Banking on Wealth Management

Soup to Nuts

Banks that are offering wealth management are typically looking for wealthy clients, but the income and asset targets vary by institution. LaSalle’s target clients have $2 million in net worth; business owners have at least $5 million in total net worth. “Business owners have the potential for a large liquidity event when they sell,” says John Falb, senior vice president and regional manager at LaSalle Bank, NA, in Minneapolis, “and we want to start working with that person now to build the relationship.”

Other banks have different criteria. Wells Fargo’s group, for instance, works with families or individuals with $25 million or more in liquid assets, or $50 million or more in net worth, Scharton says. Associated Bank in Minneapolis works with customers who typically have $1 million or more in net worth.

To serve those target clients, banks are rolling out a wide array of products; virtually every bank with a wealth management department tries to serve clients’ banking, tax strategy, investment management, insurance, charitable giving, trust management, and estate planning needs, a category that includes writing and administering trusts.

Some banks go further. Eagan-based Anchor Bank, for instance, offers business succession planning and education planning in addition to their banking, investment, tax, insurance, and estate services, says Chris Burgess, a senior vice president with Anchor Wealth Management. “We want to manage both business and personal wealth for clients,” she says.

LaSalle Bank also offers a standard array of services, but adds family office services, specialized lending for second homes and private jets, and large mortgages that the bank doesn’t resell. And Wells Fargo’s team can handle multi-generational and multi-state tax strategies.

In addition to selling their own wealth management services, banks also typically offer third-party products and consulting relationships with other financial professionals. A bank might tap all three to serve a client, using the bank’s own investment management metrics to manage a stock portfolio, delivering insurance coverage through a third-partner provider, and coordinating charitable giving and tax planning with outside lawyers and certified public accountants to make sure a client’s financial strategies work in concert.