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Pitcairn And Predicament Of The Mid-Sized MFO

Charles Paikert

9 October 2023

In the turbo-charged and hyper-competitive mass affluent and high net worth RIA space, significant year-over-year growth is imperative. In the more sedate and collegial ultra-high net worth and family office market, just keeping pace with changing times, friendly rivals and client demands is hard enough.

The recent change in leadership at , calculated that Pitcairn “competes with a category of about 50 firms, mostly RIAs and a handful of trust companies.” Busser believes that Pitcairn’s competition is double that number and “all over the place,” including money center private banks, local RIAs and “other well-established family offices.”

Busser’s odds
Pitcairn has “the same issues facing every firm out there: brand and technology,” Reilly said. The MFO has “a major advantage with Busser, who is a strategic thinker,” he asserted.

Pitcairn’s stellar brand has, in fact, helped the firm recruit top talent in an era when it has been in short supply, according to Busser. Being located in the Philadelphia market and not having to compete directly with New York City firms has also been a factor, he said. 

And when it comes to technology, investing in upgrades such as CRM software and the client portal dovetails with the firm’s emphasis on client experience, Busser said. While technology in wealth management “started as a way to be more efficient on the backend,” he explained, “it has now become an integrated part of the client experience on the front end.”

Pitcairn, like other multifamily offices its size, will also have to keep a close eye on capital funding and pricing, McLaughlin said. But he believes thatBusser is up to the job: “He’s very smart. What he doesn’t know, he’ll figure out.”