Marketing moves to forefront as wealth firms look to expand

Wealth management and multifamily offices are relying on marketing and branding campaigns to create a national presence and differentiate their firms in a fiercely competitive market.

“Branding is becoming more important and widespread because investment advice is pretty commoditized now,” said Dave Swanson, principal of SwanDog Strategic Marketing LLC, a Warrenville, Ill.-based firm that works with financial services companies.

“As you look to differentiate yourself, branding gives you a chance to extol your competitive virtues and let people know what you stand for,” he said.

A number of major firms that are embarking on national marketing campaigns also face an additional challenge: They are new versions of established firms and must also re-brand themselves.

These firms are referred to as “challenger brands” in marketing parlance and include wealth management offices such as Aspiriant, Convergent Wealth Advisors LLC and GenSpring Family Offices LLC, as well as Alexandra & James Advisory Services LLC, a venture of the Lebenthal family of municipal bond fame.

Most marketing efforts, such as the current re-branding campaigns, are on a per-project basis, which can vary widely in cost, according to John Elmes, GenSpring’s chief marketing and business development officer, who is based in Chevy Chase, Md. The projects “add up, not to the high six figures but much lower,” he said. “You have to be cautious how you do it.”

After extensive market research, GenSpring, an affiliate of Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc., changed its name last year from Asset Management Advisors to position itself as a non-bank family office that is “focused on sustaining wealth across generations,” Mr. Elmes said.

GenSpring hired several consultants to help it with various aspects of marketing and branding. The firms worked on analyzing the high-net-worth market, naming, branding and communications. The firm also developed its own non-traditional marketing materials, such as an innovative board game designed to explain how succeeding generations of a family can increase its wealth, and a pack of cards labeled “Keeps Me Awake At Night” with topics such as “sustainability” and questions such as, “How long will my money last?”

In addition, the firm holds financial seminars for prospective clients and is running a public relations campaign aimed at heightening both industry and consumer awareness of the firm’s new name.

The firm has 13 offices in five states and the District of Columbia, and $15 billion in assets under advisement.

Convergent, based in Rockville, Md., known until last year as Lydian Wealth Management Co. LLC, hired a director of marketing two months ago to coordinate its “messaging, branding and image building,” according to Steve Lockshin, the firm’s chairman and chief executive.

A centerpiece of that effort has been a centralized document and customer relationship management system for the company’s marketing materials, said marketing director Laura Smith. “This is critical as we continue to expand our geographical footprint … [and] also allows us to share best practices [among offices],” she said.

Convergent has eight offices in eight states and $9 billion in assets under advisement.

Boosting awareness of Convergent in the wealth management industry by having company officials speak at conferences, participate in panel discussions and publish white papers are also key to the firm’s marketing efforts, Mr. Lockshin said.

However, he emphasized that he views wealth management as “a referral business in what remains a highly fragmented marketplace. So while marketing and brand image is certainly important, we don’t see the benefit of spending a lot of hard dollars on advertising or any kind of formal marketing campaign.”

Aspiriant, working with IE Design + Communications in Hermosa Beach, Calif., took six months to choose a new name, according to Cammie Doder, director of business development for the wealth management and family office firm.

San Francisco-based Aspiriant, launched this year as the result of a merger between Kochis Fitz Tracy Fitzhugh & Gott Inc. of San Francisco and Quintile Wealth Management LLC of Los Angeles, hopes to expand quickly beyond its California base (InvestmentNews, June 2).

After conducting interviews with employees, clients and industry professionals, the firm chose the name Aspiriant (and the tag line “achieve more”) “because of its symbolic meaning and because it’s a name we could trademark and own going forward,” Ms. Doder said.

“We’re spending a lot of time and energy on re-branding and marketing,” said Rob Francais, Aspiriant’s chief operating officer, indicating that the firm initially will concentrate on public relations, industry conferences and events for prospective clients in new geographical areas.

By contrast, Alexandra Lebenthal, chief executive of Alexandra & James in New York, said she is focusing on consumer marketing to generate awareness and “lead generation” for her two-year-old family- office firm.

Her father, Jim Lebenthal, of the legendary municipal bond firm Lebenthal & Co. of New York, is the “James” in the firm’s name.

In addition to radio spots, ads for Alexandra & James are appearing in media aimed at affluent clients, including Quest, a glossy magazine for the Manhattan social elite; New York Social Diary, an online magazine; and journals for philanthropic organizations such as the New York City Ballet and the Museum for the City of New York.

The firm is also using the “the little red hen,” based on the children’s book character who is willing to do work that others won’t, as a marketing icon on its website and in print materials.

Lebenthal was purchased by The Advest Group Inc. of Hartford, Conn., in 2001.

It eventually was acquired by Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. of New York, and last year Merrill Lynch allowed Mr. Lebenthal to resume using the family name. In partnership with his daughter, he has re-launched his bond firm.

Alexandra & James, which had been affiliated with Tel Aviv-based Israel Discount Bank Ltd. until the end of last year, is now independent and is targeting wealthy families with between $2 million and $20 million in investible assets.

The firm, which has $250 million in assets under management, plans to expand to Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida, Ms. Lebenthal said.

On the bond firm’s website and some ads, Alexandra & James and Lebenthal are marketed jointly — a situation she describes as “the best of both worlds.”

All the increased attention to marketing and branding among wealth management firms “keeps them on message and helps them stay focused on what they should and shouldn’t do,” Mr. Swanson said.

However, he warned, firms need to avoid “the temptation to promote the benefit of the category versus the unique benefit of the firm.”

Aspiriant, Convergent, GenSpring and Alexandra & James declined to disclose their marketing budgets.

E-mail Charles Paikert at [email protected].