Wealth-management executives list memorable requests from rich clients

Wealth managers told us a human touch when it comes to special requests helps lure and keep clients. That can help justify their steady fees at a time when big and small firms are racing to add head count to cater to the wealthy.

The pool of high- and ultrahigh-net-worth assets in the US has been pegged at more than $20 trillion. But competition is fierce, as big and small firms are vying to accommodate those clients' needs. And the next generation of wealth is growing up more accustomed to digital solutions.

Business Insider talked to five wealth-management insiders about the memorable client requests they've fielded over the years — from assisting in a personal-butler search to difficult situations like figuring out how to manage risks after an accident.

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High touch. A holistic approach. Full service. Wealth managers are quick to emphasize that what they can offer rich clients goes far beyond portfolio allocation and estate planning.

So what do those buzzwords mean in practice？ Insiders told us about being called on to find their client a butler, locate a cowboy, or prepare children for the day they have their own board seats.

High- and ultrahigh-net-worth households make up roughly $21.3 trillion, or some 44%, of the total investable assets in the US, according to the most recent data available from the research firm Cerulli Associates. (High net worth generally starts at $1 million, and the low end of ultrahigh is around $20 million to $30 million.)

Many we've talked to say the rise of robo-advisers directed at so-called mass-affluent investors doesn't threaten their core client base. But they are still increasingly aware of the need to show how humans can stand out, and a full-service approach can help justify their steady fees at a time when big and small firms are racing to add head count to cater to the wealthy.

Read more: UBS has a new group to help advisers working with the mega-rich as part of a plan to rake in $70 billion in assets over 3 years

The concierge approach can also help endear managers to their clients' kids and grandkids, who are set to inherit big money: Cerulli found that $68 trillion is set to transfer in the next 25 years, largely from baby boomers to digital-native heirs.

And a recent survey by Cerulli and the Investment & Wealth Institute, an industry association directed at investment professionals, showed many of the association's adviser members are changing their services to provide “holistic advice,” and they're “transforming” accordingly.

Read more: There's about to be a new wave of Silicon Valley millionaires. Here's 6 tips from top wealth advisers about how they should prepare.

Business Insider asked wealth-management executives about their most notable client requests. As advisers need to adhere to client-adviser privacy practices, they did not disclose clients' names in interviews.

Advisers call also be called upon to help wealthy families with weighty matters.

“So often, we're the first call when something traumatic happens,” Adrienne Penta, a Boston-based managing director at Brown Brothers Harriman, said about the connections that people working in wealth management can form with clients. “We also have a close relationship with their financial life and how they manage risk.”

Read more: Greg Fleming's Rockefeller Capital wants to grow to as many as 200 high-end advisers. The firm's private wealth head describes his ideal candidate.