PW: What kind of expectations and concerns do people have about their money in light of recent events? Are they looking to recoup their assets or are they more risk averse?
GROMEK: Again, concerns haven't changed that drastically. People are concerned about inflation and when that's going to come, how it's going to affect their well being and their lifestyle. I'd say that's probably the biggest concern. Finding ways to protect people's wealth is what we've focused on.
We've been really focused on finding innovative, tax efficient ways to build an inflation hedge around a municipal bond portfolio and some interesting things in that regard.
ROGERS: I do think there are families that prioritize the broadest definition of wealth and may or may not care as much about the best-in-class investment capabilities, and may believe that investments are kind of a commodity. You get your asset class, your asset categories into place and you set it for the long term, and you adjust over time. And I think there are other families that really believe that trying to find the next greatest investment for the long-term to compound wealth is a high priority.
PATTERSON: I have clients on both extremes. You know, they have enough money and they say, I don't need to take anymore risk. It's not going to change my lifestyle. It's not going to change how my goals are achieved at this point. I don't want to take risks. I want to have a consistent return for my portfolio.
And on the other hand, I have clients that say, well, I have enough money. If I lose some it's not going to change my lifestyle. I'm willing to take prudent risk to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace because where there are problems, there are also opportunities. And so, there's some people out there taking advantage of this. And now is the right time for that.
SINSHEIMER: It really does matter who you're talking about, not just that they have X dollars. So, on the real estate side, somebody who is a real estate person and is largely wealthy because of their real estate understands that they look and think of the world differently because it's a mark-to-market issue there. They're not looking daily at the value of the real estate. This is a market where they're gleeful because they're getting ready to pounce. But those same people can't stand the idea of looking at a report every week, or month, or quarterly that shows equities.
Therefore, you've got to think about that when you confer with them on what their other assets are going look like. The other issue is, what is this wealth? Is this somebody who's going to start another business? How much of the wealth is required for distribution for the lifestyle?
I mean, it's very different between a junior who may have tons of money but not be particularly productive versus his brother who is a serial entrepreneur and has already done two successful businesses. You allocate money very differently for the two.
PW: In an increasingly crowded space, what's required of MFOs to be competitive and successful?