Ben Stern

Spear’s Review

Ben Stern’s transition from senior roles at Barclays’ blue-chip wealth management arm to Lincoln Private Investment Office’s boutique offering is a reflection of a wider story. Boutique firms without external shareholders are becoming popular, he says – a niche business model that fills the demand space created by HNWs’ increasing awareness of ‘some of the conflicts that exist’ in the financial services world.

The firm’s ‘independence and alignment’ is evidenced by the ‘shareholders of the firm all being clients themselves’. 

‘This is something that attracts them to us,’ Stern says, also highlighting that more clients are recognising the importance of advisers whose interests align with their own. ‘Everyone at Lincoln invests all their own liquid wealth in the same portfolios and investments they manage for their clients.’