Wharton and IPI Formalize Network to Educate Wealthy Investors

August 09, 2012 at 06:31 AM

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The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Institute for Private Investors this week formalized their informal network, which has offered investors a five-day residential program for the past 13 years.

The new Wharton IPI Private Wealth Network will officially launch with the first in a series of dinner meetings on Oct. 4 at the Penn Club in New York. Professor Richard Marston, the program's academic director, will address the investors in attendance.

The dinner meetings will be held three times a year, Wharton and IPI said in a statement. After the New York dinner, the next gathering will take place in March in San Francisco.

Charlotte Beyer, Founder, IPI Charlotte Beyer (left), IPI's founder and chief executive, said in the statement that the network started after she and the professors had noticed a natural connection and common interests among the hundreds of investors who have attended the program. "We felt ready to launch a formal network," she said.

Marston noted that after investors complete the program, they often have more questions that need objective answers. "For example, after a conversation with their advisor about asset allocation or fees, investors might wish to see how a professor views the issue," he said.

In each of the 23 classes since 1999, investors learned the theory behind asset allocation, studied how family dynamics and investor personality influence wealth management and examined global economic trends, according to the statement.

They also learned how to conduct due diligence, more prudently oversee their advisors and money managers and evaluate the performance of hedge funds and other investments.

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