By Stephan Meier and Heinrich Weber

Estimates show that there are around 20,000 Ultra High Net Worth individuals in existence today, each with bankable assets in excess of $50 million. Between them they possess a wealth of $5,000 billion, 10% of the world’s estimated total wealth. The UHNW wealth management business is therefore a critically important as well as complex part of modern finance. It exists within a “client-banker-bank” triangle and is influenced by serious exogenous factors in political, economic and fiscal environments, as well as by numerous emotional, familial and personal dimensions. In this book the authors address these complex relationships, serving as guides and advisors for UHNW bankers, banks and clients alike.

The authors’ clients have taught them that the three major frustrations for private banking clients are bad performance, bad communication with the banker, and confusion in the face of poorly explained financial processes. In the first part of the book the authors offer their expert solutions to these problems and, in the second, help to eliminate confusion by explaining UHNW financial processes as clearly and simply as possible.

The authors mix authoritative advice, gained from long careers in wealth management, with anecdotes and narrative, to make the book approachable as well as informative. The book also contains five major case studies that help to exemplify certain elements involved in UHNW banking across the world, including the importance and impact of: family values and governance; client confidence and connections; cultural and religious considerations; philanthropy; market crises and volatility; portfolio diversity and enterprise management.

This book is for private bankers who work or aim to work in the Ultra High Net Worth field, the most sought-after and secluded high-end client segment of private banking and wealth management. For UHNW clients, this book is a guide on how to deal with your bankers and what you can expect from them, depicting the view from the other side of the table. And for the management of a private bank or private banking division of a financial institution, this book will serve as an essential introduction on how to improve performance.

Expert, in-depth and accessible, The Ultra High Net Worth Banker’s Handbook is the ultimate guide to this area of modern finance.

Since April 2008, Stephan Meier has been head of the Private Banking Brazil Ultra High Networth Individuals (UHNWI) practice of one of the global leaders in Private Banking. Prior to that he was Head of Key Clients Brazil at another global Wealth Manager as well as Country Team Head for LatAm and Brazil for two internationally operating banks.

Before focusing on private banking, Stephan Meier spent 17 years working for a globally operating Swiss manufacturer and distributor of products that capture, model, analyze and visualize spatial information. He held various senior positions - including Managing Director, Senior Consultant and Area Sales Manager - in different legal entities of the group, both in Switzerland and in Brazil, where he built up a strong network.

Stephan Meier holds a Swiss Certificate of Qualification both in Engineering and Business Studies and speaks fluent German, Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Heinrich Weber is a partner and risk manager of DeTraCo, an active Eurex member firm. He develops risk models and financial forecasting applications with AleaSoft, the European leader in the use of neural networks for the prediction of energy prices.