Going RIA helped create a true multi-family office experience for my UHNW clients, says advisor

Fiduciary status and the ability to create a true multi-family office experience for clients were key drivers behind advisor Brett Cohen’s recent move from the wirehouse world to RIA.

Cohen joined Evolve Private Wealth in February after nearly a decade at Morgan Stanley, where he most recently served as a senior vice president. The move, he told InvestmentNews, was driven by a desire to support the specific needs of his ultra-high-net worth clients.

"Being at a firm built around the fiduciary standard removes any tension between what's best for the client and what we're able to recommend," he said. "That alignment matters enormously when you're working with families of this complexity."

Certainly, fiduciary status can be a big selling point for many RIAs. Last year research from Cerulli Associates found that seven out of 10 affluent investors said they were confident that their primary provider of financial advice was obligated to act as a fiduciary at all times. This appears to have a big impact on client satisfaction – some 70% of investors surveyed said they were satisfied with their advisor relationship and not seeking alternatives.

Cohen now serves as one of Evolve Private Wealth’s Managing Partners and also opened the RIA’s New York office, where he is based. Evolve Private Wealth also has an office in Los Angeles.

Flexibility, both around technology and investments, were key considerations for Cohen when it came to going RIA. "There are advanced investment and technology solutions available in the independent space, that were not available to me previously," he said. "That broader toolkit really expands what we can do for ultra-high-net-worth families."

The move from the wirehouse world to RIA was seamless, according to Cohen, who works with 40 families. "The transition went very smoothly. Nearly every family I'd worked with independently chose to continue the relationship, and it was extremely rewarding to see the confidence they had in me. I think it reflects the trust we'd built over the years and their belief in what we're building at Evolve."

"That approach reflects how I've always tried to operate," Cohen added. "My longtime mentors taught me to always act in the best interest of your clients, and I've stayed true to that through my entire career.”

As for his clients, Cohen describes two distinct types. "For the clients I work with, think tech entrepreneurs and founders on one side, and owners of established, family-run businesses across a range of industries on the other," he said. "Their planning needs, whether estate or income tax planning, are actually quite similar. The personas are just different."

Like others in the wealth management industry, Cohen also highlighted the rise of the multi-family office as a crucial vehicle for meeting the needs of ultra-high net worth clients.

"The way that I think about our business is really like a multi-family office, providing clients with the solutions they deserve and acting as an outsourced family office for them,” he said. "It was really about aligning with the right platform and the right people who think about the business the same way and building an ultra-high-net-worth platform to serve the needs of large, complex, multi-generational families."

The structure of Evolve Private Wealth is also a big positive. "It's very rare to find a 100% employee-owned firm, especially given all the M&A activity that has happened in our space. That is truly unique right now,” he said. "There is also a significant leadership opportunity here. Along with others, I have a meaningful say in the direction this firm takes moving forward, which is rare, and allows me to drive best outcomes for clients.”

Cohen's attention is now on the road ahead. "What we are focused on now is continuing to build something that serves these families the way they deserve to be served," he said. "Having the right partners, the right structure, and the freedom to operate this way, that's what this move was always about."