Beyond Success: Philanthropic Travel

"More than any other book on the intersection of wealth, family, charity and personal fulfillment, Randall J. Ottinger's Beyond Success: Building a Personal, Financial, and Philanthropic Legacy convincingly illuminates the challenges faced by all who struggle with how best to transform their material success into lives that will bring personal fulfillment to themselves, their families, and their heirs, as well benefit to the wider world around them. It provides an entirely new framework for thinking about how, at the prime critical junctions over a wealth-generator's lifetime, he or she can confidently deal with those challenges in ways that bring lasting satisfaction. In lucid and highly readable prose, informed by the wisdom and experiences of hundreds of real-life individuals, the names of many of whom are widely-known, Ottinger has succeeded in producing the best available how-to-do-it playbook for those with any substantial amount of wealth who are grappling with some of the toughest questions anyone ever faces.. I recommend it with great enthusiasm."

-Joel L. Fleishman Author of The Foundation and Professor of Law and Public Policy at Duke University

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Left Brain Right Heart: The Individual In The Philanthropic Marketplace
It has been three years since I began my "in search of excellence" study of top philanthropists, generational families, investors and thought leaders. From this study I learned that there is a heart of philanthropy and a rational philanthropic marketplace, and that there are great challenges and opportunities to integrate the two.

Philanthropy of the heart receives joy from giving not just of one's money but of one's self, and often lends a deaf ear to the rational arguments of those of the left brain. The heart wants to give out empathy and compassion, without rational thought or persuasion. It is in the act of giving that the heart feels joy. The left brain, rational side of philanthropy on the other hand is about solving problems. The left brain understands that the issues facing the world today are complex and require a business-like approach if they are to be resolved for future generations. The left brain quickly embraces the idea of a philanthropic marketplace where governments, foundations, academics, corporations and individuals work together in partnership to apply their resources towards clear social strategies and quantifiable goals.

For the philanthropic marketplace to function optimally requires integrating individuals of the left brain and right heart into it. One needs little more evidence of the importance of the individual in the philanthropic marketplace than to understand that 75% of annual giving in the U.S., outside of the government, is by individuals out of their checkbook. They volunteer time and money contributed by individuals to charity every year is what makes the philanthropic marketplace hum. In the coming decades trillions of additional dollars are earmarked for charity out of individual estates due to the aging of the baby boomers in particular. This will only increase the importance of the individual in the philanthropic marketplace. Connecting individuals effectively into the philanthropic marketplace for the maximum benefit of society is a great challenge that every government agency, foundation and charity faces. It is also a great opportunity that if accomplished effectively could greatly benefit society.

The Right Heart Of The Compassionate Individual
The heart of philanthropy is the compassionate individual who wants to give because it is a noble, just and pure act. The heart of philanthropy is spiritual. It witnesses with eyes wide open the most dire problems of humanity, problems that are hard to view up close and personal, problems that seem impossible to resolve, problems that are just as easily left to someone else to tackle, problems where there is no monetary gain, problems that if one were to get involved might change the course of one's life. The heart desires to give out of empathy and caring for other human beings.

The heart receives joy from giving as well; from walking in the beauty of nature and then helping to preserve it; from witnessing the miracle of child birth, and then helping to improve the lives of children; from enjoying the security that comes from a safe home with loving parents and three glorious meals a day, and then helping other families to realize that same sense of security; from growing up in a free and open society where all individuals regardless of ethnicity, color, race, gender or religion are treated with dignity and respect, free to live together in peace and harmony supported by a rule of law, and then helping to spread that kind of open society around the globe.

Right hearted individuals lead from a place of emotion, compassion and empathy. They give when they are asked to give without question or recognition. They feel the pain and suffering of others and cry, seeking to provide relief in whatever way they can. They act when they are moved, and they are moved by images of suffering and devastation. They care about relationships, and support the causes of their friends without questioning. Giving is part of who they are as humans. And when the right heart gives it is full.

