A Citigold team works for your wealth

MANILA, Philippines - Of the six pillars of Citigold, the first one is probably the most tangible and one that a new client will experience from the outset — as in right after stepping into a Citigold Center, whether at a Citibank NA or Citibank Savings branch. 

Every Citigold client gets a dedicated wealth management team — not one person, but five people: a Relationship Manager (RM) who will take the lead; a Citigold Associate (CA) for your daily banking needs; an Investment Specialist (IM) who will present the investments tools and products suited to your needs; a Citigold phone executive who will be at your service 24/7 (as is the online website); and the branch manager, the “captain of the ship” who “knows the right people to go to,” depending on your need at the moment.

Citigold being the exclusive wealth management program for Citibank NA and Citibank Savings for clients with deposits of P4 million and up, you’re assured of having the best people that have your best interest at heart.

At the Citigold Center in Citibank Savings on Pasay Road, Makati, recently, I was briefed on how the team works.

Relationship Manager Nicole Katigbak Dayrit, vice president for the Global Consumer Group of Citibank NA; Martin L. Español, investment specialist of Citibank Savings (CSI); and Carla Ley, Citigold associate, Citibank NA, explain why a team of experts is always an advantage when it comes to wealth management, guiding clients in making decisions about their wealth.

Nicole, who has been with Citibank for seven years and an RM for four, explains the process. “First, I’ll introduce myself and tell the client my banking experience. Then I introduce the bank, picking on its strengths, and one of those is that you get a team of experts to handle you, composed of the branch manager, myself, a Citigold associate and an investment specialist. Plus the multiple 24-hour access to the bank, which includes online and the hotline.”

There is a dedicated hotline handled by a Citigold phone executive whom you can reach 24/7. Nicole explains that this is important especially when you’re abroad and, say, you want to know your balance. The online website also does away with the time difference because you can access it any time of the day, anywhere you are.

She clarifies, though, that online transactions take effect within banking hours, Philippine time. “If it crosses the weekend, the transaction will take effect on the first banking day in the Philippines. Even if you try to make the transfer, the receiving bank is not equipped to accept the transaction. The debit will be made on the day of the transaction, like if you’re paying your credit card you will not be charged a late fee. Accounting-wise, it’s good for the client because you know the funds you paid with are no longer available.”

After the team introduces itself, they get to know you a little better. “I try to find out what your needs are because I cannot offer any products unless I know your needs. I would ask you how old you are, how much risk you’re planning to take. Younger clients tend to take more risk because if they lose the principal they can still make money; older clients tend to be more conservative, opting for products that are principal-protected, like time deposit.”

It’s interesting to note that different branches of Citigold Centers have different client profiles with ages ranging from 40 to 55. This one on Pasay Road, for instance, has clients that are aggressive investors since it serves a lot of the young, wealthy professionals working and living in the Makati area. In contrast, the Alabang branch has a lot of conservative clients since the center serves mostly retirees living in the south who want to protect their principal.

The RM will also ask you if you have had any experience in investments so they know how to start the conversation. “If you’re very savvy and we start with ABCs, you might get bored. On the contrary, if we’re talking too technical and you don’t have the banking background, you might find it too Greek. We bring the discussion to the level of the client.”

To get to know your risk appetite, you are asked to fill out a personal investment worksheet (PIW), which allows the team to find out what products to offer you. Each answer has a corresponding number of points that are added up and the total would describe to them on a scale of 1to 6 what kind of an investor you are.

One is the most conservative, not willing to take any risks and not comfortable with anything except time deposits. If your risk rating is 2, products that will be presented to you include US dollar-denominated or Philippine bonds for the short term, which is two years or less. The risk ratings go up to 5 and 6, meaning as you go higher the more you are willing to accept significant but short-term losses for potential gains in the long run (five to 10 years). Products for enhanced growth investors (6) include foreign and local currency bonds and those that are equity-linked for terms from five to 10 years.

Are decisions made within the first meeting? “Sometimes, because your money’s there already,” says Nicole. “And you want to earn the highest potential immediately.”

