Is there any difference between the private banking divisions of different banks (Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, etc.) if your firm has a relationship with several? Can't seem to find any data on this besides the typical marketing flyers.
Generally, is it a good idea to bank with and obtain mortgage through these private banks? From what I can gather, it seems like the private banking industry is targeting ultra wealthy folks (10M+ liquid net worth), which I certainly do not fit in with. But there's also regular associates at my firm that put all their money into managed accounts with them.. so I don't know what to think overall. I know most of these banks offer a discounted rates on the management fee, but I can't see that as benefit when I could get a 0.03% expense ratio buying ETF's myself...
Would appreciate any guidance or opinions, thank you!
Private Banks Forum
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polareagle
- Posts: 336
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:04 pm
Re: Private Banks
*Do* take advantage of whatever relationships your firm has to get discounted mortgage rates. (Assuming they're competitive. I got ~1.5% below the market rate w/ 15% down and no PMI from a private bank, which was huge.)
*Don't* put any of your other money with them. Check out the personal finance thread, but in general, stick to no load index funds and let them ride. (You can open a checking account with them and send your direct deposit there initially, if that matters to them. But don't invest with them.)
You need to "sign up" with the private bank to get the mortgage rates, and you'll get the hard sell to move your money, but at least for me, there was no need to move the money to get the mortgage discount. (This is different from truly wealthy people who don't have the law firm connect--they have to move some amount of money in order to get the discounted rate.)
*Don't* put any of your other money with them. Check out the personal finance thread, but in general, stick to no load index funds and let them ride. (You can open a checking account with them and send your direct deposit there initially, if that matters to them. But don't invest with them.)
You need to "sign up" with the private bank to get the mortgage rates, and you'll get the hard sell to move your money, but at least for me, there was no need to move the money to get the mortgage discount. (This is different from truly wealthy people who don't have the law firm connect--they have to move some amount of money in order to get the discounted rate.)
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Yardbird
- Posts: 1156
- Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:45 pm
Re: Private Banks
Citi allowed access to private client mortgage rates without having to have a bank account with them. Just before COVID hit, I got a juicer mortgage rate from them and they even matched a decrease in rates. That happened between when I signed (January 2020) and when rates decreased (March 2020) before my closing (April 2020).polareagle wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:56 pm*Do* take advantage of whatever relationships your firm has to get discounted mortgage rates. (Assuming they're competitive. I got ~1.5% below the market rate w/ 15% down and no PMI from a private bank, which was huge.)
*Don't* put any of your other money with them. Check out the personal finance thread, but in general, stick to no load index funds and let them ride. (You can open a checking account with them and send your direct deposit there initially, if that matters to them. But don't invest with them.)
You need to "sign up" with the private bank to get the mortgage rates, and you'll get the hard sell to move your money, but at least for me, there was no need to move the money to get the mortgage discount. (This is different from truly wealthy people who don't have the law firm connect--they have to move some amount of money in order to get the discounted rate.)
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Anonymous User
- Posts: 432632
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: Private Banks
I've used Citi's private bank and now currently use JPM. At Citi, I used them only for the mortgage discount (I got a jumbo loan at 2.75% which was well below market for a jumbo at the time, and no PMI with $10.01% down).
At JPM, they pitched me more on moving money over. I'm a sr associate and got the sense that they prefer to work with partners more than associates because associates aren't very valuable from a commission perspective (unless you make partner). They have managed accounts you can use, but those cost a fee. They were pretty upfront that the fee won't make sense unless you have a bare minimum of $1m but more likely $2m+ to invest, so instead they basically setup a brokerage account for me where I just invest monthly in index funds with no fee. I do feel like the personal service is better at JPM than it was at Citi.
But also at JPM you get access to whatever their top tier credit card is called now, which is basically like the Chase Sapphire card, but JPM branded and you can get United Club access, which is nice I guess if you fly United but probably not valuable enough to be a reason to bank with them.
At JPM, they pitched me more on moving money over. I'm a sr associate and got the sense that they prefer to work with partners more than associates because associates aren't very valuable from a commission perspective (unless you make partner). They have managed accounts you can use, but those cost a fee. They were pretty upfront that the fee won't make sense unless you have a bare minimum of $1m but more likely $2m+ to invest, so instead they basically setup a brokerage account for me where I just invest monthly in index funds with no fee. I do feel like the personal service is better at JPM than it was at Citi.
But also at JPM you get access to whatever their top tier credit card is called now, which is basically like the Chase Sapphire card, but JPM branded and you can get United Club access, which is nice I guess if you fly United but probably not valuable enough to be a reason to bank with them.
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SOSBigLaw
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:23 pm
Re: Private Banks
Previous poster, how did you get introduced to / pitched by JPM?
Thought it was just for super HNW individuals. I'm a newly promoted partner and would be interested.
Thought it was just for super HNW individuals. I'm a newly promoted partner and would be interested.
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Anonymous User
- Posts: 432632
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: Private Banks
I'm the previous poster. Our firm has a relationship with JPM so they have a special program for lawyers (that does not by any means require their typical ~$10m of investable assets), so I just reached out to the contact. The private bank has a "law firm" group that is dedicated to servicing law firm clients (i.e., typically partners). If your firm has a relationship it should be on your intranet I would think with who the contact is.
