Dave Lamere, CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, recently appeared in a television interview with New England Cable News on their “CEO Corner” program. In the interview Dave addresses our parent company’s Q2 earnings report; our outlook for the economy; the need or “for more regulation, but not more regulators”; and the future of the wealth management business. While the video is about 8 minutes in length and well worth watching, I know you are busy, so I’ll provide the executive summary:

1. Second Quarter Earnings: Down 46% from the second quarter of last year, but the comparables are very difficult. We had a very strong second quarter last year-  just before things began to fall apart in the third quarter- so the recent quarter looked weak as a comparison to last year. What is very important to note is that the firm’s financial strength, capital base, and liquidity have all improved over the last year.

2. Our economists expect to see growth resume in the 4th quarter, albeit from a very low starting point. This year’s 4th quarter will look great compared to last year’s, primarily because last year was so terrible. Kind of the inverse of our 2nd quarter earnings report.

3. BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s Family Office Services Group, which serves families with net worth exceeding $100 million, grew revenues by 20% over the past year as high net worth individuals sought safety and stability in their wealth management services provider.

4. Our Wealth Management Group enjoyed strong growth in market share. Dave specifically mentioned Atlanta as one of the strong growth markets. Another sign of health, he said, is that the firm continues to hire client-facing professionals across the U.S.

5. Asked what investors should do going forward, Dave’s answer was simple: “Know what you are investing in. Know your company. It’s back to basics.” A company’s reputation for integrity is what’s important to anxious investors, he said.

To view the interview, please follow the link below.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2009/07/27/BNY-Mellon-CEO-on-lessons-of/1248741368.html

Lastly, if you know of someone that is not completely satisfied with the wealth management services they are receiving, we would be thrilled to meet with them as part of their due diligence process.