The Left Brain And The Philanthropic Marketplace
The left brain operates from a place of rationality where the language and motivations are quite distinct from the right heart. The left brain does not dwell on images of pain and suffering. It does not speak of injustice or of the moral obligation of individuals. Instead, the left brain focuses intently on problems and solutions. The left brain is about facts and objectivity. The language of the left brain speaks in terms of giving that is productive, effective, and strategic. When left brained individuals support a charity they seek to improve the operation of that charity. They are attracted to social strategies that are grounded in research and are measurable. They like the ideas of leverage, governance, collaboratives, and public-private partnerships. The left brain is about solving social problems with a rational approach.

The logical outcome of left-brain philanthropy is a global philanthropic marketplace. A global philanthropic marketplace, like a global financial marketplace, is a place where sources of capital intersect with organizations seeking capital. The capital sources in this case are the government, foundations and individuals providing philanthropic capital. The organizations seeking capital are charities. In a rational philanthropic marketplace the charities that would receive the most capital are the ones that are the most strategic, high impact and well run. In a rational philanthropic marketplace high impact charities would grow, and other charities that are less strategic would shrink or go out of business. In a rational philanthropic marketplace intermediaries would help provide information to guide capital to high impact charities. There would be analysts, brokers and social investment banks conducting research and raising capital for high impact charities. There would be objective rating systems as well of social investment funds, much like the rating systems that exist in financial markets. Ultimately, the global philanthropic marketplace would guide individuals and philanthropic dollars to organizations and causes that yield the highest and best results for society.

Today, there is no central philanthropic marketplace, however, there are fragmented efforts to create one. Efforts exist to aggregated social capital in the form of donor advised funds, community foundations and donor collaboratives. There are rating agencies for charities by organizations such as Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau. In addition, there have been some attempts to create a transactional philanthropic marketplace that would allow individuals to evaluate charities online and then to give, similar to the workings of the financial marketplace. Over the coming years there is little doubt that a more robust philanthropic marketplace will emerge supported by major technology players. At issue is how left brained and right hearted individuals will integrate into this marketplace in a way that is productive for society but also fulfills their desires to personally and emotionally connect with charities and causes.

Ideas For Integrating The Individual Into The Philanthropic Marketplace
In pondering the conundrum of the compassionate individual in the philanthropic marketplace one comes to believe that success requires turning philanthropy on its ear. As a result, it is daunting to contemplate such a transformation. On the other hand, if successful the opportunity for society is so great that it would be negligent not to contemplate. By focusing resources on philanthropic initiatives that could advance health care, poverty, the environment, education and local communities, we could unlock an incredible force for good around the globe. So how might a marketplace be created that satisfies the individual, and advances the public good?

Following are 5 ideas that hold promise for integrating individuals of the left brain and right heart into the philanthropic marketplace.

1. In Search Of The Online Directory Of Philanthropy
It often seems as though every new individual joining the philanthropic marketplace wants to create his or her own charity. The heart of America is entrepreneurism, and it extends to the philanthropic marketplace. As new entrants decide they would like to act within the philanthropic marketplace, they would benefit from a directory of the stakeholders and initiatives that are already in motion within their community or issue area. It is likely in many instances that the new charity an individual would like to form exists somewhere else. If not, it is likely that there are complementary organizations and activities that would benefit that charity and help it succeed. The knowledge related to stakeholders, charities and activities within issue areas and communities is highly fragmented. There is no one place to go to identify the players or activities in issue areas and communities. With the benefit of technology, however, it is possible to create a global directory of philanthropy for every community and every issue area. If a philanthropic directory were to exist then right hearted individuals could do their research, and then reach out personally to the charities that spark their passion. They could convene more easily with others who have identified themselves as caring about the same cause. Building the directory of philanthropy would fill an information gap required to connect individuals into the philanthropic marketplace.

