Wealth management is the phrase du jour. The billions of dollars that are being transferred inter-generationally are creating a renewed interest in HNW clients.

There is tremendous competition on Bay Street and across Canada for these clients However are they being well served? According to Taddingstone Market Research, they are not.

  • “Only 33% of millionaires surveyed by Taddingstone use private banking services. And those that do aren’t particularly satisfied. The affluent see their private bankers as little more than account administrators, not investment advisors or financial planners”
  • “Taddingstone’s discussions with Millionaires clearly show there are business opportunities for financial service providers. Millionaires want expertise, education and value offered through experienced advisors who place the well being of the client well ahead of personal or corporate objectives.”
  • “Our research shows that some institutions are listening to their clients, reacting positively and building share. Others, however, are entrenched in traditional service and product structures and seem content to watch their market share erode. “Financial institutions that focus on the wealthy need to demonstrate the unique value that they create for clients which extends beyond the individual advisor.”

Investment Executive wrote:

“To wealth managers and financial advisors, this forecast suggests that their top clients are likely to become more valuable than ever. As the rich get richer, and their rate of wealth accumulation outpaces the population growth, advisors’ smartest move may be to do whatever it takes to keep their richest clients happy.”

According to Mr. Al West, Chairman and CEO of SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC): “Baby boomers demand a holistic wealth management experience that focuses on their life goals and provides them with an integrated array of financial services that includes substantially more than traditional wealth management offerings.”

Karen and her colleagues offer services that will add value to your wealth management strategy to help you achieve your financial goals and keep your clients informed, knowledgeable – and loyal.

Contact Karen for more information

And finally in The New York Times, Globe and Mail etc. the week of July 27, 2006:

If It Could Happen to Her …

“The charges are startling — that Brooke Astor, the fabled New York socialite and philanthropist, has been suffering from deprivation and elder abuse as she moves into her 105th year. At this point, it’s not clear whether the allegations are based on truth, jealousy or other human entanglements that come with such wealth and social status. Yet almost everyone who has learned about this case and who also possesses a birth certificate dated earlier than, say, 1955 can’t help but wonder: If it can happen to somebody as rich as Mrs. Astor, how easily could it happen to me?”

“The allegations of neglect involving Brooke Astor, while unproven, are a reminder that the very rich are not that different in one respect: money can go only so far in protecting them from the adversities of old age… Whether it takes the form of neglect, physical or emotional abuse, or financial exploitation, elder mistreatment is an emerging problem as the population ages, experts say… “The greatest perpetrators of elder abuse are family members. The rich and powerful are as helpless and vulnerable as anyone else.”

Unfortunately elder abuse is alive and well in Canada. Stats Canada 1999 general social survey on victimization found 7% of older adults surveyed experience some form of financial or emotional abuse by their families.

Advisors should be alert for signs of elder abuse. For more information contact Karen.