Monday, November 26, 2007

The Battle for the Ultra-High-Net-Worth Market Heats Up

When my wife was a young bride in need of a job, she got helpful leads from the nice young manager of Merrill Lynch's Stamford office. Dan Tully was so nice and so competent (bet he wouldn't have stood for this subprime nonsense) he wound up running Merrill.

Now Tully and two other former Merrill Lynch CEOs, together with other Wall Street heavyweights, are backing a new private bank: Fieldpoint Bank and Trust of Greenwich, slated to open in February. You can read the Dow Jones Newswire story here:
Fieldpoint will administer funds worth billions at the outset, offering banking, investment and estate management advice. Chief Executive Kevin McCabe, who used to work at JP Morgan Chase (JPM), believes Fieldpoint will also offer its clients excellent networking opportunities. Clients will be offered the opportunity to share ideas with each other, including investment opportunities.

Wealthy individuals often express their dislike of established private banks, citing poor service and product pushing . . . .
The Dow Jones story also notes that Rockefeller & Co., the outgrowth of the old Rockefeller family office, is gearing up to seek more outside business. Judging from their web site, that definitely includes trust and estate business:
Because of our firm’s heritage, we are particularly attuned to the needs of families managing wealth transfer across generations. We understand the nuances of administering long-term trusts and the role that education and mentoring play in helping children and grandchildren to manage the responsibilities of wealth.

As a corporate fiduciary, we offer impartiality and objectivity in administering payments. We are experienced and flexible when working with individual co-trustees or outside advisors.

Our subsidiaries, The Rockefeller Trust Company (New York) and The Rockefeller Trust Company (Delaware) deliver a cost-effective full range of trust and estate services . . . .
Overall, Dow Jones notes, total wealth serviced by private banks grew by 25% last year.

1 comment:

California Wills and Trusts said...

its nice to be in good hands, im going to talk with my san diego trust attorney to get more info.