In our new Business Brief series, we take a closer look at a firm to find what makes it tick. We kick off with Bolton, Massachussets based Bolton Global Capital.
Ray Grenier, chief executive of Bolton Capital
What sets your business apart?
We stand out from the competition by the number of top international teams on our platform. Over the past five years, Bolton has recruited more top-tier international teams than any other independent firm and has high average revenue and assets under management per adviser.
At the same time, our principal benchmark for affiliation is the quality of the business rather than the level of production.
What’s your goal for the next 12 months?
Consolidate our leadership position as the top independent firm for international wealth management.
This space will continue to offer significant opportunities for growth over the coming years as the major international banks continue their retrenchment into home markets and limit accounts to ultra-high net worth clients.
Greater information transparency will also result in clients gravitating to lower cost platforms offered by US custodians as the higher fees charged by international banks for ‘private’ client services will be less sustainable.
What are your biggest concerns?
Cybersecurity is one the biggest challenges facing the industry today. If client data is compromised, regulatory (and business) consequences could be severe. As criminals become more and more sophisticated in accessing and compromising networks, we need to constantly enhance our ability to identify and prevent system breaches.
Antimoney laundering surveillance is also a top enforcement priority for US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Firms need to make a strong commitment to continuing education focused on methods for identifying and preventing money laundering.
