Ben Stern is ‘incredibly proud’ of what he has achieved during his nearly 10 years at Lincoln Private Investment Office, a firm which, Stern acknowledges, is ‘unusual’ within the industry.
‘The structure of the firm is that it’s owned by the partners but also some of our clients,’ says Stern, a partner and head of family office services. ‘The key point is that there are no external shareholders. So there’s no one that owns part of Lincoln that’s not also a client of the firm.’
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Sharing values
It means that, rather than feeling pressure to pursue corporate profits, advisers can focus on looking after their clients, doing their day job and delivering a high level of service with regard to investment performance. ‘And if we do that, we know that [clients] will be happy, and they will introduce others from within their network, which has absolutely been the case over the years,’ Stern says. Indeed, the majority of new clients come via referrals – there’s no cold calling at Lincoln.
The firm also requires all team members to invest their own money alongside that of their clients. ‘We would never recommend something that we’re not investing in ourselves,’ Stern says. ‘That in itself is very unusual, and I know it’s something that really resonates with a lot of our clients.’ Lincoln’s B Corp certification, an effort led by Stern, further appeals to the firm’s forward-thinking investors and next-gen clients. ‘I’ve always been very passionate about the culture of the firm that I work in and doing things in the right way,’ he says. ‘I think people recognise what a high bar [B Corp certification] is, and how difficult it is to get. As a result they’re really supportive of it, and more and more want to work with a firm that shares their values.’
[See also: Ben Stern is HNW Wealth Manager of the Year in association with Locate Isle of Man]
Offering alternatives
Another area that Stern says is a differentiator for Lincoln is its alternatives offering, which is available on an advisory basis. ‘We’re very active in looking for interesting investment opportunities that could be higher risk but driving for a much higher return and add diversification, so things like venture capital, private equity, complete diversifiers – everything from forestry to litigation funding – all sorts of different, interesting areas.’
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In his work with family offices, Stern has seen wealth and investment structuring come to the fore as a client priority. It’s no longer just about investment strategy. ‘It’s something that’s incredibly important to clients in the current environment – making sure that they are structured as tax-efficiently as possible, as well as having the right investment strategy. Those conversations are really going to ramp up over the over the next 12 months and beyond.’
This feature is published in Spear’s Magazine Issue 94. Click here to subscribe
