From Bloomberg PENTA
Firms ranging from UBS Global Wealth Management and Bank of America Private Bank, to smaller institutions such as U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Management and Wilmington Trust, are beefing up staff and services to focus attention on serving the country’s wealthiest.
Newer entrants are rapidly gaining assets in this ultra-wealth sector, too, by offering specialized services. Cresset Asset Management, for instance, focuses on private and direct investments for its clients, and offers their employees—and even clients—an ownership stake in the firm, according to Michael Cole, Cresset’s CEO.
A key reason banks are interested in managing money for the ultra rich is profit. In a Credit Suisse presentation last year, the bank said the wealth management business for ultra-high-net-worth clients generates returns on investment of more than 30%, compared to returns of greater than 15% for high-net-worth clients and returns in the range of 10% to 15% for the affluent, according to Johann Scholtz, an equity analyst at Morningstar…….