Martin Español, who has been an investment specialist with Citibank for the past two years and a former stockbroker, says, “This year we’ve seen more interest in equities compared to last year.”

If you were interested in investments, it would be handled by Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. (CFSI), a one-stop shop brokerage house that offers investment and insurance products. 

Nicole continues, “If it’s a dynamic portfolio, we do portfolio reviews regularly. If you give us your instructions, that means we’ll call you from time to time for updates and rebalancing. Like if you tell us 50 percent in equities and 50 percent in bonds, say, the equity market really boomed, which means your portfolio is skewed to equities because you made more in equity than in bonds. We would call you if you want to sell a portion of that and shift them to bonds if you want to maintain the 50-50 balance or keep it as is. You have the option.”

The Citigold Associate is there to assist clients in their transactional requirements, like if they have to do a telegraphic transfer or if they want a certification issued. Carla Ley, Citigold associate, Citibank NA, says, “If they have questions about their statements, I answer them. They can actually fax instructions, they don’t have to be in the bank. We receive it and just call them to confirm, so we do it within the day. In the event the RM isn’t there, the Citigold Associate can take over, even as the investment specialist. We’re all certified.”

Nicole says, “So if I step out, anyone can pretty much step in and take over. Either Martin or Carla can take it up from there.” 

When a client goes in for a meeting, how many team members does she get to meet with? Nicole says it depends on the purpose of the meeting. If it’s a market update, it can just be the investment specialist. “But after that meeting, Martin will update Carla and me on what happened, so all of us know the status of the client, what he’s interested in. So the next time a client calls, anyone can pick it up.”

“Typically it would be me and Carla separated,” says Nicole. “But I can do joint calls with Martin because we’re both certified. Everyone is equipped to discuss investments. Normally we would also bring Martin in if we feel the client would be asking questions that he actually reads up on on a daily basis. Like if the client wants to discuss gold. We don’t have gold in our products set but the client may want it as an information for his portfolio that he has with another bank.”

That’s the advantage of being a global organization, they point out. “If there are products that are not available here we can refer them to our other branches.’

The team also points out that Citigold investor briefings and market outlook events tap international and local resources. These briefings can be big banquet affairs or intimate “coffee clubs” or branch briefings, where clients are more interactive as they are smaller venues.

With the benefit of hindsight, just how accurate are the market outlooks? Martin says, “I think the more important aspect is that the updates are crucial in planning the client’s portfolio because certain financial instruments perform well in different stages of the economic cycle. These updates provide clients information on what financial instruments are performing better, they give them the chance to ride certain opportunities in the market. As for accuracy, we’ve done a good job with strategizing and rebalancing our clients’ portfolios. We also remind our clients of their objectives — that their investments are for the long term, five years and above, and when the market recovers it would actually pay off.”

Nicole regards the market outlook as “a starting point in the discussion, which will produce an informed decision on the investment. For the most part we’re accurate, but there are things that cannot just be foreseen, like a coup d’etat and things that are not within the normal circumstances. What’s working for us is that the research team is not just coming from here, but it’s a collaboration of research analysts from around the world and other Citibank offices. You’re looking at over 150 countries that the region, our head office in Singapore, farms out to the different countries. We have that kind of resources working for us.”

Martin continues, “In terms of accuracy, we may not be that far off what happens in the market because we have the capability to get the view of other countries, specialists in other countries as well. What helps also is that we have regular meetings with our third party providers, like ING, which have their own view of the market. Our discussions with them produce a better understanding of the market. It’s actually more objective.”

And finally, what kind of investment opportunities should we be looking at for the rest of the year? The team is unanimous in saying, “It depends on your risk appetite, but if you’re an aggressive investor, it’s a good time to get into equities. The outlook is that equities will outperform bonds.”

* * *

The Citigold Wealth Management hotline for Citibank, N.A., is 995-9888 for Metro Manila and 234-9888 for Metro Cebu. Citigold Wealth Management hotline for Citibank Savings is 995 1777 for Metro Manila or 1-800-10-9951777 (toll free outside Metro Manila through PLDT).