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Scott Ford, president of wealth management for U.S. Bank

Practice Management > Building Your Business > Leadership

U.S. Bank Aims for 1 Million Wealth Management Clients

By John Manganaro

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What You Need to Know

  • Scott Ford, the new president of wealth management for U.S. Bank, says his goal is to double the firm’s wealth management business.
  • Clients across the wealth spectrum continue to fear the possibility of a recession and weaker long-term growth.
  • Ford says success will come by helping advisors solve challenges that cut across traditional banking services, investment management, insurance and retirement planning.

Though he has been in his current role at U.S. Bank for less than two months, Scott Ford, the firm’s recently appointed president of wealth management, is not shy about where he hopes to take the organization in the years ahead.

“Getting to 1 million wealth management clients is our goal, and we are aiming to do that over the next three to five years,” Ford tells ThinkAdvisor. “Today we serve 13 million core households across the organization, and we want to serve the needs of many more of these households with our growing wealth management capabilities.”

According to Ford, there are many reasons for optimism with this ambitious goal, which would essentially represent a doubling of the wealth management business. Put simply, American consumers across the wealth spectrum need more advice to deal with the increasing complexity of their financial lives.

Younger Americans in their early and prime earning years need support with their growth goals, Ford explains, while older Americans approaching and entering retirement face their own set of wealth protection challenges. Then there are the needs of the high- and ultra-high net worth client segments, who face big questions about monetizing closely held businesses and mitigating taxes through effective estate planning and charitable giving.

Ford says his other strategic priorities for the years ahead are all focused on this central goal of deepening the organization’s connections to new and existing clients, and they include sourcing and empowering top talent, helping to improve diversity in both the firm’s professionals and its client base, and embracing the right technology solutions without losing the all-important human touch.

“It’s an exciting time to be taking on leadership of this great organization,” Ford says. “Frankly, we have more clients that need our help and advice than we have people to provide that advice. It’s a good problem to have, but we are pushing hard to get the staff in place and to embrace the right tech.”

Talent Acquisition Trends

Before becoming president, Ford led U.S. Bank’s affluent wealth management business, guiding a team of more than 1,400 bankers, associates and U.S. Bancorp financial advisors.

His role has now expanded to oversee a team of 3,200 across all of U.S. Bank’s wealth businesses, including affluent wealth management, U.S. Bancorp investments, private wealth management and the Ascent Private Capital Management group.

“I can tell you from this and prior experience that talent acquisition is a challenge for this entire industry,” Ford said. “I actually serve on the board of the Bank Insurance and Securities Association, and we are talking about this all the time.”

As Ford points out, there is a shrinking pool of senior, established talent in the advisor business, thanks to the pace of retirement and the older average age of advisors in general.

“It’s a key challenge,” Ford says. “For us, we are building our strategy around two prongs. Yes, we will continue the traditional route of recruiting top advisors and private bankers, but we also need to home-grow our own talent from that entry and mid-management level to the senior leadership level.”

Ford says addressing the industry’s diversity shortcomings is a key part of this effort, because firms that don’t evolve alongside the changing fabric of American society risk getting left behind by the next generation of clients.

While more than 50% of the population is female, “women only comprise 30% of the advisor population. That’s a problem,” Ford said. “With respect to racial representation, it’s about 15% of the U.S. population that is African American, but they are only 5% of the advisor population. I believe we have to move the needle by hiring and training people, not just by recruiting.”

Client Concerns

As Ford explains, U.S. Bank takes a segmented approach to the wealth management business, beginning with the branch advisors and bankers who serve clients with $250,000 to $3 million in net worth through a team-based approach.

The private wealth management group, in turn, addresses the needs of those with $3 million to $75 million, with the Ascent Private Capital Management team managing the needs of ultra-wealthy clients who require family-office type services.

“So, as you can imagine, I have the privilege of running a really rich, dynamic business across the wealth spectrum,” Ford says.

While there are some key differences among the client segments, Ford says, there is also a significant degree of similarity with respect to the top risks and concerns voiced by clients.

“What’s top of mind for our clients right now? I would say that, number one on the list is the risk of recession and what that means for them,” Ford says. “Especially for the mass affluent, we are hearing a lot of questions about trying to tackle the inflation problem. Many in this segment are still working and trying to save for retirement, and they express a lot of concern about housing prices, as well.”

When one moves higher up the wealth spectrum, Ford says, questions tend to morph and involve growing and protecting wealth across multiple generations. While inflation and recession risks matter to this group, too, the most pressing conversations have to do with taking advantage of estate planning opportunities and ensuring tax efficiency in legacy giving efforts.

“We all know that the tax cuts from 2017 are on track to sunset in 2026, including big changes to the estate planning framework,” Ford observes. “This uncertainty is making it harder for people who have accumulated significant wealth. How do you plan and manage around that uncertainty? It’s an environment where there is a lot of anxiety.”

Achieving Growth Goals

With respect to the goal of reaching 1 million wealth management clients in the years ahead, Ford says he is highly optimistic, noting the organization’s scale will allow for ongoing investment in key middle- and back-office technologies.

He says it is also a clear advantage to be able to draw on an existing client base of some 13 million households.

“The bank already has the customer base,” Ford says. “What we want to do is recruit more of these clients into the wealth management channel, because we have a lot that we can offer them, especially as their wealth grows and their financial lives become more complex.”

Reflecting on what it takes to stand out in the advisory marketplace today, Ford echoes the comments of other industry leaders who argue a more holistic approach to service clients is essential — cutting across traditional banking services, investment management, insurance and retirement planning.

“I’ve been around long enough to say that, when I started in this business, you were pretty much just managing money and trying to get your best stock ideas to clients,” Ford recalls. “Today, things are so different. Today, it’s all about managing holistic relationships.”

Ford says he spends a lot of time thinking and talking about the term “commoditization” and weighing where the firm’s advisors can go above and beyond while serving clients, without making the process of client service prohibitively onerous.

“For an organization like U.S. Bank, addressing this challenge means we need a compelling, integrated service that we can deliver in a way that our clients really appreciate,” Ford says. “Otherwise, competing in this business will become a race to the bottom.”

Pictured: Scott Ford

John Manganaro

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