This publication talks to those involved in the UHNW Institute's IWM Initiative and its annual symposium, which is due to go ahead on November 14.

Family Wealth Report recently interviewed Katherine Dunlevie, president and chief executive of The Family Office at Synovus and chair of The UHNW Institute’s Integrated Wealth Management (IWM) Initiative Committee, and Wally Head, founder and principal of Personal Fiduciary Advisors and a director of the UHNW Institute. They were asked about the Institute’s IWM Initiative and its annual Symposium, held in New York City on November 14. 

(Their responses have been combined without individual attribution.)     

What is the Institute’s Integrated Wealth Management or IWM Initiative? What is it designed to accomplish?  
The Institute’s Integrated Wealth Management Initiative is designed to address the opportunities and challenges faced by individuals and families with significant wealth who aspire to preserve their family and wealth for multiple generations. 

The phrase “Integrated Wealth Management” has been coined to describe the combination of services and service delivery required to accomplish that goal. Recognizing that all Ten Domains of Family Wealth identified by the UHNW Institute are required to optimize wealth and family outcomes, the phrase “Integrated Family Wealth Management” is beginning to be used.

Driven by the evolving needs of more UHNW families with increasing levels of complexity, the IWM Initiative aims to meet their demands for more services and address the challenges their advisors face in meeting those demands. 

These families need a team of advisors who possess a deep understanding of the Ten Domains of Family Wealth, which can provide expert advice and guidance in navigating these domains, and – importantly – can facilitate the integration of decisions across them to enable families to achieve their long-term goals.    

The Initiative aims to define levels of integration specific to serving UHNW families, develop strategies and tools that firms and advisors can use to deliver IWM solutions, identify standards that families can use to evaluate their needs for IWM and expose any gaps in services they’re receiving, and finally, address the lack of transparency and misconceptions surrounding the IWM process.

What is the Institute’s Symposium about and designed to achieve?
This year’s Symposium is focused on helping Institute members understand the roles they can play in the delivery of IWM solutions and the requirements and challenges of those roles. Some firms may choose to be collaborative providers of specialty services, others may decide to offer a limited IWM solution, while some may opt to offer a complete IWM solution.  

The Institute’s Symposium and IWM Initiative are trying to help firms determine the role that is right for them and fulfill it to the best of their ability, and also help families understand the services and service model that best fits their wealth management requirements. As an independent, objective, non-profit think tank, the Institute is uniquely positioned to do this.   

Who is involved with the Symposium? 
The Institute’s leadership, which can be viewed on its website at www.uhnwinstitute.org, and other senior operating executives and thought leaders in the wealth management industry who are members of the Institute have played a pivotal role in developing the agenda and materials for the Symposium. Many of them will be presenting, participating in panels and leading breakout sessions during the Symposium.

With over 100 members expected to attend in person and numerous others participating online, the Symposium promises to be a gathering of influential minds dedicated to advancing the wealth management industry.

The Institute recently held a Collegium that addressed some aspects of the IWM Initiative. What were they and how will output from that event inform the IWM initiative?
The Collegium brought together 30 members from across the country who lead some of the most well-respected firms in the UHNW industry and have a desire to share, learn and advance the industry. They addressed four topics, all of which are relevant to the IWM initiative: Growth, Talent, Pricing, and Ownership Structure.  

For example, they discussed “What is the prototype integrated advisor? Is he or she an expert generalist who has different skills and qualities than advisors have needed in the past, such as facilitation, project management, and emotional intelligence?” They also discussed pricing structure and whether, as firms provide higher levels of integration across more and more domains, their pricing models need to change. 

Discussions of these and similar topics are helping the Institute educate advisors and wealth management firms by providing insights and resources to advance how they serve UHNW clients.  

How does this Symposium fit with the rest of the Institute’s work?
The Symposium provides an excellent opportunity for Institute members to share their experiences – good and not-so-good – and collectively develop new and better approaches for helping UHNW families use, manage, share and perpetuate their wealth. Output from the Symposium’s presentations, panels and breakout sessions is expected to influence the Institute’s IWM, Practice Management and Family Office Initiatives, and to result in new thought leadership material for the Institute’s Resource Library.