2. Supporting Intermediaries and Advisors As Philanthropic Guides
Advisors such as trust and estate attorneys, private bankers, insurance professionals, accountants, philanthropic advisors and others are often trusted resources who individuals turn to for support with their money, insurance and estates. They have the mind share and trust of their clients, and, with the proper tools and training, they could be philanthropic guides as well. With that said, there are few intermediaries or advisors who are trained as philanthropic guides. Many advisors are reluctant to discuss philanthropy with their clients because their conversations may feel uncomfortable or may delay the sale of a product that fills an immediate need for the client. The truth is that there is little training for advisors in this area, yet advisors touch right hearted and left brained individuals every day. There are several initiatives underway, however, that hold promise for advisors in philanthropy. First, some financial advisory firms are wrapping values based legacy planning into their investment process. Legacy planning is in many ways an extension of their investment and asset allocation process. It also helps advisors build trust with clients. When legacy planning becomes part of the investment process then it is replicable just as asset allocation is replicable, and firms can then implement it on a widespread basis. Second, there are a few associations that focus on nothing but convening advisors locally or nationally, and supporting them on topics of philanthropy. Advisors in Philanthropy (AIP) is one organization that puts on an annual conference for advisors in this area. Another is called the Philanthropic Advisors Network (PAN), which is a collaboration among a number of industry players including Foundation Source, AIP, Social Venture Partners, Citigroup and myself, to convene advisors locally in cities around the country. The idea is to support advisors to learn from other advisors and network within their local communities. Third, there turns out to be a professional designation that advisors can earn in philanthropy called the Chartered Advisor In Philanthropy (CAP) designation. This is a professional designation that involves learning the advanced techniques of philanthropy from planned giving to charitable structures. To integrate compassionate individuals into the philanthropic marketplace will require that advisors are fluent in the language of philanthropy of the heart and the techniques for effective philanthropy in the philanthropic marketplace. For this outcome to occur will require new training and support networks for advisors.

3. Developing A Scalable Rating System Of Charities
A rating system for charities is essential for rationalizing the philanthropic marketplace, for guiding individuals to high impact charities, and for directing the flow of philanthropic dollars to where they can be utilized for the greatest good. Just as Morningstar rates investment funds in the financial marketplace a similar service is needed in the philanthropic marketplace. Today there are truly noble efforts to create a charity rating system, however, the current approaches are expensive and difficult to scale. In order to greatly increase the number of charities that are reviewed by an independent agency would take a much larger effort than is achievable today. It would be very expensive to scale the current approach, and it would take a great deal more investment. Therefore, new approaches to rating charities are being explored. The outcome of these efforts is essential for guiding individuals in the philanthropic marketplace.

4. Complementing Hands On Philanthropy With Online Philanthropy
Online philanthropy is coming, and it has the potential to change the face of philanthropy. Even a casual search of the Internet reveals hundreds of online initiatives to create a philanthropic community, to become the Facebook in this area, a meeting place to learn, network and give. It is early days, however, and as of today none of these efforts have achieved scale. My belief is that the opportunity in this area is very large, but, just as we saw with Amazon in online shopping, it will take more money and time than people realize to establish this online marketplace. Likely the online marketplace will be created in conjunction with a major partner such as Google, Microsoft or Facebook. On the surface online philanthropy appears to be impersonal, and something that would be shunned by true, hands on philanthropists. I would suggest, however, that online philanthropy does not take the place of rolling up one’s sleeves and getting personally involved with a charity, but might enhance the experience. For instance, more and more people are using the Internet to learn and network. After researching a charity online someone might decide to attend a lunch or visit that charity. This could lead to volunteering and the desire to enlist others. Once an individual has connected with a charity, almost universally he or she wants to raise money for that charity. It does not matter whether a person is left brain or right heart, whether they care about a community organization or a global cause, they would like to support the charity which they have already decided is important to them. If online technologies can assist in this effort then individuals will embrace it. Likely in the future they will give online as well because it is simple and easy. In fact, online giving is growing at a much faster rate than overall giving. In the future there will be a seamless connection between online and hands on philanthropy which will appeal to both the right heart and left brain.

