Citi has just completed its New York next gen program and is currently holding one in London; next stop is Singapore. The most important thing to come out of it so far is the desire for world exposure among the next generation of wealth, says Money K, head of the program, in an interview with this publication.

Citi Private Bank has just completed its "NextGen" conference in New York and is currently holding one in London; next stop is Singapore. The most important thing to come out of it so far is the desire for world exposure among the next generation of wealth, says Money K, head of the program, in an interview with this publication.

“They [the younger gen] have this wanderlust in terms of business and entrepreneurship,” says K, who attends the five-day programs himself. “We’re looking into expanding into a few more cities.”

He says the bank gets requests from young clients to attend a program in Dubai, to understand and get closer to the Middle East, as well as queries about frontier markets like Africa – with clients saying they would support events in up-and-coming cities like Cape Town.

“We’ve got requests for California” – to get close to the heart of entrepreneurship – and “there’s been a request for China,” he says, and this especially resonates in the US and Latin America, where clients feel a long way away from the Far East but young people want to go there and experience it all first hand. “Africa is the sleeping giant,” he adds.

10 years in

The program has taken off nicely at Citi, according to K. It started globally around 10 years ago with 20 or so attendants. The latest one in NYC had over 40; London attracted 48, and the bank expects just over 50 in Singapore.

However, K thinks this is the optimal amount, and while the US firm is looking to set up more seminars around the world, it doesn’t want to expand each one beyond around 50 people. “You lose the intimacy,” explains K.

Of course, luring the next gen has become a competitive arena, and Citi is far from the only wealth manager to boast such a program. (To view a Family Wealth Report round-up of some next gen offerings click here.)

What K thinks the bank has got right though, and where he believes it’s ahead of the curve, is in developing the program after the five days. “This has become an alumni network and global peer network,” says K, adding that members are keeping in touch and this has given the program “a whole new dimension.”

“We have also created a website - a closed website - where they can keep in touch.” 

Criteria

The criteria to get on the program are that someone must be a child of a client, between the ages of 21 and 35, and ideally they will have finished college education. It is looking to bring together people in the career-planning or business-building life stage, or at the point where they are considering entering the family business – essentially, a time of big decisions and opportunities.

The program offers practical lessons in investment – covering topics like asset allocation - as well as trust and estate planning seminars, philanthropy seminars, and lessons in art buying and management through its ties with Christie’s.

K stresses that much of the course is “hands on,” so learning takes place through mock trading and mock auctions with a budget, for example, as opposed to “textbook learning,” which is what differentiates it from business school. It does include, however, a day dedicated to entrepreneurship with a specially customized course by business school professors from Harvard (in New York and London) and Insead (in Singapore).

So far, he’s found that around a third of participants tend to want to go into their family business, often with a view to bringing it into the modern era. Around a third wants to go off and “earn their stripes” somewhere else before going into the family business – sometimes to help them earn employees’ respect when they do go into the business. The other third wants to do something entirely different from their parents, such as starting a new venture.

“We want to understand their drivers, how do they think? Children of the family may have very different aspirations to their parents.”

The environment is not, therefore, one of recommending a certain path, but of dialogue and giving younger prospective clients the tools to explore their own ideas.

 Evaluating the program

One way the bank will monitor the effectiveness of the program is the alumni network, and to what extent the participants stay in touch - as this is a clear endorsement of how useful they found it.

“When the heir opens an account and maintains us as the primary relationship bank, that's the true measure of success,” says K.

But it’s not only about new, young clients. Citi’s had “good feedback from parents. On the back of the goodwill, we have had many interesting conversations with clients,” he says.

Going forward, the bank views the program as a critical part of its wealth management offering. K says it’s “not a hobby” for Citi Private Bank, but “an important pillar of our longer-term strategy.” Part of this strategy will be to “expand the touchpoints,” such as the seminars and closed online networking, that the bank has with the younger generation.

“The most important asset for clients is their children – it’s important we look after them,” says K.