Abbot Downing has opened a new office in New York with the Wells Fargo family history team to work with ultra high net worth families.

Abbot Downing has opened a new ultra high net worth office in New York with the Wells Fargo family history team, aimed at clients seeking to understand and preserve their historical legacies.

Abbot Downing, which is part of Wells Fargo’s wealth, brokerage and retirement group, was formally launched two years ago yesterday on April 2, 2012, in a move involving the combination of two Wells Fargo businesses.

Today, Abbot Downing has $36.9 billion in client assets - a 30 per cent increase since the merger was announced in 2011. The firm said it is looking to expand in the New York Metro area and New England.

The New York office is led by Abbot Downing Northeast regional managing director, Paul Cummings, who oversees a team which provides wealth planning and family dynamics services; asset management; private banking; and trust, fiduciary and administrative services.

The Wells Fargo Family History Center is based in San Francisco, CA, with eight historians and associates, including two historians - Heidi Druckemiller and Nicole DeRise - in the new Madison Avenue office. The center provides clients with an archive of historical documents charting the geographic, social, economic, political, religious and cultural circumstances that shaped a family’s businesses, lives and reputation.

“Though New York City is not central to every family’s history, it is featured, to some degree, in a significant number of our projects since the city has been the epicenter of immigration to North America since the 1600s,” said Druckemiller.

“For our clients who have family roots in New York City, we are uniquely positioned to investigate their ancestors’ lives in the city – including where they lived, worked, and celebrated the milestones that led to the growth and evolution of their families,” she said.

“By working with families to understand their history, Abbot Downing helps them integrate their core values into wealth planning,” the firm said. “The Abbot Downing family dynamics team builds upon that work to help clients develop strategies for communication, education and philanthropic giving for the people and communities they care about most.”

In February, Wells Fargo named Dr Arne Boudewyn as head of family dynamics and education at Abbot Downing. Dr Boudewyn joined Wells Fargo in 2003 and has over 20 years of experience as a researcher, educator and consultant to UHNW families (see more here). 

“We’re seeing an increase in family dynamics and education service requests from clients, which confirms the importance of going beyond traditional financial services to help clients address the personal and social impacts of significant wealth,” Jack Ginter, senior managing director at Abbot Downing, said at the time.