IPCG accuses Deutsche Bank of breaching agreement, files lawsuit
The bank allegedly offered better pricing and terms directly to IPCG's former client, Splendor Lights Holdings – conduct that the asset manager claimed 'seriously undermined' IPCG's ability to carry out its advisory role.
The pre-trial conference is scheduled for Aug 18.
Deutsche declined to comment when contacted by BT. However, a person close to the matter said the bank disagrees with the reported allegations and intends to vigorously contest any claims filed.
The case
Singapore-based IPCG holds a Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and advises high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
Eric Chen, a senior director at IPCG, previously managed Splendor Lights through a Limited Power of Attorney, authorising IPCG to handle Splendor Lights' investments at Deutsche.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Under the external asset manager agreement, Deutsche was to hold Splendor Lights' assets and execute transactions initiated by IPCG, which was 'solely responsible' for managing the client's assets and determining the suitability of investments, court documents said.
The dispute centres on Deutsche relationship manager Sean Poh, who allegedly provided Splendor Lights with direct quotations for financial products that undercut IPCG's pricing.
Poh also made statements to Splendor Lights that 'were seemingly to disparage' IPCG's professionalism, according to court documents.
Splendor Lights subsequently terminated its Limited Power of Attorney with IPCG in November 2023 and began working with Deutsche directly for asset management services, said IPCG in the filing.
At the time, Splendor Lights' assets managed by IPCG at Deutsche were worth about US$42.8 million.
Court documents showed that from 2021 to 2023, when the Limited Power of Attorney was in force, IPCG earned retrocession – a form of commission – and performance fee payments of a combined US$3.4 million.
In the suit, IPCG is seeking for damages to be assessed, a declaration that Deutsche breached its contractual and fiduciary duties, as well as interest, legal costs, and other relief.
The asset manager is represented by Lin Yuankai and Annabel Kwek of Premier Law.
'We initiated this legal action to protect the rightful interests of our relationship managers and our company, and to call on banks to meet their duty of care toward their partners,' said an IPCG spokesperson.
'Banks should act as custodians and execution roles – not compete unfairly with external asset managers for clients or pricing advantage.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Independent Singapore
27 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
'When did landlords start controlling our future?'
SINGAPORE: It began as a simple walk past a local coffee shop, something thousands of Singaporeans do daily. But for one Redditor, what she saw gave pause: five kiosks closed forever, including a zi char stall. 'I've never seen a zi char stall close shop before,' she wrote. Curious, she approached the aunties at the drinks stall. The reason for the closing? Over-the-top rental fees. That scene triggered an unfathomable image of something that's been gently tiptoeing up on us — are property-owners, landlords, and the ecosystem around them, gradually eating away at the soul of Singapore's local food landscape? A zi char casualty Zi char stalls — those busy, wok-heated corners of the coffee shop providing everything from sambal kangkong to sweet and sour pork — are a keystone of Singapore's gastronomic culture. Unlike fashionable cafés and snack bars, these stalls depend on constant footfall and unchanging budgets to survive. When one stall closes, it's not just a business loss; it's the termination of a collective local experience. Economics or exploitation? 'Landlords will only reduce rent when they feel the pain of vacancy,' one commenter wrote. 'Otherwise, they'll just keep squeezing. Simple economics.' It's a reasoning entrenched in free-market judgment — owners charge what the market can tolerate, but for many, it feels not so much about economics but more like manipulation or exploitation. Others cited a broader issue — real estate representatives and the commission-based inducement system. One netizen specifically mentioned PropNex, claiming that its supremacy results in a race to the top in rental pricing. 'I know an agent who failed in his MNC career,' the commenter shared. 'Now he owns multiple properties, flips shophouses, and flaunts his S$100K watches on Instagram. Just an average guy with anger issues who got rich gaming the system.' Who's really to blame? The blame game didn't stop at landlords and agents. Another Redditor blamed civil servants for letting HDB coffeehouses be sold at exorbitant prices in the first place, igniting a domino effect. Still, others believed it was a cultural failure: 'Mostly just greedy, want-to-get-rich, self-centered thinking.' And possibly that's the core of the problem. When returns outdo public good, the fatalities aren't just zi char kiosks, but people's small daily luxuries, communal spaces, and people's shared identity. A system under strain This isn't about wistfulness. It's about whether the current system still has space for tiny businesses to flourish. When a modest zi char stall can no longer continue to exist in a neighbourhood coffee shop, it's a threatening sign—not just for vendors, but for everyone. Because if even the wok rulers are conking out and doing the exit, who's next? Maybe it's time people ask not just what is closing, but why, and what kind of Singapore do Singaporeans want to preserve for future generations.