5. Embracing New Philanthropic Incentive Structures
For the left brain in particular the philanthropic marketplace often comes down to a matter of dollars and cents. While the right heart believes that work in philanthropy should be for free or at least at a much reduced cost, that individuals should not make money off of charities, that people should donate their time, and that charitable dollars should go directly to support causes with as little overhead as possible, the left brain does not think along these lines. For the left brain, there is a need for a new philanthropic incentive structure that rewards the organization and individual in a fashion more in line with the financial marketplace. For the left brain doing good for society without doing well enough to support their individual and family goals is an unacceptable tradeoff. In many ways blended value philanthropic models or social enterprises that have a strong financial business model combined with a philanthropic mission help to break this log jam. Social enterprises that can afford to pay competitive wages relieve the left brain of the burden of making a tradeoff between family and society that he or she would prefer not to make. The left brain sees in social enterprise the ability to support all of its personal, family and philanthropic goals. It sees as well the ability to reduce waste, the waste that is caused by spending time and money on fundraising rather than on the business of philanthropy. There are more and more blended value organizations being created today. Everything from microfinance to community foundations falls into that category. In fact community foundations are great examples of how the government has provided an economic incentive to make them more attractive. Not every philanthropic pursuit has an economic underpinning, and social enterprise fundamentally cuts against the grain of the right heart of philanthropy, but in social enterprise exists the potential to attract the left brain to the philanthropic marketplace earlier and in greater numbers. As such the heart of philanthropy should embrace it.

In summary, the nucleus of philanthropy is the individual. Without the individual there is no philanthropic marketplace. Individuals, however, often connect with this marketplace randomly, and without a clear picture of the overall cause they are supporting. The ideas presented here have the potential to connect individuals into the philanthropic marketplace in a more rational manner, with the potential for increased impact and less waste. Today, however, these ideas are often being approached in an under-funded and uncoordinated manner. What is needed is a new philanthropic marketplace, a marketplace that is embraced as a social enterprise, and as such is profitable, attracts social capital, supports the social good and integrates the compassionate individual. The architects of this new philanthropic marketplace must be major philanthropic and technology players supported by government incentives. Success in this endeavor is critically important to our global society. With human will as the engine, which harnesses the heart and mind of the individual, the goal of a new philanthropic marketplace is quite achievable.

Randall J. Ottinger is the author of Beyond Success: Building a personal, financial and philanthropic legacy, published in the fall of 2007 by McGraw Hill. Joel Fleishman, Professor of Law and Public Policy at Duke University, says of Beyond Success, that "Ottinger has succeeded in producing the best available how-to-do-it playbook for those with any substantial amount of wealth who are grappling with some of the toughest questions anyone ever faces". Mr. Ottinger is the founder of LMR Advisors which provides strategic philanthropy and legacy advisory services to individuals, wealth advisory firms, and social enterprises. Prior to starting LMR Advisors, Mr. Ottinger was a Senior Vice President in the private bank of Bank Of America advising large family offices, and spent more than 20 years as an executive in high tech companies. He is also a key executive in the Ottinger-Heath family office, and co-chairman of the Ottinger Foundation. Mr. Ottinger recently founded the Seattle Philanthropic Advisors Network (SPAN) to help support advisers to raise their knowledge and expertise in the area of philanthropy, an organization which is now expanding to multiple locations around the country. Mr. Ottinger has a B.A. from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Young President's Organization, Social Venture Partners, and Advisors in Philanthropy.

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Philanthropic Travel: We are the New Radicals by Julia Moulden

"I am very excited to be included in this important new book. It is full of innovative and meaningful entrepreneurial ideas: including a segment about "connecting at the heart," the genesis of Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel. We are the New Radicals is scheduled for release by McGraw Hill on December 21, 2007." -David Chamberlain

"Across America and around the world, thousands of people who have found success in their chosen careers are getting the call to do something more with their lives -to give something back to a world desperately in need of their help. And you don't have to be a billionaire to do so..

Each day, we hear new stories of the rich and powerful doing good works: Gates and Buffett, Clinton and Branson, Oprah and Bono. But do you have to be worth billions to do so? No. Can mere mortals transform how they earn their daily bread?

Absolutely Inspiring: practical advice for making your life more meaningful!

We Are The New Radicals presents a new group of role models -ordinary men and women who have reinvented their work so that it provides more meaning, and helps them make a difference in the world. The book offers practical advice for you to do the same. Moulden describes the three paths to becoming a New Radical -innovation, entrepreneurship, and activism-and helps you answer fundamental questions such as "What are my motivations?" "What skills can I leverage?" "What might I do?" and 'How do I get there from here?"

Eighty million boomers have reached middle age, and surveys show that the vast majority aren't interested in traditional retirement -in fact, they foresee twenty or thirty active and productive years to come. For a significant proportion of this group, money isn't the prime motivator behind their desire to continue working. Somehow, without conferring with one another, but informed by the same experiences and influences, these boomers have collectively chosen a single midlife occupation: saving the world.

