Room for big and small in wealth industry

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) - As the battle over managing assets of the rich heats up, experts see room for both boutique bankers who offer personalized service like arranging home repairs and big private banks that make million-dollar loans and offer access to exclusive hedge funds.

"Size does not dictate profitability," said Bruce Holley, a partner at Boston Consulting Group, a specialist in the wealth management industry.

"There will always be the all-singing and all-dancing large players, but there is room for smaller players too, as long as they have a well-defined model," he told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Boston this week.

A strong stock market and growth in personal savings have helped mint a new crop of millionaires, and with assets nearing $100 trillion, the wealth management industry is expected to remain robust for years.

"No one is bumping against a market share problem," David Lamere, chief executive of Bank of New York Mellon Corp's (BK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) wealth management unit, told the Reuters Summit. The unit invests $164 billion in private client assets and ranks among the top 10 U.S. players.

Al Piscopo, president and chief executive of Glenmede Trust Co, with $20 billion under management, agreed. "I used to characterize this industry as highly competitive, then intensely competitive, and now I would call it insanely competitive," he told Reuters.

LEAKY ROOF

Big players woo clients with global reach and promises of getting access to exclusive hedge funds and seven-figure loans in a hurry to clients traveling abroad.  Continued...