Clarence Chan

The closure of the Philippines’ estate tax amnesty has shifted the focus from filing returns to the complex mechanics of asset transfer. For families, the priority is securing the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) electronic Certificate Authorising Registration (eCAR) that allows land titles, shareholdings and bank accounts to be placed in the heirs’ names. For wealth managers, the implications are immediate: significant pools of assets are only now becoming transferable and investable.

Bede Lovell S Gomez, Chief Investment Officer of the Trust and Asset Management Group at EastWest Bank, brought more than 30 years of investment experience to the workshop panel discussion titled "Mastering Investment Advisory: Strategies for Differentiation and Innovation in Wealth Management," which took place at the Hubbis Philippines Wealth Management Forum in Manila on March 19.

As global markets face rising uncertainty, private wealth advisers across Asia are fielding difficult questions from anxious clients. From tariff shocks to shifting economic power dynamics, the traditional playbook for portfolio construction is being stress-tested. In a candid and timely conversation over lunch in Phuket, Leo Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Harmen Overdijk, sat down with Hubbis to share his views.