A week in the life of a Private Banker
From preparing presentations to looking at lending structures, and mentoring graduates to hosting private views, it’s all in a week’s work for a Private Banker.
Sarah is a Private Banker at Barclays Wealth, the leading wealth manager in the UK with £126.8bn assets under management (June 2007). After obtaining a degree in French and German from Worcester College, Oxford University, Sarah joined Morgan Stanley, where she worked as an equity analyst for five years before moving into corporate finance at Stamford Partners. Sarah took a year out of finance to work in the family business before joining Barclays Wealth to train as a Private Banker.
Sarah Macdonald
The global economy is booming and more people than ever before are finding themselves wealthier than their parent’s generation. Consequently, the Wealth Management industry is growing phenomenally as global institutions and wealth professionals advise their clients how to build, protect, use or pass on their newly found assets.
Mentioning that you are a Private Banker usually conjures images of wining and dining clients, or making sure their day-to-day banking arrangements are managed effectively. As a Private Banker myself, the fact is that this couldn’t be further from the truth. For those of you who are curious, the following is a snapshot of what it is like working in the Wealth industry.
- MONDAY
I arrive at the Barclays Wealth office in Mayfair, London, around 8am. My first task is to check the emails that have come in over the weekend, prioritising those I need to act on first. This is followed by joining the Monday Morning call, hosted by the Investment and Product Office, which updates us on market activity. I look further into an article I read in the financial press over the weekend, and then spend time reading up on the market trends and investment themes to ensure I’m up to speed with the outlook for key asset classes, as well as checking current FX and cash rates.
A quick review of the diary shows a good balance of client meetings, prospecting for new business and time for ongoing development to ensure I am aware of the latest thinking. I draft out what I hope to achieve this week, knowing that as things change during the week it might look very different by 6pm Friday evening!
The latter part of the morning is spent preparing for my first client meeting - an annual review of their holdings with us. I will also discuss any changes in lifestyle with them in order to assess the impact on their risk profile, to ensure I can tailor the solutions I suggest to their specific needs.
After a productive meeting at my client’s house, I arrive back in the office and spend the rest of the afternoon following up on what we discussed, and updating our records accordingly.
- TUESDAY
My first appointment today is the weekly Private Banking team meeting, which amongst other things provides a place to discuss new product launches and client ideas. Today we hear about a new structured product linked to the price of oil. This product gives clients the ability to benefit from any rise in oil prices while protecting their capital. I review my client list to see who might be interested in receiving more information about the structured product.
At lunchtime, I act as one of the hosts at a Barclays Wealth for Women lunch on the theme of philanthropy. There are around 40 female clients and potential clients present, and it offers our guests the opportunity to network with other women and hear a short presentation on charitable giving and how to get involved in specific causes.
Back at my desk, I return calls to clients who have left messages, including one to a colleague in Business Banking. I’m helping this client personally, but through our conversations learnt about his corporate lending needs, so have referred the client to a Corporate Relationship Manager who can explore this need in more detail. I spend the rest of the afternoon working on a complex lending structure for a large client.
- WEDNESDAY
My first task this morning is to research a lead I received from the Barclays Wealth for Women lunch. I spend the rest of the morning preparing for, and holding a meeting with a client, their accountant and a trustee at our offices. There’s a lot to discuss as my client is planning to sell his business, and he wants to get everything lined up. I have lunch at my desk as I follow up from this morning’s meeting.
Amongst other things, my client wants more information about a Private Equity opportunity I suggested, so I send the relevant information to him. In the afternoon, I spend time mentoring a recent graduate. He is new to the business, and has lots of good ideas. We discuss how he can start to build his relationship skills in front of clients, then put it into practice with role play. I act as the client and give feedback on his presentation.
This evening we are hosting a dinner and private view of the Constable collection at the Tate Britain gallery, with art historians on hand to give our clients a personal tour. It was a long day, but this evening was a great opportunity to get to know my clients better in a social environment.
- THURSDAY
I’m delighted to receive a number of thank you notes from clients commenting how much they enjoyed the gallery viewing last night. It’s fantastic when our events hit the mark but of course the trick is knowing my clients well enough to know who to invite to which events.
I then spend the rest of the morning reviewing my existing clients’ portfolios. I also ask my PA to send flowers to mark the 40th wedding anniversary of one of my clients. It is important to be aware of what my clients are doing in their lives (be it financial or personal) and make them feel like an individual.
Lunch today is with a client and their partner who are considering transferring funds they currently hold with one of our competitors, to Barclays Wealth. The meeting is a combination of relationship building and an opportunity to talk to them about a couple of forthcoming product launches they might be interested in.
The fortnightly team meeting this afternoon allows us to share best practice and ideas, as well as review our performance as a unit. We have team as well as individual targets, so one of the agenda items is reviewing progress on several leads we had reallocated at a previous meeting.
The key to success in Private Banking is building client trust, and one of the tricks is learning to recognise when you are not the best person to meet a client. For example, it could be that the client comes from a legal background, and they would be a better fit with a colleague who themselves came from a legal background.
- FRIDAY
Being in the office on Friday morning I am able to attend the Weekly Technical Meeting. Today it is hosted by an external tax professional, who updates us on a forthcoming change to UK tax legislation that might affect our clients who are non-domiciled for UK tax purposes.
I run through my client lists and make a note of which clients might benefit from being aware of this change. Although I’m not licensed to give tax advice, this information allows me to give my clients a better service and proactively contact them so they can instruct a tax professional to explore it further.
Most of today is spent preparing a pitch document for a large prospect I am meeting next week. This lead came from a colleague in a different part of the business, and a quick call to them tells me this client has a particular interest in hearing more about commercial property and commodities, so I prepare the presentation accordingly. I then meet with another Private Banker to run through our game plan for the presentation. Double heading can be very important to try and appeal to different parts of a client’s needs, as well as having the benefit of two pairs of eyes and ears.
A quick review of the week leaves me pleased as I achieved most of what I set out to at the start of the week, although there is always room for improvement!
