The wealthiest families in the United States are seeking more sophisticated advisory services that meet their complex and rapidly evolving needs, and according to Jack Ginter, the CEO of Callan Family Office, there is a tremendous opportunity for specialist wealth managers to grow in this space.
As Ginter told ThinkAdvisor in a recent interview, Callan Family Office was founded some 16 months ago specifically to take advantage of the fact that ultra-high-net-worth clients want highly tailored and holistic advisory services delivered in a fiduciary capacity that is free from conflicts of interest.
"There just aren't a lot of registered investment advisor firms out there providing this level of service specifically crafted for the ultra-wealthy," Ginter says. "To be successful in this realm requires a clear focus, and that's why we are completely dedicated to serving the needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients and foundations with $50 million in assets and above. This sharp focus is a really important element of our strategy and story."
As Ginter recalls, Callan Family Office launched in 2022 and was founded by a group of 22 partners who had all worked at Abbot Downing, the UHNW multifamily office of Wells Fargo. Ginter had led Abbot Downing until Wells folded it into its private wealth business in 2021.
According to Ginter, the reason for Callan Family Office's creation was twofold and included both personal and professional motivations.
"One reason why we are here today and working in this dynamic space is that I was ready for a change, as were the nearly two dozen partners who have joined," Ginter explains. "The other reason is that, as we were having discussions and looking at the landscape, we felt a strong conviction that nobody was doing exactly what we were looking to do in terms of serving this specialized client base."
As Ginter spells out, Americans at all wealth levels face big financial challenges, and many could benefit tremendously by working with an advisor. This is true for the middle class and the mass affluent, he says, but even more so for high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families.
Among other challenges, these groups face big questions about monetizing closely held businesses and mitigating taxes through effective estate planning and smart charitable giving. They are also grappling with an evolving estate tax framework and tackling fundamental questions about the meaning of wealth and how it should best be deployed, protected and grown from a multigenerational and community-oriented perspective.
UHNW Clients in Focus
While Callan Family Office has a client minimum of $50 million, its average client has about $100 million in assets, and at this early stage, the firm is serving more than 40 families and growing quickly, Ginter says.
"All the clients and the families that come to us are unique in their own way, but the key thing is that, when families are at this level of wealth, their money is generally going to outlive them," Ginter explains. "As such, generally speaking, they want to be intentional about instilling positive values in their children and the next generations, and how the wealth can impact their communities and important philanthropic causes becomes a key discussion."
In Ginter's experience, one of the most powerful ways to build client loyalty in the UHNW space is by showing a willingness and ability to engage the next generation (or two) of the family, and this can be accomplished in a variety of ways.
On the one hand, some clients' children may already be highly interested in and well informed about the need to carefully steward the family's wealth, and they can be brought straightaway into discussion about everything from estate planning to charitable giving.
On the other hand, some clients' children may be totally disengaged. While the parent can often have trouble "getting through" to the next generation, the advisor can actually be in a powerful position to shake up the status quo.
Liquidity Events and Private Investments
Another important trend, Ginter says, is the prevalence of big liquidity events and the need for better planning around them.