The New Radicals talk about wanting roles that are personally meaningful, and that allow them to make a difference in the world. We're eager to reinvent what we do, taking our energy and expertise in new directions. In fact, we believe that while what we've accomplished so far is valuable and important, our greatest contribution is yet to come.

The roles we have in mind -and the ones we've started to claim -have little to do with sixties radicalism. This is a kinder, gentler variation on a theme. New Radicals are constructive, hopeful, and positive -and determined to do whatever we can to make the world a better place...

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Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Clients Say…

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Village Enterprise Fund partners with Exquisite Safaris: MicroEnterprise & Responsible Travel

Village Enterprise Fund: Philanthropic Travellers creating sustainable entrepreneurship in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Photo by Lisa Giarretto in Dodoma, Tanzania

Village Enterprise Fund (VEF) partners with Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel. "We are very proud to have partnered with Exquisite Safaris, a pioneer in private, luxury, philanthropic travel. Through our partnership with Exquisite Safaris, philanthropic travellers to Africa will be introduced to VEF's work in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and support VEF's efforts there." -Lisa Giarretto, Managing Director, VEF

MISSION: Village Enterprise Fund breaks the cycle of poverty in rural East Africa by providing entrepreneurship training, seed capital grants and ongoing mentoring to create income-generating businesses.

ROLE IN MICROFINANCE INDUSTRY: VEF finances rural start-up businesses and agricultural ventures not currently served by microcredit programs.

TARGET: 100% of VEF's group is below the poverty line, 2/3 of Village Enterprise Fund's businesses are owned by women, over 95% operate their businesses in rural areas.

DELIVERY: Training, mentoring, and seed capital are provided by a network of local, African volunteer business mentors who live and work in the communities VEF serves. This allows VEF to leverage local knowledge and deliver rural services cost-effectively. Since 1987, VEF has launched more than 14,000 businesses, increasing the standard of living of more than 350,000 people.

RESULTS: 88% of VEF businesses thrive beyond one year, 75% are still operating after 4 years, and 33% launch a second business. Impact Evaluations show that VEF's programs significantly improve the number and quality of meals, access to education, and housing of business owners.

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2007 World Travel Market London Keynote: “ Travel with Conscience” by Jane Kaye Bailey

Jane Kaye-Bailey, Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel humanitarian NGO partner in Victoria Falls, Zambia will be delivering a keynote on Philanthropic Travel to the World Travel Market entitled, "Travel with Conscience."

Update: World Travel Market 2008 recognizes Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Innovation and Leadership.

Speaker: Jane Kaye-Bailey, Philanthropic Traveler & Exquisite Safaris Humanitarian Partner

World Travel Market 2007: "Luxury Travel with a Conscience" by Jane Kaye Bailey

Monday November 12, 2007 12.30 - 13.30 North Gallery Room 8 Level 2

Staged annually in London under one roof, World Travel Market is a must attend, business to business exhibition. WTM provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry.

The WTM Event Programme offers education, debate and discussion on a variety of topics affecting the travel and tourism industry. All events can be searched according to day and Unless otherwise stated sessions are free of charge and seating allocated on a first come first served basis. The WTM Seminar Rooms are located in North Gallery Rooms 4 - 8, Level 2. Please note that North Gallery Rooms 13, 14, 15 and South Gallery Rooms 21 & 22 are being used in some instances. The WTM Conference Set can be found within Platinum Suite 4, Level 3.

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Family Office: Philanthropic Travel

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Exquisite Safaris thanks Citi Family Office for the opportunity to present Philanthropic Travel at their Family Office Private Client Meeting in Armonk, New York.

Philanthropic Travel: Enlightened Luxury

A recent global survey conducted by The Citi Private Bank captures some unique insights into the investing attitudes of ultra affluent individuals we interviewed around the world. They are growing increasingly sophisticated about their finances, and many are shedding their national- or regional-based investing views and adopting increasingly global viewpoints on wealth management. Still, they retain some regional attitudes, largely based on different cultural attitudes about wealth and wealth management. These are some of the findings we captured in personal interviews with 120 ultra affluent individuals from around the world regarding their perspectives on investing and wealth management. The interviews and development of the findings were supported by McKinsey & Company, an international management consulting firm.

