Alternative Investments with Wings

The customer is always right, especially the UHNW customer.

So what do the wealthy want? Their own jet planes, according to this DJ Newswire dispatch:

Large banks - including Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) and Wachovia Corp. (WB) - have in-house departments dedicated to helping individuals and corporations acquire and finance private jets. UBS AG (UBS) and Guggenheim Partners LLC, a financial-services firm with a wealth-management division, announced in late May their own joint aircraft-financing venture.

Demand for private jets is rising, and financial advisors and private bankers can play a key role connecting their jet-setting clients with colleagues savvy about aviation finance. Manufacturers and firms involved with buying and selling jets also refer interested buyers to banks for financial assistance.

A private jet has got to be a fun investment. Mary Schwartz of Citigroup's Aircraft Finance division says, "People love to talk about their planes."