Buying a Jet? Need a Pet Therapist? The Concierge Is On It

Q&A May 20, 2024 at 02:53 PM
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Mona Manahi

Ultra-high-net-worth families expect to be catered to with a batch of deluxe services. Sometimes, these are unusual.

At Geller, a large multi-family office and a Dynasty Network firm, this means everything from doggy therapy to lending museums their precious art to securing a Golden Visa for retirement in Europe, among a host of other lifestyle management and financial concierge services.

"We know everything about these families. It's such an intimate relationship. So it's not unusual for us to be their first call for any type of issue they might face," Mona Manahi, head of Personal CFO Services, tells ThinkAdvisor in an interview, wherein she discusses 17 such services.

Geller's main lines of business include investment management, strategic wealth planning, tax advisory and Personal CFO Services. The firm had about $6 billion in assets under management and another $3.7 billion in assets under advisement as of Dec. 31, according to its latest Form ADV.

"We don't serve as a personal assistant; we provide financial concierge services — anything that…[has] a significant financial element that needs support," Manahi says.

Here are excerpts from our interview:

THINKADVISOR: Please describe Personal CFO Services.

MONA MANAHI: When a family gets to a certain level of wealth, their assets are themselves a business. And just like any business, that requires a CFO.

Personal CFO Services are for the client's personal financial life.

Why is it important to offer lifestyle management and concierge services to ultra-high-net-worth clients?

Considering the size of their lives, they have many needs. We don't serve as a personal assistant — we provide financial concierge services: anything that relates to navigating transactions that may not be routine to their life but that have a significant financial element that needs support.

What's an example of lifestyle management?

When a client wants to enter into a luxury home lease somewhere exotic, they reach out to us. We'll manage the application process, liaise with the brokers and get the account set up all the way to completion.

How do you help owners of collectible vehicles?

I have a client who was passing a Lamborghini dealership one day and called me. He said, "I just saw this very unique color, one-of-a-kind Lamborghini that I want to buy. But I'm leaving the country — so can you work with the dealership to get it purchased, insured, registered and have it in my driveway by the end of the week?"

I said, "Certainly."

Do you come to the rescue when clients have problems concerning their cars?

One family called and said that while they were moving their luxury vehicle to a different state, the transport company took a sharp turn — and the vehicle fell off the transport.

We helped arrange for the insurance and handled the entire situation.

What's one particularly memorable odd request?

A client's dog needed special meals because it had a medical condition — IBS, as I recall. They asked us to help them identify a few options and then set up a subscription.

Another family engaged a therapist for their dog because it seemed to be reacting [badly] to their newborn baby.

They asked us to onboard and facilitate payments to the therapist they selected.

Do you help hire dog-walkers and arrange for doggy daycare?

Yes. A family might need someone to walk their dog, put their pet in daycare or [board them] on a long-term basis when they're on vacation.

I imagine you help in hiring and firing household employees too. Right?

Yes. If, say, a housekeeper isn't meeting expectations, we advise the client to record instances of poor performance, then have a conversation with the employee to make them aware of their shortcomings and give them an opportunity to improve.

If the family decides to separate the individual, we can convey the news. Then we'll prepare the separation agreement and negotiate the terms on the family's behalf.

We also serve in the role of hiring household employees.

Another client service you provide is to pursue European Union citizenship via Golden Visa pathways. Please explain.

We have clients who would like to retire and live long-term in Europe. To do that, they need to become EU citizens [dual citizenship]. Many countries offer a Golden Visa, and each has different requirements.

It's an immensely long process, very costly and time-consuming. Pathways that we've been working with are in Austria, Portugal and Malta.

We help analyze the options and liaise with international law firms.

How about clients who need or desire private aviation?

We have families who own their own planes or have fractional shares in private planes. For those contemplating ownership, we [analyze] the cost and benefits.

For people who don't want to be owners but want to fly private, we coordinate with aviation companies to facilitate specific trips.

Many clients routinely travel to California, London, Paris or Milan and need on-demand private charter service.

To secure the appropriate plane, we look at different types of aircraft, as well as the number of people travelling, client preferences with regard to meal service, sleeping quarters, whether they'd like an onboard attendant.

What about services for yacht owners?  

One family wanted to move their yacht from the New York area to Florida [for the winter], and we helped coordinate that.

Another wanted to change the state in which their yacht was moored — stored — off-season to gain a better cost.

What other luxury assets do you help with?

Some clients have immense art collections and call us to make arrangements when a museum is interested in displaying a piece for a specific exhibition. 

We'll liaise with them, making sure the appropriate insurance is in place and indicating the duration that the loaned piece will be off-site.

Suppose a client wants to borrow precious jewelry to wear to a big event? 

If they choose and borrow a piece from a high-end jeweler, like De Beers or Tiffany, they need to get insurance for the period it's in [their possession]. We coordinate all the paperwork for returning the pieces as well.

What's a personal financial service that you provide quite often?

Many times clients lose their wallet on their way to or from a vacation. We deploy the resources to address canceling credit cards, getting replacement copies of driver's licenses, contacting the credit agencies and making sure there's no fraud.

Should a client be subjected to tech fraud, how do you help?

If their banks have been compromised, we'll support them in their investigation and help change the client's accounts to a new bank or shut down accounts.   

"Security is only as strong as the weakest link…Today's UHNW individuals remain uniquely susceptible to fraud…" [Manahi has written].

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