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Singapore shares down amid mixed regional showing; STI drops 0.5%
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Singapore's benchmark STI fell 0.5 per cent or 19.92 points to end at 4,241.14. SINGAPORE - Local stocks fell for the second straight session on July 28 amid a mixed performance by Asian bourses, as optimism over developments on US' trade deals was countered by uncertainty in Japan. While most Asian equities closed higher, encouraged by the latest US-EU trade deal and signs that Washington's truce with Beijing will extend, markets such as Japan and Malaysia bucked the trend. KLCI closed 0.3 per cent lower while Nikkei 225 ended the day 1.1 per cent lower, the most since July 1. The political situation remains uncertain in Japan after the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in the Upper House elections on July 20. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has signalled he intends to stay in office, brushing aside the growing number of calls for him to resign. 'While political uncertainty surrounding PM Ishiba's potential resignation may introduce volatility, markets expect policy continuity,' Eastspring Investments, the US$256 billion (S$329 billion) asset management business of Prudential, said in a report published on July 28. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.5 per cent or 19.92 points to end at 4,241.14. Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 290 to 276, with around two billion securities worth $1.4 billion changing hands. Keppel DC Reit was the top blue-chip gainer, rising 2.2 per cent to $2.37. Jardine Matheson was the biggest decliner, slipping 2 per cent to US$55.32. The trio of local banks ended lower. DBS fell 0.8 per cent 40 cents to $48.66; OCBC dropped 0.5 per cent or eight cents to $17.10; and UOB shed 0.7 per cent 25 cents to close at $36.90.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Short sellers rack up US$25 billion loss on riskiest US stocks
IT HAS been a brutal month for traders shorting the riskiest US stocks, and as animal spirits imbue retail investors with boundless confidence, strategists expect the misery to continue for bears. As of Thursday (Jul 24), investors had lost US$2.5 billion in the month, betting against the 50 US-listed stocks with the highest short interest, according to data from S3 Partners. Doubting the hype in those firms, which include meme-stock darling Kohl's Corp, produced four times greater losses than the average short in the US market, as individual traders have pushed into speculative names. This week poses a big test for the risk-on mood, with the Aug 1 deadline for US trade deals looming, one of a slew of key events. However, strategists say the meme-stock frenzy likely has room to run. Data from Vanda Research Corp shows that net retail buying of companies such as Opendoor Technologies Inc and Krispy Kreme Inc has continued to trend higher. Trading frequency has risen as well, said Marco Iachini, senior vice-president of research at Vanda Research. 'I'm not seeing any signs' that the craze is fading, he said. Driving home how profitable a stretch it has been for investors betting on speculative corners of the market, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc basket of 50 stocks with the highest short interest in the Russell 3000 Index just posted a record ninth straight week of gains. It has climbed 33 per cent in that time, and clobbered both the Russell 3000 and the S&P 500 Index's returns of 10 per cent each. That Goldman basket of stocks is up 15 per cent this month. Justin Walters, co-founder at Bespoke Investment Group, wrote in a Thursday note: 'July has been a banner month for investors long on the most heavily shorted stocks (and brutal for those short them).' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at Jonestrading Institutional Services, said the run of outperformance by the most-shorted stocks in the market could signal that the current risk-on sentiment in the market is short-lived. 'I actually don't think this will be anywhere near as long as in 2021,' he said. The breadth of this meme-stock rally stands in sharp contrast to the case in 2021, when traders mainly piled into GameStop Corp and AMC Entertainment Holdings, he said. Other potential hurdles for equities bulls are on the calendar this week: A Federal Reserve monetary-policy decision, earnings results from a quartet of 'Magnificent Seven' companies and Friday's monthly jobs report. Plus, trading desks at firms, including Goldman, last week urged clients to buy cheap hedges against potential losses. However, amateur traders may drag institutional money into the speculative rally and keep it going, said Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners. Once there are 'hedge fund holdings on both the long and short sides of these names, coupled with retail buying pressure, they tend to be more volatile and produce higher returns', he said. That produces more pain for short sellers, he added. Retail investors are 'squeezing hedge funds and then forcing this upward move', Vanda's Iachini said. BLOOMBERG