkanization," globalization remains in place. Sieg has also said that artificial intelligence will not displace financial advisers, but that advisers who use AI will displace those who do not. He described ESG as a topic that is "not of right or left" but about what is "modern" in client dialogue, noting that the firm has conversations with clients about both Christian values portfolios and environmental leanings.
Transcript (9 segments)
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Andrew Sieg0:00
I think overall again for equity investors, as I said earlier, some of the fears that there might be conflict out of the gates have subsided a bit. Of course our focus is our clients and how can our clients navigate a changing global marketplace, the expectation of some shifts in trade flows as tariff policies are adjusted. This is an environment with opportunity but one where the advice that comes from a bank like Citi is very valued because despite fears of balkanization, globalization's here to stay. Our clients have a worldwide view of opportunities, they're managing their businesses on a worldwide basis. Citi's the most global bank in the world so we find ourselves in the middle of conversations where we can really add value.
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Interviewer0:50
Where are the biggest opportunities? Where's your focus when you think about growing the wealth business? You've been in the seat now for I believe about a year and a half.
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Andrew Sieg0:58
Well, we have been at this. Again, this is a very global bank. Wealth creation's happening globally. There's going to be a hundred trillion dollars of new wealth creation worldwide over the next decade. The fastest rate of growth is in Asia, the largest quantum of growth is going to be in the US, but even across the UK and Europe, this is seen as a slower growth region but there'll be well over ten trillion of new wealth creation. Our specific focus is on clients whose businesses and interests and families stretch across jurisdictions. They look to us to try to help navigate the world. Our focus is much more than many banks on wealth creation because what Citi can do is help a family navigate that global landscape but bring the power of our investment bank and our markets business to those clients as well.
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Interviewer1:50
You historically compared to some of the other wealth heavyweights, Citi's wealth business has struggled and that's part of the reason you were brought in to really shake things up. How does this wealth creation approach really change things and what does that mean? How does it differentiate you?
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Andrew Sieg2:05
Well, don't forget there were structural changes in this business during the financial crisis. Some of the business was sold to Morgan Stanley. This business has a brand unlike any other. The Citi brand shines around the world, it's incredibly powerful to clients. We've got a client franchise that stretches back decades given Citi's history around the world, and we've got incredible people and capabilities in the business. So I feel like for some of the challenges we've had, there's few institutions in the world that are playing the hand of cards that we are. So I've got an enviable position which is how do we shepherd these resources and do things for clients that other banks frankly can't do. Earlier in the week we made an important gear shift in our private bank. Our private bank is the crown jewel of this business and we flattened our structure a little bit, increased the focus on the business, and we're making sure that our private bank is plugged into the rest of Citi in a way that lets us bring power to bear that few can match.
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Interviewer3:05
Let's talk about the changes that have come through earlier this week. Ida Liu, who was the global head of Citi's private banking arm, announced her departure from the business and she was a really leading figure not only for her role but she was a leading female in the bank and that's been a key initiative of Jane Fraser. How do you navigate that, making the changes necessary for the business but ensuring that you keep up with the strategies that Jane Fraser wants to instill in the bank?
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Andrew Sieg3:36
She made a tremendous contribution in the business over 18 years, so first of all start with a lot of gratitude. She did a great job. People come to points in their career where they choose to do new things. We've used this moment to, as I said, elevate folks on our team around the world. We've got four regional heads who are reporting to me and we're running the wealth business overall very collectively. We brought in some strength from other organizations over the course of the year, including this week a new head of strategy who had been a senior executive at UBS, and we're excited to have a new head of lending from Goldman Sachs. We've got some longtime Citi colleagues, Chris Bittlestone top of the list, who have stepped up and taken more in our business. What you see across Jane's leadership team is phenomenal diversity. In an area like our credit card business, which is a massive business, Pam Habner is one of the senior most women executives in global financial services. So this is a diverse team, it's a team that's working together very well, and I think we are more than stepping up to Jane's bold vision for the company.
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Interviewer4:45
Where are you now in terms of size and structure? Are there more departures coming?
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Andrew Sieg4:50
I think we've set our leadership team. I would say it's a mixture of new talent to the firm and longtime Citi talent stepping up and working together. This team is set. It is on par with any leadership team in the wealth management industry. We're in growth mode, and so when you think about changes and adjustments we've had to make, those changes exist in business all the time, but we're going to be very front-footed looking to add talent as we think about some of the unique opportunities we have, including right here in London because there's a tremendous energy in London. We've got some great long-standing clients but a lot of growth opportunity for Citi, the private bank in particular, in London.