Diana Clement: Anything goes if you've got dough

Imagine calling your credit card provider to request a fix for your Dunkin' Donuts addiction? That's exactly what an American Express customer did and Amex "lifestyle executive" Linsey McKenzie bought the doughnuts in person and had them couriered from Auckland to Wellington.

But not just any credit card customer gets such a service. You need to be sufficiently affluent to qualify for "private banking" or "wealth management" services, which entitle you in many cases to your own private banker, special rates, and other pampering.

After all, if you've got enough money you won't want to queue in person or on the phone for your banking needs.

Just how affluent you need to be to qualify for special treatment depends on the bank or financial service provider in question. At the National Bank, for example, you need $400,000 of "investable" assets - excluding property - to get the Rolls-Royce treatment. At Westpac you need either $200,000 in annual household income, $1 million to invest, or significant borrowing with the bank. At American Express you only get a Platinum Charge Card, which comes with concierge services, by invitation if you've proved yourself to be a customer worth offering 24-hour concierge services and other benefits.

It's not just banks that are queuing up for your custom if you've got a fat wallet. Any financial provider that can earn 1 per cent annual commission on a portfolio is going to chase the $2 million ones before they deal with a piffling $20,000. If you do fit into the category of "new" or even "old affluent", your first port of call might be your accountant, lawyer, bank, financial planner or trust company. Their services often overlap. Accountants, for example, can provide insurance and investment services.

A good private bank or other wealth management service will recognise its limits and put customers on to experts where necessary. For example, says HSBC's New Zealand chief executive Norman Wilson, while customers get banking and investment services in-house, they're referred to third-party accountants if their tax issues are complex.

Likewise, says KPMG partner Angela Abernethy, accounting customers may be put together with each other to do deals, but when it comes to financial planning wealthy individuals would be recommended to third-party advisers.

"High net worth" individuals as they're known in the business, may also have complex trust needs, enduring powers of attorney or need will-writing services. The Public Trust's national manager of trustee services, Don Mather, says his company alone manages more than 400 charitable trusts for philanthropic clients.

There may be no "secret products" accessed by the wealthy that the rest of us don't know about. But there are certainly discounts to be had the more you have to invest.

Binu Paul, general manager of NZX subsidiary Fundsource Research, says investors with sums of $100,000 or more to invest in a lump sum may be able to invest directly in wholesale funds with lower fees than the retail investment funds offered to Joe Public.

In many cases it's possible to have up front fees discounted to nothing, with the financial service provider or bank happy to negotiate their annual management charges. Paul says it's up to the individual client to strike deals with financial planners, private banks, trustee companies, and other providers who operate in an increasingly competitive market.

The Catch 22 here is that if you've made your millions setting up a lawn-mowing franchise, or restaurant chain, you might not know what the going rate is for annual management fees on discretionary portfolios or spreads on investments. It's likely, however, that if you've made your money in business you will have an accountant and lawyer able to advise.

In New Zealand we're a relatively poor lot with a greater percentage of our assets in property than other English-speaking countries. HSBC's Wilson says about 100,000 of 4 million Kiwis living in the country would be sufficiently wealthy to become private banking clients. The proportion is higher in Australia and higher again in countries such as Singapore, where he has worked in the past. Here the threshold is often around $400,000 whereas in North America and other countries you need assets in the millions of US dollars to become a private banking client.

Nonetheless there are Kiwi customers with $25 million or more to invest, says Richard Jarrett, head of private banking at Westpac.

Some with that level of wealth prefer to deal direct with overseas private bankers ranging from the Queen's banker Coutts & Co in London to other private banking services such as Citibank. Wilson says he knows of locals who bank with his company's US and UK private banking arms. Often they have lived overseas and have left investments offshore.

For some people, the elitism of having a private bank is important. Others relish the private service. "When you call, you don't go through to a call centre," one customer said. "The phone is answered within five seconds and you are put through to someone you have known for years."

When that customer was on business in New York, the bank sorted out a plumbing problem with his insurers. "Could you imagine calling a regular bank and saying: 'I've got a leaking pipe at home, can you fix it?"'

In reality even the banks that provide them admit that concierge services are a bit of a gimmick. What the rich and famous want, says Wilson, is personal service and discretion. They don't want to queue at the local branch to see a teller or be kept on hold at a call centre. Nor do they want their financial affairs being discussed down at the pub by an indiscreet bank employee.

Another advantage of exclusive services is that your financial provider may be able to help you network with others. HSBC, for example, holds in-house events for its wealthy clients where they can mix and mingle and KPMG brokers business deals between wealthy clients.

Going private

How to decide if you need a private banker
* Calculate your net worth and see if you qualify.
* Decide if you want a one-stop shop for all your financial needs. If the answer is no then consider contacting a stockbroker, financial planner or even running your own portfolio.
* Before signing up look carefully at the charges and decide if they are money well spent or if they will eat into your capital.
* Don't choose a wealth manager simply for the exclusivity or fancy chequebook. You may live to regret such a decision.

What you get

Wealth management services offer:
* A private banker
* Flexible terms
* Good personalised investment services
* Wholesale rates