Caroline Coplin

I have a very amazing team of very intelligent people, and that helps a lot. I think it's also in the way that we are conducting business - we take a lot of pride in what we do and how we do it. We've never looked at this business in a short-term perspective. It's always been long-term. Our goal is to establish long-term relationships with ultra-high net worth individuals, so we're always going to be striving to provide that level of service that will want them to stay with us and be happy. It all circles back to our values - we're focused on building trust and reciprocating the trust that clients place in us by being there for them whenever they need us.

The greatest advice I've received is really captured in a few key principles. First, 'ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen' - that's really from the Ritz, but it's what we go by in terms of service. In terms of investment, it's not what you earn, it's what you keep that matters. So it's really looking at not just picking and selecting the right investment, but looking at the client situation as a whole too, because if they're in a high tax bracket, that's going to affect what they keep. The greatest advice, to be honest with you, is to look at each client comprehensively. A blueprint of their financial life is much more helpful in helping them achieve their goals than it would be just to look at their statement and going from there. It's really looking at all those pieces that connect in their life and providing the best solutions taking that into account. That's the financial planning side of me coming up.

The challenges that arise in bringing wealth management solutions are usually from what's going on in the world, in terms of war and politics and whatever else. That's really the biggest risk - things that are outside of what we can control. Sometimes challenges could come from a client's changing situation or a different change of perspective on what they're looking to accomplish, but I would say that's usually the least issue. The biggest risk is more outside of what we can control.

I think ethics are very important. Honesty, transparency, clarity - everything that would make a client feel that I would treat them the same way as I would like to be treated, and that's with dignity, respect, and honesty. I think that's first and foremost. Service is very important. We're very big on providing that extra level of service. A client shouldn't have to call multiple times to get anything. Because there's such a big amount of trust they place in us, it's our privilege, but also our job, to answer to that by making sure they feel that they can trust us. The trust is reciprocated - we're also going to be there for them whenever they need us.