Wealth management competition seen insane, irrational
The business of managing money for the rich has become “insanely competitive” and lost its rationality, a Philadelphia-based wealth manager warned. Some very large companies who have been hiring aggressively will find that they either don’t make money or they make less than they could if they invested in other areas, said Al Piscopo, chairman of Glenmede Trust Co. Speaking at this week’s Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Boston, he said that talk about the industry consolidating “is a myth” and that a takeover is often followed a while later by further fragmentation as wealth managers set up their own new businesses. Piscopo also questioned whether some of the big banks were getting too “gimmicky” and becoming more like “life-stage or lifestyle advisers” than wealth advisers.

Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Stock Market Inc, does not seem like the sort to party hearty, but in 2004 he did. He organized a week-long trip to Ireland for more than 20 family members, which included custom-written songs, re-creations of a medieval village, and a gourmet menu designed to exclude cream and butter. There were 55 staffers to care for the guests.
Wealth management firms, facing a shortage of talented advisers, are recruiting from industries like pharmaceuticals and software, where sales staff have mastered technical issues and used to selling to intelligent people, said Bruce Holley, a partner at Boston Consulting Group.
The rich aren’t just interested in being nice to the environment, they’re
The head of the Japanese private banking arm of France’s
Growing up wealthy does not necessarily mean growing up money savvy. Psychologist James Grubman told the Reuters Wealth Summit that the children of the wealthy may not have grown up with budgets and financial constraints, and may not know how to spend responsibly.