How Advice Differs When Your Average Client Has $100M

Simply put, there are many highly successful entrepreneurs approaching retirement age and looking to turn to the next chapter. Making the most of the process, Ginter notes, requires the support of skilled advisors working in concert with accountants, tax attorneys and other resources such as investment bankers.

“Across all of these areas, our clients tell us that they value our independent perspective so much,” Ginter says. “In our firm today, we don’t have any proprietary products, and there is no fee sharing going on in any way with any underlying managers we use, and we don’t fee share with any outside advisors, either.

“When a client is coming into this world and thinking about the management of this level of wealth, they want a partner that is truly aligned with their best interest,” Ginter adds. “They want to know there are deep resources, too.”

Ginter says the firm works to stand out in other less obvious ways, as well. Its stewardship of clients’ private investments is one example.

“When we go through a liquidity event and then we are looking to make private investments for clients, it’s all done directly,” Ginter says. “We don’t use a feeder structure with multiple layers of fees. We make sure our clients are directly investing as partners, and that’s a harder road to go down, but it’s absolutely the best way to do this.”

The Callan Collaboration

Reflecting broadly on the experience of launching the firm, Ginter says one of the most gratifying aspects is the close collaboration with Callan, which is one of the largest institutional investment consultants in the country.

“As you might know, the Callan organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and our launch was actually the first time in their history that they chose to extend their brand outside of their core firm,” Ginter says. “That’s a really special thing for me, because I’ve been working in partnership with the leadership there for more than 20 years now.”

According to Ginter, it would be impossible for the firm to deliver the necessary level of service to its clients without being able to tap into the resources and expertise of the Callan organization, especially its capabilities across managers searches and its access to attractive private investments.

That said, clients also value the fact that Callan Family Office is a truly independent business that collaborates with but is not controlled or influenced by the bigger Callan organization with respect to running the business, Ginter said.

The Road Ahead

Echoing other firm leaders focused in this space, Ginter says there is much reason for optimism.

“We have a lot of confidence, and we are going to continue investing in our firm across technology and talent,” Ginter says. “For example, right now we are very focused on continuing to develop family governance support and education as a core competency of our firm.”

Ginter says securing the right talent will be a challenge, in a sense, but he says the firm’s unique approach and its early success has generated a lot of buzz and interest, and advisors are frequently contacting the firm and asking about opportunities to join or collaborate.

“Strategically, we want to be really thoughtful about our growth, but we have a clear vision of completing a national strategy and expanding our footprint in key markets, for example by continuing to add talent in the Midwest and on the West Coast.”

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