Through our close-knit relationships across our firm our full range of expertise is at your fingertips. Helping you deliver first class service to your clients across their personal and business worlds. Jenny Sargeant, partner lead of our specialist private banking team sits down with private client partner Emily Osborne.
In a nutshell what’s your area of expertise?
I am a private wealth lawyer providing tax, structuring and governance advice both personally and in relation to their business interests. My clients are international, but I have particular experience assisting clients based in the Middle East.
When do you come across private banks or their clients in your practice?
Acting for UHNWs means I come across private banks frequently whilst working within the private client ecosystem. Most of my clients will have existing private banking relationships and I therefore work regularly with relationship managers at private banks. Introductions are part of the wider relationship I build with clients and flow both to and from private banks. It is as I said an ecosystem with a core pool of professional advisors across law firms and private banks working to provide first class service to UHNW clients.
Can you give an example of where you best add value?
In providing clear advice including a recommendation to clients of what their next step should be. Really understanding clients to know the right course even if my advice is wider than their initial enquiry. When you understand what it is that a client is trying to achieve rather than what they think they should be doing, it facilitates true problem solving and the best outcomes. You have to know your client really well and get them to open up to allow you to work with them at a strategic level. My advice may also outline different options and knowing my client really well allows me to give clear advice on what I think they should do.
Do you have a mantra or saying that best describes how you work?
What does the client want to know? I always think this when I am preparing advice to ensure that I tailor my advice to exactly what my client wants.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
The people aspect of my role – I like meeting people and getting involved in their world and the challenge of there always being more to learn as the law changes or because there is always a different problem to solve.
What do you think is key to assisting UHNW families in your area of expertise?
Speed of response and availability as these clients have really busy lives. The moments when they remember the things that they want to sort out are very immediate for them, but they will then be distracted by something else, so you have their attention for a limited period. Therefore, you need to get the input you need from them in that moment to allow you to progress matters whilst they are involved with other things. Be a proper advisor and not a “yes person” because UHNW clients are surrounded by lots of advisors. To build trusted relationships clients need to trust that you will be a true sounding board for them. Being approachable. I go out of my way to make my clients’ lives easier even if that means helping them with non-legal matters. For private clients, often legal and non-legal matters can be intertwined and of equal importance. If we can solve the whole problem and lighten the whole load, we can make their lives easier and our clients will want to come back to us again and again. The key to providing this broader service is working really well with our clients’ other advisors which includes private banks. So, I end up back where I started – the private client ecosystem and how important that is to providing first client service to private clients.
How can we best bring together “business” and “personal” requirements for our private clients to deliver first class service for them?
Through close relationships across our teams - through one main relationship partner a client has access to holistic and wide-reaching advice. The great thing about the support I have from my partners across the firm (whether that be funds, banking, corporate, real estate, disputes etc.) is that everyone is familiar with dealing with private clients. Being aware of their expectations and drivers and the need to go beyond an “institutional” service to knit together personal and business worlds.
What would be the “one thing to watch out for” coming ahead in your area?
Wealth preservation and protection, as well as the transition of wealth to the next generation will continue to be key themes. Continued geopolitical uncertainty and the likelihood of tax raises in most countries, as well as the push towards transparency of beneficial ownership data, mean that there is frequent movement of individuals and capital as they look to diversify and protect against uncertainty. If I’m allowed two things, the second thing to watch out for is the impact of wealth being generated in increasing amounts at an earlier age, as a result of the tech boom. From what I’ve seen so far, the mindset of those who have made their wealth relatively young is very different and it will be interesting to watch how the private client world evolves to deal with the difference in approach and resulting different needs.
Our connections across our firm are here to provide you with all the expertise you need so if you want to continue any of these conversations or have any private client queries, please feel free to get in touch with Emily.
For more information about Private Client, please visit our website here.
For any Private Banking related queries please contact Jenny Sargeant.
