Financial planning students straight out of business colleges or law schools have an opportunity to work with ultra-high-net-worth clients through the Development Associate Training Program at Hawthorn, the family office arm of PNC Asset Management Group.
The program was created by PNC to develop new talent so they will be ready to help clients with the wealth transfer that is about to take place, said Nicole Perkins, managing executive of Hawthorn, and Rich Henry, senior vice president and managing executive of the Hawthorn Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del., offices.
Hawthorn serves clients with $20 million or more in assets and provides a suite of financial services. The associates program is designed to help keep the next generation of wealthy clients in the PNC fold.
“We are integrating a millennial focus into the client relationship,” said Perkins in describing the four-year-old program. Clients feel more comfortable that their children and heirs will have someone on the team who they can relate to.
The first of the development associates has about a year of experience after completing the three-year program. “The new employee gets to partner with a senior member of the team, have real involvement with clients and gain experience,” Henry added. “For the senior staff member, it provides an opportunity to nurture new talent. Older clients appreciate the fact that we are educating younger employees.”
Interns have the advantage of joining in clients meetings and of going through orientation in several functions of wealth management, including investments, fiduciary, wealth strategy, relationship strategy and banking.
They are assigned to an account after they complete the three-year program and receive a permanent employment offer from PNC. They will not receive their own accounts for many years, but they will have a book of business while working closely with more senior advisors.
“As advisors retire, we have found it to be very helpful to have new talent in the pipeline,” Perkins said. Four new interns are added to the program each year and competition for the positions is intense.