Old National Bank, a commercial bank based in Evansville, Ind., is looking to put a greater focus on the high-net-worth market and announced the launch of a new brand that will target that audience by offering a suite of services.
Last week, the firm announced the launch of 1834, a division of Old National Bank, which will serve clients with more than $5 million in assets. In conjunction with this launch, Old National also rolled out 1834 Investment Advisors Co., a subsidiary of Old National Bancorp, which will act as the firm’s SEC-registered investment advisor. The origin of the name 1834 is the year of the founding of the parent company.
1834 Investment Advisors Co. was formerly Northern Oak, an RIA Old National acquired as part of its merger with First Midwest Bank last year. The rebranding of Northern Oak to 1834 Investment Advisors Co. took place last month and Old National will incorporate other aspects of its business into it along with other acquisitions it has made, according to Jim Steiner, chief investment officer at 1834.
Along with clients with at least $5 million in assets, the new business will also serve current clients of Northern Oak, endowments and foundations, Steiner said.
With 1834 officially launched it will be managing about $22 billion of Old National Bank’s approximately $28 billion assets under management, the firm said. Steiner wants to double that amount within the next five years barring any unforeseen market conditions.
It is already in growth mode and seeing other potential registered investment advisors to acquire and incorporate into the new business.
Clients of 1834 will have a single point of contact in the form of a wealth advisor who will provide clients with services including wealth planning, investment management, private banking, philanthropic management, estate planning, and others.
Investors are looking for more from their advisor than just managing their portfolio and this move is an effort to address that need, Steiner said.
“A big part of this is understanding the client and getting to know them through the discovery process [and] building a robust and dynamic financial plan,” he said.
The firm may incorporate other parts of its business into 1834, including its outside chief investment officer and potentially its investment team, according to Steiner.
The service model that 1834 will use is one familiar to Steiner, who saw a similar one when he was president at Abbot Downing and as CEO of Lowry Hill Investment Advisors. Both firms were based in Minneapolis. They also incorporated a variety of services to provide clients with a one-stop shop.
“We created a unique client experience that tied all these things together and that was really focused around the clients,” Steiner said. “That’s important and it’s not something that large financial institutions want to do because there’s power in scale.”
The firm has been making a series of strategic hires, including investment teams in both Nashville, Tenn. and Minneapolis to serve at 1834, Steiner said. One service the new entity wants to provide for clients is portfolio construction and create portfolios with a focus on risk.
“We build portfolios with risk as the starting piece,” he said. “We try to buy risk at the appropriate price.”
With this launch, Steiner is optimistic that Old National can forge a new identify outside of just being a commercial bank.
“People think of banks as banks and not necessarily investment houses,” he said. “This change allows us to extend and change the brand offering.”