Tony Champion’s move from Hong Kong to Stamford last year involved many changes. Finding a new financial adviser turned out to be one of the easiest.
Becoming a client of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has helped to reduce much of the hassle in relocating to the U.S., for the 49-year-old Canadian who works at Purchase, N.Y.-headquartered paper-and-pulp trader Central National Gottesman.
Champion represents one of the many new Connecticut residents who have sought out financial advising in the past 16 months, with digital platforms helping firms to connect with new and existing clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wealth management professionals are anticipating further growth, with the state’s booming real estate market generating much of the recent demand for their services.
“It’s been a really seamless transition over from Hong Kong,” said Champion, who lived in Hong Kong for 15 years because of his work with Central National. “And I’m really excited about continuing to work with the team at Merrill Lynch.”
Forging new relationships
The addition of Champion contributed to a net gain of 400 “households” for Merrill Lynch in the Stamford market in 2020. Merrill Lynch, which is part of Bank of America, does not disclose its total number of clients. But it said the Stamford area’s growth last year exceeded by four times its client increase in 2017 and surpassed by 10 times the uptick in 2016.
Merrill Lynch manages a total of about $34 billion in client balances in the Stamford market.
“Fifteen months ago, we transitioned our entire workforce to home in about a week’s time. Fortunately, we’ve been able to operate pretty seamlessly without any major technology glitches or issues,” said Nikolas Totaro, Merrill Lynch’s director and market executive of the Stamford market. “Clients recognize the ability to work with advisers seamlessly whether they’re sitting in the office or at home.”
Champion’s financial adviser at Merrill Lynch is Darien-based senior resident director Dan Anderson, whom he met last November. Champion said their rapport has been strengthened by similarities such as being fathers and their closeness in age.
Having already sorted out saving for higher education for his 21-year-old, 18-year-old and 14-year-old children, Champion said his interactions with Anderson have primarily focused on retirement funds and related “wealth accumulation.”
“It was important to find somebody who was in a similar situation that I’m in and who could identify with what my goals and objectives were,” Champion said.
Other financial advisory groups have also seen significant demand in the past year.
“Although the way we met with clients changed, our philosophy did not. We embraced our virtual capabilities and found new capacity to provide services to both new and existing clients from June of 2020 through present day,” said Charles B. Carroll Jr., senior vice president of wealth strategy and trust services for First County Advisors, the wealth management division of Stamford-headquartered First County Bank. “The big reason for the demand for our services is grounded in our ‘trusted advisor’ culture here at First County Advisors. We provide a tailored agenda that begins and ends with every client’s financial goal in mind.”
The demand is also supporting jobs growth. There were 15,181 “investment adviser agents” in Connecticut in 2020, up 2 percent from 2019 and up 17 percent from 2016, according to state Department of Banking data.
“I was able to navigate the process of starting the firm without too much friction,” said Darien resident Brian Moss, a 30-year veteran of Wall Street who last year started wealth management firm Soaring Capital. “This is a trust business, and we were so used to seeing people and interacting with clients and prospects in a physical way. But everybody became accustomed to having a virtual coffee. I can do a virtual coffee with five people versus two in-person in a day. In many ways, it is much more efficient.”
Aiming for more growth
The robust demand in Connecticut for financial advising is unlikely to soon dissipate, with the boom in the state’s single-family housing market driving much of the activity. Nearly 4,250 Connecticut houses and condos sold in May, a 22 percent year-over-year increase, according to Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
“Just because you’re approved for a $1 million mortgage doesn’t mean you should automatically take a $1 million mortgage,” Totaro said. “We run financial plans with different scenarios to evaluate the likelihood of clients still achieving their goals. For a lot of people, it gives them peace of mind knowing they can buy a home and still achieve their other financial goals.”
Many real estate brokers said they welcome clients working with financial advisers.
“With interest rates so low right now, it may be financially beneficial to take a mortgage and invest the cash,” said Tammy Felenstein, Fairfield-based strategic growth and sales manager for William Raveis Real Estate and president-elect of the Connecticut Association of Realtors. “Real estate is interconnected with many other financial aspects, not just financial advising — but also accounting and tax planning. We always want our clients to be fully informed to make sound financial decisions, but our advising is only related to real estate. It’s important to seek out trusted advisers in each area.”
Champion said he and Anderson agreed that Champion should initially have a Hong Kong bank handle the mortgage for his house in north Stamford but that “I wouldn’t be surprised if we add mortgage services to our existing client-adviser relationship.”
At the same time, the demand for wealth management services reflects the state’s affluence. In 2020, Connecticut’s per-capita “personal income” ranked No. 1 among the states, at $79,771, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
But financial advisers said they do not only work with the rich.
“We examine all opportunities to be inclusive when we consider a new client relationship. We do not focus on an age or income level, but across the whole family ecosystem,” Carroll said. “We are an independent, mutual community-driven organization, that allows us to work with the current and future family generations. We are holistic in our approach and determined to understand how we can add value to a relationship.”
Merrill Lynch’s Totaro offered a similar perspective.
“We have created an avenue for every single person to be a client of Bank of America Merrill Lynch,” Totaro said. “We work with the entire wealth spectrum. We have the ultra-wealthy, but we have a lot of clients who are just starting out. We have the unique ability, because of the platform this firm has put together over the last 12 years, of servicing any individual based on any financial need they have.”
pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
