Myth: Philanthropy advice does not provide a positive return to my business
Fact:
Offering philanthropic advice can help attract and retain clients by expanding the menu of services you offer them. As we can see from the research (see Myth 2), more wealthy clients are becoming philanthropic, and are increasingly seeking professional advice for their giving.
Many wealthy people already have more than one advisor and those who offer the better philanthropic advice may win more of the overall business. Clients who want to be philanthropic will do so anyway, and if you do not offer them this service, there are many others who will!
Clients are already paying for asset management and administrative services for their charitable foundations, and a significant minority of philanthropists are prepared to pay for specialist philanthropy advice, for example on a consultancy or pro rata basis for advice on governance or structuring, grant-making techniques, finding a project and feedback processes1.
Even in the current economic environment, 60% of wealth advisors expect philanthropy to continue to grow over the next five years and become a core pillar of their private client services2.
" It opens up new areas of trust and tax law in which we can advise, and a continuing interest on the part of the client means continuing involvement on our part if we get it right. " solicitor
1 Philanthropy amongst Ultra High Net Worth Individuals and Family Offices in Europe: The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany, Scorpio Partnership, June 2007
2 The Role of Wealth Advisors in Offering Philanthropy Services to High-Net-Worth Clients, Scorpio Partnership, October 2008
