Aims At Becoming No.1 Multi-Family Office And Investment Platform In The Asia-Pacific Region
HONG KONG, June 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Focused on the needs of its core family office clients, DL Holdings Group (DL Holdings, DL), with US$3 billion in assets under management and advisory, is transforming itself into a "multi-family office and investment platform" with its own capital and assets, which will differentiate itself from industry peers such as single-family offices, multi-family offices on an advisory basis, multi-family offices on a discretionary basis, and traditional funds and asset management companies. DL Holdings aims to provide comprehensive services such as private banking, investment banking, funds, trusts, immigration, education, philanthropy, and impact investing. It has expanded its footprint to the Chinese Mainland, Singapore, the United States, and Japan, with an eye on becoming the leading multi-family office and investment platform in the Asia-Pacific region.
DL Holdings Group (1709. HK), a Main Board listed company, announced its annual results on June 23rd. For the year that ended on 31 March 2022, the company posted total revenue of HK$309 million, gross profit of HK$170 million, gross profit margin of 55.9%, net profit of HK$110 million, and a net profit margin of 35.5%. The company also declared dividends amounting to HKD$99 million to its shareholders. Despite a highly volatile market in 2021-2022, DL Holdings managed to post a trend-setting net profit of over HK$100 million, reflecting its strong competitive advantages in the industry.
Maintains Profitable and Optimized Structure
From March 2021 to March 2022, the Hang Seng Index plummeted from 28,378 points to 21,996 points, recording a drop of more than 22%, mainly due to the shifting policies in Mainland China, the Federal Reserve’s decision of tapering and raising interest rates, the Russia–Ukraine war, and Hong Kong capital markets. Meanwhile, dollar bonds issued by Chinese real estate developers declined sharply and created huge losses for investors as well as the overall economy. The number of initial public offerings declined sharply, while new IPOs saw steep falls on debut. The market saw sharp fluctuations, making it a difficult year for brokerages and investment banks.
Despite the harsh environment, DL Holdings still maintained strong profitability. According to its annual report, the company’s provisions for financial services from licensed businesses generated HK$140 million in revenue and HK$72 million in profit. There was also a significant optimization of the revenue structure, indicating that the company’s ability to resist risks and fluctuations have been greatly enhanced, while the foundation of its business became more solid. The company’s overall earnings in the future are expected to increase further as the market gradually recovers.
Acquisitions of Family Office to Accelerate its Growth in Asset Management
DL Holdings initiated a number of acquisitions and investments in the past year, among which the most important was the acquisition of 45% equity stake in affiliate DL Family Office (HK) Ltd. The listed company initiated the acquisition in September 2021 and signed the agreement in May 2022. Together with the acquisition of Emerald Wealth Management Ltd which provides insurance brokerage services, the acquisition of DL Family Office is expected to significantly expand the group’s future asset management scale and enhance profitability as well as shareholder returns. DL Family Office was established in 2012 and is one of the earliest and most successful multi-family offices in Hong Kong. Currently, the total assets under management of DL Family Office are about US$1.27billion (HK$10 billion). DL Family Office provides asset management, family heritage, investment management, citizenship and residency planning, education, and healthcare services to ultra-high net worth families both in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.
In October 2021, the listed company acquired 100% equity stake in One Advisory, a company that provides one-stop services to high-net-worth clients with residency planning services, global immigration consulting services, and global education consultation. With an experienced team from world-renowned immigration and residency planning companies, DL Group has expanded its high-net-worth client base by providing more private and considerate consulting services as well as implementation without the need to seek outsourced services from third parties.
Strengthening business in Singapore and North America
DL Holdings entered Singapore three years ago and received approval from MAS in early 2021, thereby accelerating the diversification of family office services. In North America, ONE Carmel, a major property investment project with DL’s own funds, made promising progress. Since the listed company’s investment in 2021, the valuation of the property has doubled to US$66 million. ONE Carmel is a premier real estate project located in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA, which has received attention and strong interest from elite families around the world for its concept of a family legacy. The first phase of the project will start construction in July this year with infrastructure construction set to be completed by 2023. ONE Carmel is considered to be the last premier residential site in Northern California, with a thirty-year time frame from application to approval. The superstar project in Northern California aims to build an exclusive gated community with a limited number of 73 tech-enabled and eco-friendly luxury homes.
Expanding channels to enrich partners
During the past year, DL Holdings formed a strategic partnership with YF Life Insurance, seeking to expand its high-net-worth client base and enhance its insurance product service capabilities through insurance channels. The company also entered into a distribution and business cooperation agreement with Harvest Global, the overseas subsidiary of China’s largest public fund Harvest Fund for cooperation in a wide range of sectors including but not limited to product categories, distribution channels, fund investment, resource sharing, and cross-border financial services.
DL Holdings is also one of the first vice-presidents of the Hong Kong Limited Partnership Fund Association (HKLPFA) and has established 18 limited partnership funds (LPFs). It has been endorsed by the HK Financial Services Development Council and InvestHK, and is a founding member and working group member of the Hong Kong-Israel Cooperation Programme. DL will further assist the Hong Kong government and professional institutions to strengthen cooperation within the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Europe in areas of financial investment and wealth management.