Bernstein Private Wealth Management is expanding the suite of multigenerational support services available to its ultra-wealthy, family office and global families clients.
A division of investment management and research heavyweight AllianceBernstein, the firm serves around 1,300 families with almost $38 billion in assets on its ultra-high-net-worth platform. In a move to attract more, the firm will offer tailored legacy strategies, supported by four specialized senior executives, a dedicated service team and an “expanded focus” on family governance research.
The idea was to consolidate “existing expertise” and ensure the firm is prepared to navigate a broad array of complexities that can arise when transitioning vast amounts of wealth, according to Onur Erzan, head of AllianceBernstein’s global client group and private wealth units.
“Clients today are increasingly looking for a unified wealth plan centered around legacy with the understanding that complexity is not always financial,” he said in a statement released Monday. “That’s why our evolved UHNW Platform offers a more holistic approach to not only manage wealth but the anxieties that come with that wealth.”
Headed up by Bernstein Senior Vice President and Head of UHNW and Growth Strategies Aaron Bates, three appointed directors will oversee various aspects of the initiative.
As director of strategic partnerships, Amanda Bohr will work to expand platform services to clients “beyond Bernstein’s core services.” Director of Credit Jeremy Lam, who joined AllianceBernstein from First Republic Bank in September, will work with credit partners to offer liquidity solutions. Emily Neubert, national director of UHNW services, will be in charge of developing the service team, overseeing family governance and helping to drive growth.
The team will provide a “centralized resource,” according to Bernstein, leveraging the firm’s research library and new studies to design bespoke multigenerational road maps for the wealthy.
“They need help navigating the transition from one chapter to the next as well as monitoring and maintaining the entities and strategies they initially set up to achieve their goals,” said Senior National Director of UNHW Services Tara Popernik. “Bernstein’s decades of expertise in planning for these transitions and executing on that plan will continue to grow with our expanded team.”
Bernstein also announced its advisors—more than 230—will now be called wealth advisors instead of financial advisors, “as part of the firm’s evolution.”
“We are redefining wealth management,” said Head of Client and Advisory Rick Meyers. “We feel this title change is a reflection of how our advisors holistically counsel our clients on their assets, complexities and successes to come, rather than a singular investment or moment in time.”
Established in 2000 when Alliance Capital acquired Sanford C. Bernstein's 33-year-old investment firm, AllianceBernstein is majority owned by Equitable Holdings and serves a wide variety of institutional and private investors, as well as financial professionals, through three business lines: research, asset management and wealth management, which comprises roughly a third of firm revenues.
In November, it was reported AllianceBernstein began offering capital to lenders in return for access to their clients. At the time, Head of Alternative Investments Matthew Bass said the firm was working to offer a broader menu of alternatives, private credit products in particular, in a parallel effort to attract more uber-wealthy investors.
At the end of 2022, the firm reported overseeing $725 billion across its asset and wealth management businesses.