“Birds of a feather flock together.” Once people get some serious money, they often like to take themselves out of general circulation. As an advisor, how to you gain admission?
Old money and new money have a complicated relationship between themselves. New money wants to be perceived as old money. Both groups include younger people, because old money is often generational. You can lose all your money and still be accepted as old money because the category seems to have a grandfathering clause. People with little or no money strive to be accepted by new money. It’s complicated.
If you are an advisor seeking to break into new money circles, here are 10 approaches:
1. Private dining or cocktail clubs. WS, a private food and wine club in Hudson Yards was started in conjunction with Wine Spectator. Roof, the private club at River House in New Hope, Pa., has a 600 person waiting list, even though membership is $1,000, according to The New York Post.
2. Alumni association. Fellow graduates went on to do great things. The alumni newsletter and list of honorary degrees provides clues. Some schools have physical club buildings in major cities. New York boasts the University Club. Most schools have alumni associations with local chapters. People who achieve success often stay aligned with their school. The college makes that happen.
3. Join the right gym. Working out is a great leveler. Everyone wears sweats. Big cities have prestigious gyms. They also have “athletic clubs,” which are private clubs where the main focus is sports.
4. The expensive vacation. Has everyone heard the story of the advisor who built their book taking expensive vacations like safaris and making friends along the way? The wealthy like privacy. Most cruise lines you’ve heard of are in the “mass market” category. You’ve seen the smaller all suite ships and very high cruise fares.
5. Buying at auction. On March 21, The New York Times ran an article, “Bored Rich People Spend Money.” The price of collectibles is rising fast. Major auction houses have specialty auctions. Fine wine is a good example. The auction attracts people prepared to spend lots of money to get what they want. In some cases, wine auctions are preceded by a reception. Becoming part of the auction attendee crowd often gets you rubbing shoulders with new money.
6. Collector clubs. This one seems obvious. Porsche owners like to spend time with other Porsche owners. People often mistake a car for a rolling net worth statement, meaning certain interests can attract people with money. Here’s the difficulty: To play the game, you need to own the playing piece.
7. The museum donor circuit. Museums cultivate the great and the good as donors. They give lots of recognition. Hospitals too. Donor clubs are tiered. A $50 membership might get you into the preview night before the exhibition opens to the public, but a $1,000 or $10,000 donation gets you to exclusive parties.