Building trust with Asian American investors

Connecting with Asian American clients means understanding more than their financial goals.

A Pew Research Center study from 2013, “The Rise of Asian Americans,” found that Asians were roughly as trusting of other people as the general American population. Thirty-six percent of Asian Americans said they trusted most people and 56% said you “can’t be too careful.” Among the general population, those numbers were 35% and 61%.

But trying to understand a whole continent’s culture—or subculture—through a single question is not going to be all that instructive. The sense of trust that any Asian American brings to any interaction comes from who they are as individuals, but also which generation they’re from, how long they’ve been in the U.S., and their specific ethnicity.

"When they first came here, they couldn’t trust anybody—or they didn’t allow themselves to trust anyone.”

“I think it really depends on whether they’re first generation or second generation,” says Vivian Jin, vice president and client service director, Asian American Specialty Practice at HUB International, of her 20 years of working with Korean clients. “The main reason why Asian people left their countries is because they wanted better opportunities and they wanted to get away from politics or government or whatever it was. So when they first came here, they couldn’t trust anybody—or they didn’t allow themselves to trust anyone.”

Many first-generation Asian immigrants would only borrow money from family and friends. A tradition of a communal savings pool—called a kye—has helped start many Korean businesses. Having arrived in a country where they may not have spoken the language fluently and may have felt like outsiders, those first-generation Koreans would often only fully trust other Koreans. “Back in the day—20 years ago—if I showed up with a non-Asian person to our clients, it wouldn't be very welcome,” says Jin. “But it’s a completely different story today. It’s much better received when we show up with a non-Asian person to decision-making meetings.”

The children of those immigrants, who were born here or grew up here, are more immersed in American culture, a culture that is increasingly diverse. And Asian Americans who came here recently from whatever country are more likely to have grown up in a more developed place and to have come from greater wealth. “Even if they weren’t born here but they were raised here, or they went to school here, I think their level of trust is pretty much based upon what they can see and what they can feel,” says Jin. “Whereas for the older generation, the ‘OG’ immigrants, it wasn't really about what value do you bring me, but it was more like, ‘You’re my guy, you’re my buddy. Trust is defined much better now, because it’s built upon the values that are brought to the table.”

In fact, this change in trust can result in intergenerational tension within family-run businesses. When a CEO or CFO of a family-run business hands the reins to the next generation “it does create a significant amount of tension and disagreements,” says Jin. “When you have people who have been there for a very long time, and they are Asian, then the age factor is going to be one of the pain points on both ends.”

Overcoming skepticism

For James Huang, owner of EA Insurance and Financial Services in McKinney, Texas, and president of the Asian American Insurance and Financial Professional Association, among Chinese Americans, there is a certain wariness of new financial interactions that spans generations. “We are a very protective community. We don’t want to commit to something that we’re not 100% certain of—we’re afraid we’ll be scammed,” he says. “In terms of life insurance, the biggest deterrent for them to make a decision is fear of regret.”

In the Chinese American community there’s a greater trust of family than there is of an outsider. “Chinese Americans are family oriented. So they make their financial decisions not necessarily through their own readings or knowledge, but rather within their own family network,” says Fred Huang (no relation), managing director and financial advisor at New York-based Forest Hills Financial Group, with a focus on the Asian American community. “So anyone who is successful within their family network or friends circles, they're going to listen to them. They’re not necessarily going to go to an outside professional.”

In fact, the entire American system of turning to professionals for help can be alien, confusing, and off-putting. “Sometimes they get blown away—‘Oh my God, this is too complicated’—because it’s too much to digest. They have to see a lawyer, a CPA, a wealth manager,” says Fred Huang. “They think this is crazy.”

Fred Huang says his fluency in English and Chinese helps him gain the trust of potential clients from older generations. “Of course they see my background. And they also respect and admire people whose English is good.”

James Huang thinks this natural skepticism can be overcome with explanations of how insurance works, its purpose, and the differences between the many products that are offered. “I will explain to them how the insurance industry started, with the underwriters, back in the 1600s or 1700s, when the shipping routes were always attacked by pirates,” he says. After relating that history to current policies “it always comes down to helping them understand the differences between the different products, and then eventually making a decision that best suits their needs.”

Looking for the bridge

For a non-Asian American hoping to do business within a multigenerational company, it may be easier to court the younger generation. And if it’s the older generation that is still making executive decisions, that path to being trusted will likely involve some footwork. “It’s all about networking,” says Jin. “And I don't just mean networking as in business networking. It could be through churches, it could be going to same country club, or it could be anyone that you mutually know who can be the bridge to open that opportunity for you. But again, if you are trying to get into someone's business without having any kind of relationship with that person, chances are that it’s not going to work out for you.”

So they make their financial decisions not necessarily through their own readings or knowledge, but rather within their own family network.”

Of course, variations in trust also exist between people of the same generation. Fred Huang worked with one couple in which the man was from mainland China and the woman was from Taiwan. Where the man was comfortable working with money managers and using software tools, the woman was put off entirely. “She refused to do anything at all because she was very skeptical,” says Fred Huang. “Americans need to understand it, even though they're Asian Americans, when they are here, so their backgrounds are so different, some are born here, some are from Taiwan, some are from Hong Kong, some are from mainland China. Some are professional immigrants, some are like, family, you know, immigrants, they’re all very different.”

The same trust-building shortcuts that might work for non-Asian Americans aren’t likely to help with Asian Americans, or at least Koreans. “I think gaining trust from Americans is a lot easier for me,” says Jin. “I’m the kind of person who remembers people’s birthdays or special events in their life or things like that, I make sure I check up on them or I give them small gifts. What I’ve noticed is that these small acts of kindness go a long way and it’s very, very impactful for Americans. And that really helped me build trust and build relationships in my career. Whereas if I do the same thing for my fellow Asian, Asian American, but the impact isn't there.” (Jin’s theory is that where American culture emphasizes the individual, Asians are taught to take care of those around them more. “Asian people are always very easily exposed to people like giving you gifts or doing things for you,” he says. “And so it's not something that can feel very impactful for them—because it's not something new.”)

Cultural resonance

Cultural barriers are not, of course, always barriers to trust. Satish Sunkara, a senior manager of information systems at an international pharmaceutical company, came to the United States from India in 2008. Though he spoke fluent English, he and his wife sought out a Hindu temple to find a community. But that, he says, was just the natural tendency of humans to seek those who are like them. “In fact, sometimes I feel more comfortable speaking with an American rather than someone of Indian origin because the American will come with a mindset of a pure business, where he will give the pros and cons of a particular situation,” he says. “If I’m speaking with an Indian, they will come up with something that they will try to link with the Indian ways of thinking.”

But, as Sunkara is quick to point out, every individual is different. Immigrants like himself, who have settled into a diverse suburban neighborhood and integrated themselves into the community, are different from those who move from their country of origin straight into a community of their own ethnicity. “They prefer their own language and their own people. They don't even want to talk to an American. So there is a level of distrust over there—I don't know if that can be called distrust, but I think they are more comfortable living in their own boundaries.”

For anyone hoping to gain Sunkara’s trust, the most important thing is showing a resonance to his culture. “I personally feel that it's not about gaining trust, it's about inclusion. Are you completely open to an Indian way of doing things?”

But that feeling of inclusion can’t be faked. “The way you talk in itself will give that comfort level,” says Sunkara. “If I’m being included, that feeling will automatically come.”