US-headquartered wealth management firm investor Focus Financial Partners has teamed up with global conglomerate Hinduja Group to launch a multi-family office, International Adviser can reveal.
Joint venture Beryllus Capital will cater to wealthy families through offices in London, Geneva and Singapore.
The firm will provide advice and integrated strategies for managing its clients’ investments, philanthropy and legacies. Its services will include investment management, investment banking and real estate advisory.
Founded by four senior wealth advisers, Beryllus Capital will be led by London-based founder and managing partner Amit Kotha. Three of the advisers are unnamed at this time.
Kotha was previously managing director of enterprise strategic clients business at RBC Wealth Management, advising ultra-high net worth (UHNW) families in the UK, Middle East and south east Asia.
“Our vision is to create one of the largest global multi-family offices, leveraging the experience and relationships of our team,” Kotha told IA. “Our clients desire a dedicated solution for their complex wealth requirements and our ambition is to create a new benchmark in this industry by focusing on the mantra of success i.e. growth with credibility.”
“In our opinion, these are the major problems facing UHNW clients: succession planning, complexity, hidden risk, high fees and false diversification. At Beryllus, we will have the experience, knowledge and connectivity to help our clients navigate through these issues.”
‘Expanding our international footprint’
IA also spoke to Rajini Kodialam, co-founder and chief operating officer of Focus Financial Partners, about why the firm has launched the joint venture.
“We’re always going to have partners serving clients across the wealth continuum, Kodialam said. “But there is a clear, tangible shift towards the truly ultra-high net worth population. This is not the 1%, this is the 1% of the 1%, if I can even refine it further.
“The minute you think of that segment, they have unique needs. Wealth brings certain needs with it. Working with advisers who help these clients by providing them access, it’s a big part of what we do.
“When you look at this group, they are global by nature, even if they don’t live in multiple countries, they tend to have business interests in multiple countries. You need a global flavour for that.
“We have very clearly stated the fact that Focus is a US company, but we are very much looking forward to expanding our international footprint. This is a big part of that.
“London, Geneva and Singapore is a very exciting golden triangle. Beryllus is our gateway into the rest of Europe and it is our foray into Asia with Singapore.
“The uniqueness for Beryllus for us is this is a joint venture with a prominent global family, and more important, it’s not just the family, it is their enterprise with the 14 verticals and all that it entails.”
Offering
Beryllus is not going to be a new entity for the active family office sectors in London, Geneva and Singapore.
So, how does Focus prepare to stand out from the crowd?
“The fact that it is operating in three countries and looking at a select group does make it a little unique,” Kodialam added. “The Hinduja partnership adds a different flavour.
“When you look at one of the more important things that families like these are looking for, they’re looking for access. It is access to thinking and thoughts of other families like themselves. It is that consortium of thinking that they are looking for, and there are avenues for that.
“But what Beryllus does is it brings them together to share their thoughts to the extent they want to with the unique client set.
“But then you have the arms, legs and brains in the form of the Beryllus advisers as well as Focus to be execute it for them. That’s probably what makes it different.”
Kotha added: “We will focus relentlessly on providing a differentiated value proposition by partnering with existing, or establishing our own, ecosystems. We will keep strengthening our core offerings and empower our advisors and our UHNW clients with integrated tools, analytical insights and streamlined ways of working.
“We will leverage cloud technology to improve agility, lower costs, drive innovation, and benefit from industry-specific solutions. We will be managing the entire balance sheet for our clients by offering them advanced advisory and financial management systems, as well as taking care of their investment banking and credit requirements, including real estate advisory.”
Complemented businesses
Focus Financial had previously entered the UK financial advice market space with an acquisition in 2008 and the launch of subsidiary Connectus Wealth Advisers.
But this joint venture expands Focus’ geographical footprint and also broadens its clientele to offer more services for UHNWs.
Kodialam added: “Connectus could go in the ultra-high net worth direction. For us, Connectus is a business model. It’s a three-legged stool that speak to the different needs, life stages, and business of advisers.
“Whereas when we’re talking about the ultra-high net worth segment, we are talking about needs of clients segments. That’s why I say we have business models that complement each other beautifully.
“While there is a certain shift towards the ultra-high network, we believe that there are clients who need good client centric, fiduciary, open architecture advice across the wealth management continuum. You can have both in your portfolio.”
Expansion
Kodialam previously spoke to IA about the expansion of Connectus, and admitted Beryllus could also look to grow in the long term.
“Just like any of our other firms, Beryllus could be interested in expanding,” Kodialam added. “There are some very logical other geographies where they might. It could even be Zurich, for example, or it could certainly be other Asian geographies.
“It’s going to depend on where they see the opportunity. With the kind of families you’re talking about, I can absolutely see them saying, I have a need for something.
“Also Amit [Kotha] can find, or we could find another advisory team or a firm that is based with a very strong foothold in a different country. Alternately, the advisers may think there is so much activity in a certain market, that it behoves us to go and actively put down roots there.
“It could be any of these. But first and foremost, I think it’s about taking care of your clients and build the best infrastructure for them and then growth will come.”
Kotha added: “Beryllus will be establishing a global ‘platinum standard’ for our clients, intended to capture complete coverage of their wallet share. We believe that this value proposition, the strength of our team, and our global reach will attract many families looking for an offering that fits their needs and complexity.
“In addition, Beryllus will become a destination of choice for senior private bankers. Our focus will be on entrepreneurial bankers who value the independent space and see the upside in our value proposition for their clients and for their teams.
“Lastly, we will explore M&A opportunities in each of our locations to strengthen our core offering and build scale. With Focus Financial Partners’ expertise and industry knowledge, we are confident that Beryllus can become a true platform in the global MFO space.”
Next step
Focus shows no sign of stopping and has plans for more venture likes Beryllus is the future.
Kodialam said: “We are very much in the business of finding new partners, mergers for our partners, Connectus deals and expanding across our verticals.
“We’re also extremely dedicated to pushing the envelope on all of the value-added initiatives that we’re doing for our partners and we are in the process of rolling out a whole series of them.
“We’re always open to ideas. The only thing that scares us is the entrepreneurial dilemma, getting comfortable with who you are, and forgetting the forest for the trees.
“That’s not something we’ll ever do. We’re always on the lookout. Our clients bring us ideas, our partners bring us ideas, our competitors bring us ideas, the industry brings us ideas. There’s always that little third dimension to Focus. Continue with who you are, do what you do better, but be able to look out for how you can be even more innovative.”
