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Family Office Exchange is betting that RIAs and the ultra-affluent can't get enough of each other

FOX sees niche as big RIAs fill fiduciary void, banks lose their hegemony and the economy mints more ultra-affluent investors

Author Lisa Shidler May 31, 2011 at 1:38 PM
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Leigh Faber will consult advisors and family offices in how to serve the ultra-affluent more effectively.

Mentioned in this article:

Family Office Exchange
Consulting Firm
Top Executive: Sara Hamilton




Elmer Rich III

Elmer Rich III

May 31, 2011 — 7:53 PM

We speak as marketers and not advisors. The FOX program seems disingenuous, at best, and of little benefit to family office stakeholders..

Some questions arise: – So solution sellers pay FOX to get access to FOX’s family office clients!? – Other than revenue for FOX, why would any family office stakeholder want to participate in a “pay to play” scheme? – Doesn’t FOX have an obligation to information share on the best solutions and firms, not just who pays them? – Wouldn’t FO stakeholders want to only spend time with the best solution providers — not just those who have paid?

Unfortunately, this article and the marketing schemes described are endemic to the HNW space and harmful to everyone’s reputations and of little value to family office decision makers.

On Linked In we had to start a FO stakeholder-only group because the other (so called) FO groups were merely “come-ons” dominated by sales people and sales pitches. FO stakeholders generally do not feel comfortable in social or online forums where they are treated mainly as “prey” or sales targets. Would you?

FO problem-solving is a very complex and risky endeavor. 70%+ of family offices fail. The FO market is a highly segmented (that’s a marketing term) market with differentiated serious and growing needs. Success requires a substantial — long-term — personal and firm comittment. Most firms will not make that comittment. Writing a check for $70k is not going to “move the needle.”

New sales ideas are a lot easier to sell to providers than the hard problem of serving the complex needs of real FO clients and beneficiaries.

Please, disagree.

Regards,
Elmer

elmer.rich@richandco.com

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