Boutique says its likely to benefit from dissatisfaction with big providers. Former Deutsche Bank and Citigroup equity analyst Brandt Sakakeeny has launched Rockingstone Advisors, a portfolio-management boutique aimed at private clients with at least $250,000 to invest.

"Occupying a niche between index and mutual funds on one side and more complex and costly hedge funds and fund-of-funds on the other, Rockingstone addresses a gap in an under-served market for portfolio management," according to Sakakeeny.

Focus, discipline and disarray

Larchmont, N.Y.-based Rockingstone uses ETFs to provide its clients with exposure to multiple asset classes more cost effectively and efficiently than would have been possible just a few years ago, and it subjects portfolios to a "rigorous fundamental analysis and disciplined investment process," the firm says in a press release.

The new firm expects to gain additional traction from what it views as widespread client dissatisfaction with wealth-management offerings provided by some of the major money-center banks and brokerage firms.

"According to market statistics, 63% of wealthy Americans have lost faith in financial institutions," says Sakakeeny. "[This is] is not surprising [given the fact that], in a recent survey, the Economist newspaper notes that 'a lot of private banking has not been about advice, but pushing product.'"

Rockingstone might add that its mass-affluent focus puts it up against big-firm call centers, a source of frustration for some clients that pre-dates Wall Street's recent woes.

"We believe the present environment is a particularly propitious time to launch our wealth-management practice," says Sakakeeny. "Financial markets have stabilized but we do not believe the global imbalances driving economic dislocation have subsided, if anything they may be deteriorating." -FWR

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