This is considered to be the most affluent group ever polled:
All of the participants possess a net worth of more than $25 million, and more than 60 percent enjoy a net worth in excess of $100 million. Citigroup Private Bank executives and McKinsey partners interviewed these individuals during in-depth, face-to-face conversations. Included were individuals from five major regions -the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

What emerges is a more nuanced portrait of wealth management perspectives than has been seen from previous studies.

The Interview Process
The Citigroup Private Bank survey is the one of the most exclusive in the history of wealth surveys. The questions were aimed at deepening our understanding of a number of topics, including:

* The nature of ultra affluent individuals' wealth management needs, including their aspirations and goals, and the types of advisors they use: large global banks, local banks or boutique investment firms.
* The extent to which they need broader wealth management advice -on tax planning, business succession planning, intergenerational wealth transfer or other issues -and who provides them with that advice.
* Whether they have set up a family office, or are contemplating doing so, and for what reasons: independence, aggregated reporting, control and/or a need for special expertise. We also inquired about the decision-making roles within the family office.

The interviews consisted of extensive discussions -typically lasting one hour or more -and were conducted in person and in confidence at each participant's business, home or vacation home around the world over the summer and fall of 2004. Clearly, the opportunity to be heard on this important topic struck a responsive chord in many of the participants, making this one of the most comprehensive primary research studies on ultra affluent wealth attitudes, motivations and aspirations.

Several Important Trends
This survey of wealth management attitudes identified several current trends:

They are adopting an increasingly sophisticated approach to wealth management.

Dramatic increases in financial sophistication are fostering new wealth management attitudes and perspectives among ultra affluent individuals. The interviews made it clear that ultra affluent individuals from all regions around the world are rapidly expanding their command of advanced investment concepts. This is partly driven by the proliferation of financial news, data and analysis, and also by the dramatic growth of alternative investments, which have developed largely outside of traditional banks and brokerages. Many hedge fund, private equity and real estate fund firms actively seek out ultra affluent investors, in the process educating them about their often sophisticated strategies. The result is that ultra affluent individuals have greatly expanded their knowledge of the important aspects of modern investment management, including alternative asset classes.

They enjoy better than ever access to sophisticated financial products through multiple channels.
It is clear that their position at the top of the wealth pyramid makes ultra affluent individuals highly sought after by all types of wealth advisors. These investors enjoy access to sophisticated financial products from the entire range of advisors, from private banks and investment banks to investment managers and alternative asset firms.

As a result, ultra affluent investors no longer see access to products as a sufficient value proposition from their wealth advisor, particularly given the proliferation of direct offerings of hedge funds of funds and private equity investments. Ultra affluent investors are responding to this trend by expanding the number of relationships they maintain with both traditional and non-traditional wealth advisors.

These developments are challenging traditional wealth advisors to add value in new and distinct ways, including providing strategic asset allocation advice, coordinating disparate investment offerings or offering special opportunities such as co-investments.

They are increasingly interested in hedge funds and other alternatives while demanding greater transparency regarding risk and return.
While many investors experienced disappointing stock market returns from 2000 through 2002, and again for most of 2004, some aggressive hedge funds were reporting double-digit returns. This combination of factors greatly enhanced the attractiveness of hedge funds and ultra affluent investors are increasing their allocations accordingly. Despite this, these investors expressed a clear desire to better understand how hedge funds are managed, and how they achieve their returns. So while the ultra affluent appear willing to increase their allocations to hedge funds, they also want greater disclosure from alternative asset managers as to performance, risks, fees and fund pricing.

They are responding to this increasing complexity of investment markets, products and providers by setting up family offices or seeking out family office-type services from their private bank or independent advisors.

The growing sophistication of some investment strategies and the poor returns of the major indexes over the past several years are increasing these individuals' desire for objective investment advice. This has led a growing number of ultra affluent individuals to either set up their own family office with investment management capabilities or to turn to independent financial advisors to help them make their investment decisions. They are also seeking family office-type services, such as strategic asset allocation planning or hedge fund manager due diligence from their private bank or other wealth advisor. Ultra affluent individuals find that having a family office, or access to these services, helps them access multiple product providers without requiring them to spend time personally managing these relationships.

