UK wealth managers are often “nervous” about bringing up the topic of philanthropy as they fear putting clients in an awkward position, according to James Von Simson, partner at wealth management firm Evelyn Partners.
He said: “Philanthropic conversations are not happening as often as they should be in my view. Wealth managers are nervous about those conversations. They worry about creating a conversational cul de sac, where for example they say ‘are you interested in philanthropy’, and the client says no. So we try to make it part of the wider conversation around gifting, some clients are very keen to engage in philanthropy.
"A common conversation is that the client has already made whatever provision they want for their children, and now want to do something else, but the key is the way the conversation is framed as part of a wider plan.”
Alan Kinnaird, business development manager at Walker Crips, said: “The conversation can often begin with which charity events and dinners the client supports. Thereafter, this normally leads on to a general discussion around the factors which led them to support a particular group.
"Clients are often happy to discuss particular charities which they support – especially if someone in their family received outstanding care in the past. In my experience, clients rarely forget acts of kindness from local charity groups and quite often become fund raisers and/or trustees.”
Sarah Pook, charities business development manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said gifting was part of the wider conversation with a client, once a client had determined how much they needed, a pot was essentially created for gifting and the conversation around philanthropy could begin.
The next challenge for a wealth manager is to understand whether a client wishes to make individual donations or create a foundation.
Von Simson said many clients were wary of direct donations as they feared being contacted persistently by fundraisers in future, while creating a separate foundation was likely to require a very significant pot of assets.
Pook said that among the discussions they had with clients around this topic were: “It is important to consider the client’s motivations; for example, are they wanting to leave a legacy? Do they want to see its impact in their lifetime? And would they wish to involve their wider family in their philanthropic discussions?”
Kinnaird said one area of conversation which clients were increasingly focused on was carrying out voluntary work when they retired.
Rupert Bentley, founder of wealth management firm Bentley Reid which works with ultra high net worth individuals, said in this segment of the market "the conversations are typically around how they can most efficiently give the money to causes they support. They want us to look at which of the charties in the areas they care about are the best."
