A wealth advisor with broad knowledge and skills, beyond their original professional training, who is able to act as an integrator and team leader for service delivery for an UHNW family. Expert generalists typically have knowledge of multiple technical and family areas needed by clients as well as skills for integrating those services and the work of other advisors.
The expert generalist – also termed an integrated wealth advisor – is a dedicated role that goes beyond specific technical disciplines in UHNW wealth management. The role puts the client family’s goals and objectives first, with true client-centered services. The advisor ensures that all specific disciplines are responding to and integrated with those goals and that the family’s best interests are being consistently met. Furthermore, the expert generalist “connects the dots” across disciplines in a way that no provider of a single area of expertise can do. The expert generalist tries to anticipate how one decision might affect another and that the implications of one activity are understood and incorporated in others.
Ideal attributes of an expert generalist include strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, resourcefulness, excellent communication and collaboration skills, and a good cultural understanding and fit with the family being served. The person must be grounded in an advisory firm and role that supports being strongly aligned with the family’s interests.
See Also: Integrated wealth advisor and Integrated family wealth management
Mack, Linda C., and Michael Zeuner. “The Missing Link for Family Offices.” Campden FB, September 30, 2015. https://www.campdenfb.com/article/missing-link-family-offices.
McCullough, Tom. “Rise of the Integrated Advisor.” The Journal of Wealth Management. Volume 26, no 1( 2023): DOI: 10.3905/jwm.2023.1.208
