FA Magazine: What have you learned the hard way about this market?

Kochis: One of the things I learned a long time ago is that this is a marketplace that demands very thorough analysis. They don't accept unsupported recommendations. They expect you to do your homework. They'll tell you when something isn't good enough.

The mistake you don't want to make with corporate executives is to fail to understand what you want the client to do. They don't want you to be neutral. They want you to explain their options and why. Their own decision making is what makes them successful, and they want to know that you can make decisions, too. It's not to say that they'll always agree with you, but they sure as hell want to know that you have conviction. That's what they pay you for.

FA Magazine: Are executives changing in terms of their age or sex? Do they have more complex compensation packages and less job security these days?

Kochis: We're seeing all of these things. There are many more executive women than there were 30 years ago. At the same time, and this is probably good for the economy, there is a lot more job mobility among executives. It's the moving around, whether they're being fired or not hitting bonus targets or deciding that the future is bigger and brighter someplace else, that makes for lots of wealth management opportunities for advisors. When it comes to compensation packages, we are seeing more features and more moving parts, so there is more to coordinate.

FA Magazine: As a rule, are corporate executives more demanding as clients?

Kochis: They run the gamut, but they tend to be strong delegators and macro managers. They make decisions and are accustomed to someone else carrying them out. In that regard, they are very good clients.

There are exceptions: Those who don't fit the mold and constantly seem to change their mind and micromanage. But these types of corporate clients are fairly rare. The majority make decisions, are willing to live with the consequences and want someone else to make it happen.

FA Magazine: What drives executive investors? Is it performance?

Kochis: They're not particularly performance-driven. They understand we don't control market performance. All we can do is put them in the best position to take advantage of long-term opportunities. They're pretty sophisticated about this, so they're not as performance-driven as you might expect.