Our survey also uncovered some surprising tendencies.

Ultra Affluent individuals make some of the same mistakes as investors with more modest portfolios.
The participants' responses also made clear that gaining access to a wider range of investment products does not ensure success. Indeed, a common admission was that increasing sophistication and better access did not prevent the respondents from chasing performance or failing to properly diversify their portfolios -the same challenges faced by the broader population of investors.

They are keenly interested in advice regarding family dynamics and inter-generational wealth transfer planning.
A number of individuals expressed a need for help with the challenges of raising their children amid affluence, and successfully passing their assets on to future generations. Their concerns range from ensuring that their children have sufficient drive and motivation to succeed in spite of the family’s wealth, to apportioning responsibilities for the family business among multiple siblings, to creating trust structures that pass their wealth along while ensuring that it remains in the family.

Despite this need, however, many ultra affluent individuals expressed reservations about seeking out advice on family wealth dynamics on their own. Clearly the intimate nature of these discussions inhibited many of these individuals from initiating this type of dialogue with their wealth advisor. This underscores the need for wealth advisors to be proactive about family advisory services, and to explore ways to deliver this advice and information to their clients in ways that they can embrace comfortably.

A Few Regional Tendencies Remain
While our survey clearly portrays the emergence of pan-regional attitudes among the ultra affluent, we saw enough evidence of some significant regional attitudes to merit their inclusion in our findings. This includes the following regional tendencies.

North American Ultra Affluents:
* Express a strong desire for alternative investments, particularly hedge funds
* Tend to have numerous relationships and ways of accessing sophisticated products; they seek greater direct access to high-end financial products
* Are more likely to have family offices than investors in other regions
* Appear uninterested in integrating personal assets and closely held corporate assets.

European Ultra Affluents:
* Demonstrate significant demand for tax-efficient investment products, vehicles and tax advisory services
* Express a keen interest in real assets (e.g., real estate, ships, privately held businesses)
* Tend to have relatively few financial institution relationships
* Are open to middle-market investment banking services.

Latin American Ultra Affluents:
* Place a very high degree of importance on confidentiality and privacy
* Focus on the perceived strength and stability of offshore banks
* Place significant emphasis on their personal relationships with bankers/wealth advisors
* Maintain relatively few financial institution relationships
* Hold significant assets in privately owned businesses.

Middle Eastern Ultra Affluents:
* Demonstrate, on a strategic basis, a strong preference for real estate and principal-protected products
* Prefer, on a tactical basis, an aggressive investment style, switching among a broad variety of asset classes
* Are often less familiar with, and less interested in, hedge funds
* Value personal relationships above other criteria
* Focus on the perceived strength and stability of offshore banks.

Asia Pacific Ultra Affluents:
* Hold higher allocations in cash, real assets and privately held businesses
* Seek ways to invest in the region's own dynamic growth opportunities (e.g., China, co-investment deals)
* Tend to seek integrated private and corporate banking offerings for their closely held business assets
* Demand confidentiality, especially in emerging countries.
* Summary and Conclusion

The Citigroup Private Bank study paints a comprehensive portrait of ultra affluent individuals at a time when they are adopting progressively more sophisticated approaches to wealth management. They are increasingly interested in hedge funds and other alternative investments, and are more able than ever to access these products outside of their relationships with traditional wealth advisors.

This increased availability of sophisticated investment products may represent a mixed blessing, however, as many ultra affluent investors continue to suffer some of the same pitfalls encountered by the broader population of investors. Moreover, they admit to remaining wary of hedge funds because of a lack of transparency regarding their risks and returns. One consequence has been a marked shift toward setting up their own family offices, or seeking family office-type services from their existing wealth advisors or independent advisors, as a means of managing these increasingly complicated products. Finally, they express a keen interest in high-level strategic advice regarding family dynamics and intergenerational wealth transfer planning, but are not always ready to embrace that dialogue with an advisor outside of the family.

Understanding these dynamics can help wealth advisors devise better ways of serving this important client segment, and accommodate an increasingly complex range of client expectations and needs.

- Citi Private Bank

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