Ken Peng left Citi Private Bank in May 2026. He starts at the Hong Kong-Singapore multi-family office in a newly created role that centralises investment strategy under one senior figure for the first time.

TL;DR

  • Raffles Family Office (RFO), a Hong Kong-Singapore multi-family office, has appointed Ken Peng as its first-ever Chief Investment Officer, effective immediately from 31 August 2026
  • Peng was previously Head of Asia Pacific Investment Strategy at Citi Private Bank, with 20 years in investment, private wealth and financial services, including 12 years at Citi
  • Industry press frames the move as part of a broader pattern of senior talent shifting from private banks to independent multi-family offices across Asia

What did Raffles Family Office just announce?

RFO announced on 31 August 2026 that Ken Peng has joined as Chief Investment Officer, effective immediately. It is a newly created role. RFO did not previously have a dedicated CIO.

Peng will lead RFO's investment function and shape its overall investment strategy, reporting to Chi Man Kwan, the firm's group chief executive officer.

Who is Ken Peng?

Peng was previously Head of Asia Pacific Investment Strategy at Citi Private Bank. He left Citi in May 2026. He brings 20 years of investment, private wealth and financial industry experience, including 12 years at Citi Private Bank, according to Caproasia.

Why create a CIO role now?

RFO is a multi-family office with dual headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore, among the larger MFO platforms in the region. Creating a first-ever CIO role points to the firm consolidating investment strategy under a single senior figure as it scales, rather than leaving it distributed across relationship teams or bank partners. RFO has not itself given a detailed public rationale beyond confirming the role and reporting line.

What does this say about the wider war for family office talent?

Asian Private Banker, which broke the story on 31 August, framed the hire as part of a continuing industry trend of talent shifting from private banks to independent wealth managers. Reporter Jeremy Chan described Peng's move as reflecting that broader pattern rather than a one-off hire.

It also lands against a backdrop of continued growth in Asia's family office sector. Hong Kong alone, where RFO keeps one of its two headquarters, has now passed 3,380 single-family offices, with the government targeting 220 more by 2028, as this site covered on 4 September (asiafamilyofficehub.com/hong-kongs-family-offices-pass-3-380-as-government-sets-sights-on-220-more-by-2028).

What should family offices take from this?

The hire signals continued professionalisation of multi-family office investment functions, with dedicated CIO roles rather than investment strategy run through relationship managers or outsourced bank input.

For principals and allocators evaluating MFO platforms, a senior investment hire like this is one data point on how seriously a platform is building in-house strategy capability, alongside the regional context of family offices leaning harder into specific investment themes, such as the AI allocations this site covered in UBS's recent Southeast Asia findings (asiafamilyofficehub.com/southeast-asias-family-offices-lead-the-world-in-ai-investing-ubs-finds) and the regulatory backdrop shaping where family offices choose to set up, including Singapore's own recent MAS tax incentive changes (asiafamilyofficehub.com/mas-relaxes-singapore-family-office-tax-incentive-conditions-from-1-august-2026).

Whether other large Asia MFOs follow with similar senior investment hires is worth watching over the coming months.

FAQs

Who did Raffles Family Office just hire?

Ken Peng, previously Head of Asia Pacific Investment Strategy at Citi Private Bank, as its first-ever Chief Investment Officer, effective immediately from 31 August 2026.

Why is this a new role for Raffles Family Office?

RFO had not previously had a dedicated Chief Investment Officer. The newly created position consolidates leadership of the firm's investment function and strategy under one senior figure, reporting to group CEO Chi Man Kwan.

Is this part of a bigger trend?

Yes. Asian Private Banker frames it as part of a continuing industry pattern of senior talent moving from private banks to independent multi-family offices across Asia, as MFO platforms professionalise and compete for allocator confidence.

Sources and Method

This article draws on Asian Private Banker's report by Jeremy Chan (31 August 2026), which first broke the appointment, and Caproasia's independent report the same day, which added detail on Peng's 20 years of experience including 12 at Citi Private Bank. Both are corroborated by Raffles Family Office's own media roundup, which lists coverage from Hubbis, Fund Selector Asia, WealthBriefingAsia and Citywire Asia. Figures not attributed to these sources have been left out. Drafted and fact-checked by Hsu Myat San.