The latest trend of Italian banks? Manage the assets of the wealthiest clients. “First of all, because even in Italy High Net Worth people, i.e. with financial resources exceeding 5 million euros, are increasing. And then because this clientele is increasingly demanding and asks for services at 360 degrees”, he explains Mario Bombacigno, head of private wealth management at Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, a new division created specifically to provide “extraordinary consultancy”.
“Our 5.200 private bankers manage investments. Our structure works in synergy with them, supporting them in all areas of wealth consultancy: generational transfers, legal and tax assistance, strategic consultancy for companies, through a direct and fiduciary relationship with the customer“. The consultant of the future must even be able to anticipate: "The goal is to identify the client's needs, expressed or latent, and provide the best solutions - financial and otherwise - to manage and develop assets in the best possible way" , observes Bombacigno.
An activity, that of Fideuram (founded more than 50 years ago and, still today, first in Italy for assets under administration, with more than 220 billion euros) which also has a social value: think, for example, of the very delicate succession issues, one of the classic areas of intervention of Private Wealth Advisors: “A problem on a general level, not only among the wealthiest people: in Italy – explains Bombacigno – only 12% of people sign a will; while 30% of SMEs survive the first generational transition and only 12% per second”.
The "tailored" assistance on super assets, on which Fideuram's Private Wealth Management focuses ("But we are not the only ones, there is starting to be a lot of competition") is facilitated by a trend that is characterizing the whole world, without excluding the 'Italy: the polarization of wealth. According to Capgemini's 2018 World Wealth Report, the wealth of the richest individuals, those with at least $70 million invested in assets (excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumer and durable goods), has exceeded $300 trillion . In Italy, the clientele of high standing has increased to around XNUMX thousand individuals. And the more "ultra rich" there are, the more the audience of potential customers increases.
“In Asia – adds the manager – a future billionaire (in dollars) appears every 3 days. In Europe we are not at these levels, but the trend remains that of an increase in large estates”. This is why, in the three-year business plan of the Intesa Sanpaolo group, presented in 2018, among the objectives of the Private Banking Division the recruitment of approximately 1.400 new resources (financial advisors, private bankers and head office functions) active in distribution is envisaged.
A figure in contrast, in a phase in which even large companies tend to reduce their workforce: "Those based on trust and comparison are professions - argues Bombacigno - that will never fade, on the contrary this will increasingly be the role of the bank of the future: for simple operations there is now technology, but for competent consultancy the human factor remains central”.
But what is the typical customer of Fideuram's Private Wealth Management and how is his wealth made up today?? "He is an entrepreneur or a professional - says Bombacigno -, with a family and head of a company or former owner of a company that has just been sold, therefore with an important capital to manage". Obviously the real estate component is not missing, but one of the drivers of recent years, in a phase of great consolidation, is art: before it was passion now, however, collectibles are becoming real assets.
Another recent trend is that of alternative products, such as private equity, or ESG investments, i.e. sustainable. In a world where wealth is increasingly centralized, the wealthiest people nonetheless care about investing their money with respect for the environment and ethical values.
