From herding cows to hiring private investigators - wealth advisers told us their stories about next-level requests from uber rich clients
- Wealth managers told us a human touch when it comes to special requests helps lure and keep clients. That can help justify their steady fees at a time when big and small firms are racing to add headcount catering to the wealthy.
- The pool of high- and ultra-high net worth assets in the US has been pegged at more than $20 trillion. But competition is fierce, as big and small firms are vying to cater to those clients' needs. And the next generation of wealth is growing up more accustomed to digital solutions.
- Business Insider talked with five wealth management insiders about the memorable client requests they've fielded over the years - from assisting in a personal butler search to difficult situations like figuring out how to manage risks after an accident.
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High-touch. A holistic approach. Full-service. Wealth managers are quick to emphasize that what they can offer rich clients goes far beyond portfolio allocation and estate planning.
So what do those buzzwords mean in practice? Insiders told us about being called on to find their client a butler, locate a cowboy, or prepare children for the day they have their own board seat.
High- and ultra-high-net-worth households make up $21.3 trillion, or some 44%, of the total investable assets in the United States, according to the most recent data available from research firm Cerulli Associates.
Many we've talked to say the rise of roboadvisers aimed at so-called mass affluent investors doesn't threaten their core client base. But they are still increasingly aware of the need to show how humans can stand out, and a full-service approach can help justify their steady fees at a time when big and small firms are racing to add headcount catering to the wealthy.
The concierge approach can also help endear managers to their clients' kids and grandkids, who are set to inherit big money: Cerulli found that $68 trillion is set to transfer in the next 25 years, largely from baby boomers to digital-native heirs.
And recent survey by Cerulli and the Investment & Wealth Institute, an industry association aimed at investment professionals, showed many of the association's adviser members are changing their services to provide "holistic advice," and "transforming" accordingly.
Business Insider asked wealth management executives about their most notable client requests. As advisers need to adhere to client-adviser privacy practices, they did not disclose clients' names in interviews.
Advisers call also be called upon to help wealthy families with weighty matters.
"So often, we're the first call when something traumatic happens," Adrienne Penta, a Boston-based managing director at Brown Brothers Harriman, said about the connections that people working in wealth management can form with clients. "We also have a close relationship with their financial life and how they manage risk."
