New York asset manager a family firm in more ways than one

At 83, Robert B. Deans Jr. still comes into the office every day. The Inverness Counsel Inc. founder and chairman even travels to visit clients. “He has had some of these relationships for 41 years,” said his son, Robert B. Deans III, the firm's executive vice president, chief compliance officer and treasurer. Inverness, which manages $1.7 billion in discretionary assets, is a family-oriented shop. Not only does the younger Mr. Deans work there, but his older sister, Mary Flood, runs a branch office in Salt Lake City. Mr. Deans III joined his dad in 1989 after working for a specialist on the New York Stock Exchange. “It was quite a shift,” he said. “I miss that whole world, but the New York Stock Exchange isn't what it used to be.” Inverness' clients are largely high-net-worth investors and pension funds. “I would say 15 of our client relationships represent 60% to 70% of our assets under management,” the younger Mr. Deans said. The firm has relationships with families that span four decades and several generations, he said. “In some cases we are working with accounts belonging to 2- or 3-year-olds, representing the fourth or fifth generation,” he said. “I hate taking orders from 3-year-olds.” Account balances with the firm range from $8,000 to $280 million for the largest institutional account, Mr. Deans said. “We have a minimum account balance, but once you do a high level of estate and trust planning for people, part of the job is divesting people with large assets and spreading it out so that, by definition, you have small accounts that get bigger.”
Inverness is different from other firms in its field because it is registered as an investment counsel firm, not as a registered investment adviser. This means that the company cannot pool clients' assets but rather has to treat each account separately. “A lot of people would say this is a disadvantage because it's very cost-intensive,” Mr. Deans said. “It really does mean you need to pay a lot of attention to clients and their situations, but by nature, that's what we are supposed to be doing when we do high-net-worth trust and estate work. This is what people really want.” Inverness' biggest challenge is keeping continuity among its employees. The firm's 13 portfolio managers span various generations, and Mr. Deans wants to make sure that remains the case. “Trying to make sure we get good people in here is a constant challenge,” Mr. Deans said. “Some people want to be portfolio managers, but they don't want to deal with clients, and here, they have to do both.”