BNP Paribas Wealth Management broadens its NextGen programme with ‘Peak Week’ in Asia
New four-day programme combines investment fundamentals, entrepreneurship, culture and personal development
for participants aged 18 to 25
BNP Paribas Wealth Management has concluded the inaugural ‘Peak Week – A NextGen Deep Dive’, a programme created specifically for the younger generation of business and wealth-owning families across Asia. More than 60 participants from Hong Kong, Indonesia, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand participated in the four-day programme, held in Hong Kong from 11 to 14 August 2026.
Peak Week extends the Bank's longstanding NextGen commitment to a younger cohort. While the existing NextGen programme already serves emerging successors aged 25-40, Peak Week delivers a bespoke curriculum for the 18-25 age group.
"Succession structures are increasingly in place among Asian families, but preparedness is less consistent," said Lemuel Lee, Head of Wealth Management, Hong Kong, BNP Paribas. "Our Asia Pacific Family Office Report shows that among APAC family offices without a formalised succession plan, 44% cite the next generation as not yet sufficiently qualified and 38% say they are simply too young. Peak Week is designed for precisely that interval: the years before a next-generation member is expected to hold a view at the family table."
Rather than condensing a traditional wealth-management programme, Peak Week was designed around how this generation learns and perceives the world, bringing together three connected themes: markets, innovation and culture, and self-discovery. Participants explored macroeconomics and major asset classes alongside specialised sessions on legacy planning and personal branding. They also explored several emerging trends – from shifting luxury codes to dialogues with leading Asian art-market tastemakers. The programme illustrates how financial decisions intersect deeply with purpose, identity and culture.
"Preparing the next generation is not only about transferring financial knowledge," Lee continued. "It is about helping young people develop judgment, confidence and a sense of purpose, while giving them the space to form their own views and learn from one another."
Turning ideas into action
A highlight was the Future Economy Challenge, a Shark Tank-style competition in which teams developed and pitched business concepts that responded to shifting consumer needs in sectors including travel, caregiving, retail and dining. Participants were encouraged to look beyond the businesses already familiar to them and consider the broader forces reshaping demand, with proposals assessed not only on commercial potential but also on their understanding of human need, empathy and long-term sustainability.
"The thinking that shapes how a family approaches wealth begins earlier than the industry tends to assume," said Anton Wong, Head of Segmentation Strategy and Client Acquisition, Wealth Management, BNP Paribas. "By the age of 25, many instincts around risk, purpose and responsibility are already formed. We would rather be a useful partner while that thinking is taking shape than introduce ourselves once it has settled."
He added: "This generation has access to more information, education and global networks than any before it. They do not expect a bank simply to tell them what it knows; they expect us to engage with their ideas and stay curious alongside them.
“This mindset requires a different discipline from the one many of us trained in, making Peak Week as instructive for our bankers as it was for the participants."
Peak Week joins a NextGen platform the Bank has been developing for close to 20 years. It builds on the success of its flagship Asia NextGen Experience, which convenes and brings together emerging family leaders from across the region annually.
