The smells of money. Identifying “good” clients on the wealth management market
Type de matériel :
82
While economic sociologists have produced a large literature on arrangements for guiding buyers when they face uncertainty, the way professionals choose their clients has not been studied much. Focusing on wealth managers, this article shows that, to channel a potential clientele, they also have to identify and select clients. Looking closely at the criteria that wealth managers are attentive to in identifying such clients brings to light these professionals’ own representations of wealth. This empirical study proceeds by way of interviews with wealth managers and study of a journal focused on wealth management issues and aimed at a professional readership. We first analyze how wealth managers try to hide the market dimension of the relationship with clients to attract them. We focus then on two simple tools they use to identify the targeted clientele, showing that they are not sufficient to explain how clients circulate on markets. Last, we examine the race to attract a particular clientele—“new money”—presented as the most highly prized on wealth management markets.
Réseaux sociaux