Entrepreneurs and ultra-wealthy clients demand personalized management of their assets. In response to the trend, specialist firms are innovating while keeping people at the center.
Given the growing complexity of family and entrepreneurial wealth, wealth management can no longer rely on standardized approaches. It must embrace a global vision where every detail matters.
A broad ecosystem of players
The ecosystem of players able to meet these needs is wide, each with strengths to highlight. The single or multi-family office is a key player in entrepreneurial succession. It orchestrates the interventions of multiple experts (lawyers, notaries, chartered accountants) while actively preparing future generations.
“The family office is a 360° player, guaranteeing a rational, structured and transgenerational vision”
— Charles-Henri Bujard, president of AFFO
Family succession thus becomes an elaborate process where financial aspects are only one dimension among others, as important as preserving family harmony.
“Structuring a family office already places you in a logic of succession”
— Charles-Henri Bujard, president of AFFO
Other essential players, financial advisors (CGP) can claim proximity and agility to offer tailored follow-up.
“The CGP shares a common DNA with the business leader, which naturally strengthens the quality of the relationship”
— Yves Mazin, president of CNCGP
Historically positioned with wealth clients, CGPs are now able to support clients up to wealth management without breaking the relationship.
“Over the years, firms have professionalized and structured themselves, collaborating closely, when necessary, with notaries, lawyers and chartered accountants”
— Yves Mazin, president of CNCGP
In an ever-changing environment, this adaptability is a major competitive advantage.
Among management companies pioneering the personalized approach, Generali Wealth Solutions (GWS), created in 2020 and made up of wealth engineers, structurers and experienced managers, relies on the triptych “expertise, service and execution” to build personalized solutions around mandates, dedicated funds and structured products.
“What is crucial is the support, strengthened by our expertise combined with our execution capacity.”
— Alessandra Gaudio, President of GWS
“Private clients, and a fortiori HNW*, expect investments that make sense but are also capable of delivering performance by capturing upside while cushioning market downturns”
— Arnaud Bouché, deputy CEO
In this respect, GWS has for several years designed impact-linked structured products backed by local and concrete projects, such as reforestation and biodiversity preservation.
AI, an essential lever
Technology has become an essential lever.
“To meet expectations for ultra-personalization, family offices and CGPs must invest heavily in advanced data technologies, but also in profiles capable of mastering them”
— Joachim Savigny, president of Cheval Blanc Patrimoine
Various players are also being offered innovative solutions.
“In the age of AI, all wealth advice can be hyper-personalized”
— Vincent Aurez, co-founder of Figen AI
The French fintech has thus developed a reliable, personalized “AI agent” to support and assist CGPs, private banks and family offices.
“We designed Figen AI so that human expertise remains at the heart of the client relationship, while fully leveraging the power of AI”
— Vincent Aurez, co-founder of Figen AI
The human remains central
The human element remains, indeed, more than ever the pivot of supporting HNW clients.
“The primary capital of an entrepreneurial family is human capital, notes Charles-Henri Bujard. Personalization therefore rests above all on a fine understanding of family dynamics, often marked by deep emotional and relational issues.”
— Charles-Henri Bujard, president of AFFO
Moreover, technology still shows limits, notably for producing personalized reporting.
“The promise of smooth, automated reporting for complex estates and sophisticated portfolios remains a mirage. Only expert human intervention today guarantees coherence and readability”
— Joachim Savigny, president of Cheval Blanc Patrimoine
The dedicated fund, between private and institutional management
The dedicated fund can meet ultra-personalization needs.
“It is one of the rare vehicles capable of combining management agility and advanced wealth structuring”
— Michel Dinet, president of Sapienta Gestion
Reserved for ultra-wealthy clients, the dedicated fund allows building finely calibrated and highly diversified portfolios, mixing UCITS assets and derivatives. With its own ISIN code, it can be integrated into different legal and fiscal structures or wrappers.
“A true passport to institutional management, the dedicated fund opens access to lower-loaded shares and sophisticated strategies, usually inaccessible to private clients”
— Michel Dinet, president of Sapienta Gestion
But the efficiency of such a solution depends on listening carefully to the client, understanding their risk profile and behavioral biases.
“Allocation must not be sprinkled, but aligned with the individual's wealth and entrepreneurial history, insists Michel Dinet. This requires close coordination between family office, chartered accountant, notary and lawyer to avoid any inefficiency in diversification.”
— Michel Dinet, president of Sapienta Gestion
(*) High net Worth
By Carole Leclercq
Special Wealth Management Issue 2025 - Challenges & Club Patrimoine
Source: https://www.clubpatrimoine.com/contenus/family-offices-patrimoines-sophistiques
