Stalking wealthy people...

[johnbro23]

I know this question is going to seem a bit out there, but it is actually my job to look for wealthy people's contact info. I'm interning in Private Wealth Management this summer, and one of the main ways they bring in clients is by "stalking" wealthy people online - finding out contact info and other talking points or connections they may have with the person.

So I figured I'd come here to find some good suggestions. The techniques they use are pretty rudimentary. Some of them include:

- Googling the company a prospective wealthy individual works for, finding the structure of the email addresses at the company (i.e. first.last@company.com), then try to guess their real email.

- Search for people who have made large donations. It's hard to identify wealthy people. Almost all of our clients are people you've never heard of - meaning its not as easy as hunting down people like Donald Trump.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[The Doctor]

thats creepy...

[Teh Don Ditty]

Cold calling at its finest. Good luck.

[johnbro23]

thats creepy...

exactly what I was thinking when I first started...

[CanadaRAM]

- Googling the company a prospective wealthy individual works for, finding the structure of the email addresses at the company (i.e. first.last@company.com), then try to guess their real email.


Well, that's a good way to get complaints to your ISP and potentially getting your email account blocked.

At the least, you and the company you work for would instantly go on my ^^^t list and neither me nor any of my friends would ever do business with either of you in the future.

[heehee]

If they are wealthy, why would they need "Private Wealth Management"? :confused:

[Sesshi]

They need it because they don't have time to manage their money, but would like advice on maximising whatever they've got in an everyday sense. Think of it as having your own bank manager to talk to, who can look after everyday finance without you or your staff having to direct everything in detail.

As far as the OP is concerned though, if that is the mentality of approach all I can say is that you're headed for epic fail.

[heehee]

They need it because they don't have time to manage their money, but would like advice on maximising whatever they've got in an everyday sense. Think of it as having your own bank manager to talk to, who can look after everyday finance without you or your staff having to direct everything in detail.


OIC, My boss needs one of those. He has lost stock certificates many times before and some of them are 7 figures. :eek:

[r6girl]

Well, that's a good way to get complaints to your ISP and potentially getting your email account blocked.

At the least, you and the company you work for would instantly go on my ^^^t list and neither me nor any of my friends would ever do business with either of you in the future.

agreed. that's a horrible way for your company go about finding clients. what is your company's name? i can't imagine this is the only way they go about finding clients, or else they wouldn't be in business for very long.

doesn't it bother you that they do this? i realize that an internship on your resume is a good thing, but will you consider the ethics and appropriateness of how they operate?

[iJohnHenry]

exactly what I was thinking when I first started...

Still don't like it. Too much like an invasion of privacy for personal gain. If they want your "service" they will seek you out.

Just don't let me catch you going through my garbage. It would be a total waste of time.

:D

[iTeen]

that's a little bit wierd....

i'm sortof glad i'm not really rich :p

[Eraserhead]

They need it because they don't have time to manage their money, but would like advice on maximising whatever they've got in an everyday sense. Think of it as having your own bank manager to talk to, who can look after everyday finance without you or your staff having to direct everything in detail.

I'm sure the banks already offer this service...

As far as the OP is concerned though, if that is the mentality of approach all I can say is that you're headed for epic fail.

+1, the rich will a) complain and b) get their way.

[CanadaRAM]

Your business sector lives or dies on personal recommendations.

A person with money to invest is no way going to deal with a stranger who comes at them out of the blue. They're going to ask their friends and business associates who they use, who they trust and who they can recommend.

It's all about networking and establishing relationships, not about spamming and soliciting. You can't shortcut the building of trust.

Look at the advertisements in your business magazines locally -- the investment people there are all promoting stability, trustworthiness, track record, decades if experience.

[Macky-Mac]

gone phishing for the summer?

[Sesshi]

I'm sure the banks already offer this service...

Yes. They - well, certainly my banks - calls it Wealth Management, which is what the OP is presumably in. Wealth Management is not necessarily investment in the sense that most people think of it - It's the management of the daily working of your money, and is an increasingly lucrative area for banking.

Almost any financial institution offers it, including banks most people are popular with. If you earn and keep over a certain amount in your account, you'll probably be approached by the Wealth Management team of your bank. Other banks only deal with people like that.

However, it does seem as though the OP's company is possibly one of the dodgier enterprises in this regard. Or indeed is phishing for the summer.

[c073186]

Would your employer really want you asking for advice on a discussion forum?

