Premium clients in Asia want far more than tight spreads and VIP labels. They want speed, trust, human relationships and “money‑can’t‑buy” experiences delivered at scale – and they are prepared to move their wallet if brokers fall short.

At the Finance Magnates Singapore Summit 2026, senior executives from CMC Markets, IG Group, eToro, Orient Futures, USAM Group/PitchFintech and Returning.AI explored what high‑net‑worth and high‑activity traders in Asia really demand in 2026. Speaking on a panel titled “Join The Club: What Premium Clients Want,” they described a market where affluent traders expect frictionless onboarding, resilient technology and sophisticated tools, but still decide heavily on relationships, referrals and lived experience on the platform.

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Redefining “Premium” Beyond Deposits

Moderator Desmond Leong, CEO of Returning.AI, framed the discussion around three questions: how to define a premium client beyond deposit size; which services and benefits actually increase trust and lifetime value; and how Asian “premium playbooks” differ from those in other regions. “It’s not just the deposit size, it’s not just the account balance,” he told the audience. “What else that we are not seeing but the data is showing will give us ideas of how high‑value a client would be.”

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On that definition, the panelists converged on behavior over balance. IG Group’s Head of Premium Clients, Jaycee Lai, said trading intensity matters more than headline deposits. A client with a 500,000 account who trades once a month is less “premium” than someone with 100,000 who trades 20 times a week.

CMC Markets’ sales trader Oriana Lizza focused on referral power as an early signal: clients who can credibly introduce peers with similar profiles are inherently more valuable than their initial ticket size suggests. eToro’s Head of BD and Partnerships for Asia, Qin “Nemo” Lang, described a layered segmentation model that combines referral activity, trading frequency and even login patterns to drive CRM prioritisation.

Hidden Signals: From Slippers to Same-Day Withdrawals

The stories behind those metrics were striking. Lai recounted a walk‑in client at IG’s office in Singapore who arrived in slippers, asked “elementary” questions and deposited just 1,000 dollars after a lengthy meeting.

Over the next three to six months, he kept coming back, quizzed staff on pricing and margin across asset classes, and steadily increased both deposits and trade sizes as his confidence grew. What looked like an unsophisticated small account became a high‑value relationship once curiosity and breadth of product exploration were taken into account.

Nemo described another counter‑intuitive pattern: cautious Asian clients who repeatedly deposit and withdraw small sums on the same day. On paper, they look like a waste of sales time.

In practice, he argued, they are stress‑testing the platform’s funding and withdrawal flows before committing serious money. Focusing only on account balances would mean missing exactly the kind of sophisticated investor who cares about operational reliability under pressure.

What Keeps Premium Clients Loyal

Lizza warned that brokers also overlook value closer to home: dormant accounts. Instead of pouring budget into new acquisition, he argued, firms should revisit clients who previously showed high activity and risk appetite but stopped trading after burning out or blowing up. Their behaviour already proves they have the potential; the question is how to re‑engage them more intelligently.

When the conversation shifted from who premium clients are to what keeps them loyal, three themes dominated: speed, simplicity and resilience.

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For Lizza, the onboarding journey is now “the primary killer” if mishandled. As competitors compress the time from application to first trade, laggards simply drop out of a wealthy client’s consideration set. Leong summed up the expectation bluntly: premium clients want to sign up fast, fund fast and clear KYC fast.

Former banker turned fintech Fintech Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to suppl Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to suppl Read this Term adviser Shane Syed argued that time‑efficiency matters as much as raw speed. High‑net‑worth clients may only devote an hour or two a day to their portfolio, he said; if a single platform consumes most of that time with friction, they will not return.

Q Tan Chuen Kiat, Head of Sales at Orient Futures Singapore, emphasised what happens when markets turn. He cited a client with more than 200 option strikes heading into a volatile “liberation day” event. By liquidating only two positions to lift the account out of margin call, the firm preserved the relationship and demonstrated prudent risk management rather than blindly liquidating the book.

Lai stressed that none of this matters if the platform fails in stress conditions. During the pandemic and again around recent tariff headlines, he said, brokers saw unprecedented volumes, exposing the weakest systems. For premium clients trading larger tickets, unfettered access and the ability to execute and exit positions without outages or rejections during volatility are non‑negotiable.

The panel then turned to a more strategic question: how to double the premium book without doubling headcount. Here, AI, loyalty programmes and events entered the picture.

Scaling the Premium Book: AI, Loyalty and Guanxi

Lai argued that artificial intelligence should underpin the operating model rather than sit at the front end as a shiny marketing tool. By using AI‑driven analytics Analytics Analytics may be defined as the detection, analysis, and relay of consequential patterns in data. Analytics also seeks to explain or accurately reflect the relationship between data and effective decision-making. In the trading space, analytics are applied in a predictive manner in an attempt to forecast the price more accurately. This predictive model of analytics generally involves the analysis of historical price patterns that are used in an attempt to determine certain price outcomes. Analy Analytics may be defined as the detection, analysis, and relay of consequential patterns in data. Analytics also seeks to explain or accurately reflect the relationship between data and effective decision-making. In the trading space, analytics are applied in a predictive manner in an attempt to forecast the price more accurately. This predictive model of analytics generally involves the analysis of historical price patterns that are used in an attempt to determine certain price outcomes. Analy Read this Term to identify leading indicators of future premium behaviour, he said, brokers can reserve human relationship managers for the highest‑potential accounts and sharpen their daily priorities. Instead of calling 50 clients at random, an RM could focus on a tightly defined subset where the data suggests a decisive intervention will matter.

Nemo described eToro’s approach as combining a “solidlocalized loyalty program” with brand‑building sponsorships and structured referrals. The firm’s club programme offers premium research subscriptions, dedicated account managers, discounted fees and exclusive invitations.

Premier League Sponsorship Tie-Up

Its long‑running Premier League sponsorship and more recent Formula 1 tie‑up create inventory for genuinely scarce experiences, such as paddock passes, that “even if you want to pay 20,000 you won’t have access to.” In his view, premium clients are increasingly seeking these “money‑cannot‑buy” experiences alongside financial incentives.

Q challenged the orthodoxy of one‑to‑one relationship coverage. At Orient Futures, professional clients join encrypted chat groups staffed by the full dealing desk and sales team rather than a single point of contact, a model he said reduces key‑man risk and improves 24‑hour responsiveness. Syed, for his part, would start by “beating the market” on technology, assembling a best‑of‑breed stack to wow existing clients so they become the loudest advocates.

In the closing segment, the panelists compared Asia with the “old world” of Europe. Lizza framed Asia’s premium playbook in one word repeated three times: relationship. Deals take longer, trust is built incrementally, and once established, that trust radiates through tight‑knit communities.