Managing your wealth: banks, accounting firms offer integrated services.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: FINANCIAL SERVICES

OPTIONS FOR THOSE wanting to protect and grow their wealth keep getting richer in Indiana. Major accounting firms and banks have added wealth-management services to meet the needs of Baby Boomers nearing retirement.

"As business owners look for a successor or to sell the business, the need for wealth-management services will be important," says Carrie Ellspermann, president of wealth management at Old National Bank, Evansville. "I don't mean 20 to 30 years from now, I mean five to seven years. The need for a high-level of expertise in wealth management will continue to be there. We're continuing to plan to make sure we meet those needs."

Old National's resources include investment management, estate and financial planning, high-end banking products, trusts and insurance. Looking after the wealth-management needs of customers means ongoing coordination with outside CPAs and attorneys, she says. "It's a fundamental part of what we do. We're the people putting things together."

Crowe Wealth Management has more than $500 million in funds under advisement after only three years in business. Part of Crowe Group, the holding company of Indianapolis-based accounting firm Crowe Chizek and Co., it was created as a joint venture with Oxford Financial Group, an Indianapolis financial advisory firm.

It's less a matter of the number of 0s a client has than the complexity of the relationship that's important, says Bob Bates, client services advisor, Crowe Wealth Management. Even so, he says the firm's "sweet spot" of client net worth is $5 million to $50 million. "They say, 'Bring order out of this complexity for me.'" Some of them have multiple generations involved and will have to be met with individually and as a group.

"The real value the wealth management-area can bring is sitting on the same side of the table with the client," says Bates. After listening to the client's goals and objectives, then analyzing the best course of action, the wealth manager can both write the prescription and help fill it, he says. He compares his role to that of a ringmaster, coordinating efforts with CPAs, attorneys and others. "People want to have confidence and know that things are getting implemented."

BKD Wealth Advisors, with an office in Indianapolis, is also tied to an accounting firm, a subsidiary of BKD LLE "We believe very much in a comprehensive planning approach," says William R. Owen Jr., senior account manager, who is both a CPA and a CFA. A comprehensive...