Ep 490: Attracting And Retaining HNW Clients By Being More Available For Their Multigenerational ...

Liz Miller built Summit Place Financial Advisors around a high-touch model for high-net-worth families who need more than portfolio management. She says the original insight came from seeing a long-time client die without the firm really knowing the family, which convinced her that an advisor serving wealthy households has to understand the next generation as part of the value proposition. Her firm now works with roughly $300 million for 37 client families and focuses on coordinating complex family, tax, estate, and cash-flow issues so clients do not have to be the “spider” connecting every professional themselves.

She prices that service as an all-in AUM model, starting with 1% on the first $10 million and declining at higher breakpoints. Rather than handing clients long planning printouts, her team uses RightCapital behind the scenes and distills the output into two custom pages, plus a recurring checklist that shows what has been addressed and what still needs attention. For her typical wealthy clients, the main planning value is not proving they will run out of money, but showing where they stand, what they can spend, and what issues should not fall through the cracks.

Multigenerational planning is introduced as early as the prospect meeting. Miller tells families she will meet their children wherever they are, then works with adult children separately, respecting privacy while still building continuity across generations. She says younger Gen Z clients are now often eager to engage, especially around 401(k)s, employee benefits, and saving habits, while older children are more likely to discuss inheritance, household complexity, and legacy issues.

On the investment side, the firm still runs a core equity portfolio of individual securities in-house, alongside some funds and ETFs. Miller argues that this approach keeps costs low and improves tax efficiency for top-tier clients through stock-level tax management, while goal-based reporting helps clients stay focused on long-term objectives instead of short-term market noise.