Second, Halbert Hargrove became affiliated with the 20-20 Investment Association, a group of very large institutional investors among fund companies and pension boards representing roughly $8 trillion in aggregate AUM from across the globe that explore investment opportunities in emerging and frontier markets. The size and research depth of these institutions give them access to high-level government and corporate officials in those countries and enables them to invest more deeply than they would just following passive indexes tracking those markets.

Hill says his firm wants to build long-term portfolios for some of its high-net-worth clients–-particularly for the “legacy money” portion of their assets that they’ll likely never touch but will pass on to their children, church or charity–based on emerging and frontier markets. But it doesn’t believe index investing in those regions will produce the desired result for these types of portfolios. Hence, the desire to gain access to the acumen of the 20-20 Investment Association, which Hill says was basically a two-year process.

“This affiliation [with the 20-20 Investment Association] deepens our knowledge of emerging markets,” Hill says.

The Small Get Bigger
Cliff Demarest started Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC in 2012 with the goal of providing family office-type services to high-net-worth clients at a deeper level than what he says is being offered by larger institutions in the family office space. Demarest, a former chief investment officer at Northern Trust, contends that many advisors in the family office teams at the institutional players are spread too thin because they serve too many families.


“There’s not enough time in the year to do all of the client service protocols needed for a wealthy family if you have 20 to 30 families, he says.

At this point in its brief life, Consilium (a Latin word translated as “counsel,” “advice” or “plan”) has two advisors serving six families totaling 25 clients. Client sizes range from $5 million to a couple of hundred million dollars. To ensure that clients get the full high-touch treatment regarding wealth management, family counseling and other family office services, Demarest has set a limit of 10 families per advisor.

Consilium’s assets grew to $270 million last year on the heels of a stratospheric growth rate of 1,700%. “I’d say one of the reasons we’ve been very successful––and we have about a half-dozen prospective clients now that could add another 50% to our AUM––is because we charge low fees,” Demarest says. Depending on the client, fees are 25 to 50 basis points, which he says is at the low end of industry averages.

Consilium’s small staff includes a Web developer and graphic designer, both of whom do more than just make the firm’s Web site look spiffy. They’re also available to help clients. “We have clients who have businesses, and we’ve advised them not just on estate planning or whether they should choose emerging markets, but also on how to maximize their Web site and about search engine optimization,” Demarest says. “They really seem to appreciate that extra-added service.”