[mpw]

...Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I used to work for a company the former CEO of which shared my surname. We'd get calls all the time from annoying people working for companies just like yours because he was loaded. Unfortunately he'd been dead for 3years, so when the cold caller asked for Mr. X they'd get put through to me; I'd often chat for a while and listen to how they could manage my money for me etc. etc. Oddly when I told them my net worth they became even colder callers.

So the only advice I'd give, if you really want to do the job, make sure you don't call dead people.... or me.

[173080]

Your business sector lives or dies on personal recommendations.

A person with money to invest is no way going to deal with a stranger who comes at them out of the blue. They're going to ask their friends and business associates who they use, who they trust and who they can recommend.

It's all about networking and establishing relationships, not about spamming and soliciting. You can't shortcut the building of trust.

Look at the advertisements in your business magazines locally -- the investment people there are all promoting stability, trustworthiness, track record, decades if experience.

+1.

Wealthy people generally won't let any creep who sends them an email or calls their phone manage their money. More often than not they will be angry because you are bothering them. Good luck trying to get any business from a pissed off customer who has better things to do than listening to you.

[JHacker]

If they are wealthy, why would they need "Private Wealth Management"? :confused:

You obviously don't understand the world of finance.

[revenuee]

Your business sector lives or dies on personal recommendations.

A person with money to invest is no way going to deal with a stranger who comes at them out of the blue. They're going to ask their friends and business associates who they use, who they trust and who they can recommend.

It's all about networking and establishing relationships, not about spamming and soliciting. You can't shortcut the building of trust.

Look at the advertisements in your business magazines locally -- the investment people there are all promoting stability, trustworthiness, track record, decades if experience.

Before I make slight adjustments to your comments; I want to first say that I totally agree with you that there is nothing better in the financial management industry then word of mouth and networking

however, much of the money brought in is through cold calling. My best friend works as an associate that for an advisor that makes $750,000 a year because of the cold calls made by his associates to potential clients.

Cold calling works

Not all money managers/planner/advisor's are created equal
And not all clients are created equal

many times clients are frustrated with the level of quality they are being offered by their firm and are more then happy to give another firm the opportunity to make them happy.

After the exam i write on thursday, i will have the basic qualifications to be a junior advisor. But to be honest with you, although i can speak about the markets academically I feel I am still some time away from being able to make good recommendations, -- I've been running model portfolios for almost two years experimenting with different asset mixes, industry mixes, and the returns have been variety --- YET, my the qualify board will suggest that i know what i'm talking about -- I doubt i'm the only one in this situation

Going along with that - not all clients are created equal. Because few clients are educated on the subject to speak articulately enough about their investment objectives with their advisor; they are even less qualified to have that conversation with their friends. I will add that there is the obvious risk tolerance differentials among clients. I might come to you and ask you if you are happy with your advisor, and you will say yes because perhaps what the advisor is offering is exactly what you need/want. I might see that person and be very unhappy with what they offer because my goals are different. Being stuck with the recommendations around me, i might be tempted to visit a consultation from a cold call.

further, some clients enjoy having different firms managing their assets for them. Maybe they have the bulk managed by one firm that takes care of the main investment objectives, but have another firm/broker that they deal with when they want to "play" the market and keep a small percentage of their money to throw around - be it a speculative stock here, or a private placement there <-- things that come from a cold call

EDIT - I'm surprised your firm doesn't subscribe to cold call lists

AND if you are really stuck on finding clients one of the best methods i know is doing a street search in wealthy neighborhoods and starting at A and calling to Z

i used this method to check if the delivery firm I contracted was really doing the door to door delivery they were being paid to do

just printed up the lists of people living on those streets and had my interns make the calls

[ErikCLDR]

Go find some of those neighborhoods with the zillion dollar houses in them.

Newport, RI

Greenwich, Darien, Westport, New Canaan, etc in Connecticut. Look online to see how many houses (well, mansions) are for sale for over $10,000,000, its truly incredible.

Then stalk the people

[iJohnHenry]

That's the reason those communities are gated. ;)

[Keebler]

doesn't sound right to me.

i'm not saying you're doing this, but isn't this how those phishing email scams are done? send an email to someone and hope they bite?

I would never, ever accept an email from a stranger asking about my wealth and i hope the rich folks aren't that dumb either.

a cold call is a totally different matter. at least then, you could get a name and phone number.

good luck,
keebler

[yellow]

This is highly inappropriate.