A few weeks ago a prominent figure in the North American wealth sector took up an important new role giving advice to UHNW families. FWR finds out about developments.

Many businesses start out because someone needs to fix a problem, whether it is a new kind of heating fuel, accounting software or a carpenter’s drill.

At PKF O’Connor Davies, a professional services firm working with ultra-high net worth families and other clients, the business increasingly realized that families need advice and support about how to run their lives harmoniously and stay on track. And that recently led the firm to create its Family Advisory Services arm, led by industry veteran Steve Prostano.

As previously reported, the new practice group offers wealth planning and structuring; family dynamics and governance counseling; family education; private business owners’ advisory services; strategic philanthropy and purpose investment counseling; and family office counselling. It’s a big list of services and Prostano is up for the challenge.

“People are looking for an independent party [offering advice] that’s not conflicted,” Prostano, who is also a member of Family Wealth Report’s editorial advisory board, said in an interview.

He is also enthusiastic about PKF O’Connor Davies, he said, because it has business firepower. Serving UHNW families, many with international connections and interests, requires a lot of resources.

“We will have internal expert resources which we have pulled together and also have 'best-in-class' external strategic partners,” Prostano said.
 
A challenge is that the “comfort level” for one family, in terms of how they want to be served, will not be the same as that of other clients. A large firm can provide such a range of offerings, he continued.

Resources count
Prostano understands why resources are so important for giving advice from his experience as the head of Family Wealth Advisors, a division of Bank of The West Wealth Management, and part of Paris-listed BNP Paribas.

Prostano, who is a certified public accountant and attorney with an LL.M in taxation, has worked for 35 years in the professional services sector. He founded The UHNW Institute, a non-profit, independent think tank that issues thought-leadership content for ultra-wealthy families, advisors and family offices. (FWR is the exclusive media partner of the institute.)

He spoke alongside Gemma Leddy, partner-in-charge of PKF O’Connor Davies Family Office. Leddy said she noticed that as PKF handled client affairs it became apparent that there was more and more demand for the kind of family advisory services Prostano has been called upon to develop.

“We realized we needed to expand our resources,” Leddy said.

“These are special times for families…..advisors are retiring, wealth creators are trying to step back and a new generation is coming into its own,” she said. Alongside all this change are the disruptive effects of modern technology affecting how financial services are delivered, Leddy continued.

PKF O'Connor Davies and a cluster of linked organizations have joined together to build a joint venture supporting clients on both sides of the Atlantic. See more here.