"Firms with high employee turnover suffer because clients don't want to keep reinvesting in the professionals managing their account," Piscopo says. "Clients want to be assured their wealth management firm is stable and positioned to pass their vision and values to future generations."
The transition process for Piscopo's own departure has been going on for over a year. Fowler, his replacement, has been with the firm for about seven years.
Fowler says he believes that national, full-service entities compromise wealth management because they are obliged to cross-sell various products.
"It's easy when you're in a multi-product firm for other products to interfere with your wealth management service," asserts Fowler, who previously worked for a national firm.
Looking For Ms. Or Mr. Well-Heeled
Fowler
came to Glenmede from J.P. Morgan about seven years ago. He has been
working in the investment business for 28 years. He ended his Morgan
years as global head of private client investment management. He he has
been serving the high-net-worth client for decades.
What constitutes the average high-net-worth client?
The typical client has much more than $1 million in assets, according to a recent survey by consultants studying the affluent market (see sidebar, page 31). Indeed, the typical client of a wealth management business is generally defined as someone with a net worth of at least $5 million and annual household income of $200,000 or more.
The average client has been with the firm for about 10 to 15 years, according to Fowler.
This is the kind of client that the well-run independent firm is best suited to serve, Glenmede officials say. "If you're independent and private," adds Fowler, "you can retain far more stability in terms of personnel."
Glenmede officials note that despite the market and economic collapse, the firm was able to tighten its belt and had no mass layoffs. The firm has also expanded its client interactions, including investor conference calls and outlook sessions with Fowler.