Can we start out with a history and overview of Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.?
Mr. Vaill: The company started in 1987 as a private bank in the City of Boston, and a holding company was formed shortly thereafter. But the concept expanded to include a broader wealth management array of services and products in the early 1990s, and today has grown to include six operating companies in two different states, focusing principally on the high net worth market, with an even higher sub-specialty in the newly affluent markets. We have three major core competencies. The first is financial planning, the second is private banking, and the third is investment management in its variety of styles and flavors. TWST: Who do you compete with in this market space? Mr. Vaill: As you know, it’s a very, very attractive market space, with the growth statistics being in excess of 15% a year in the last decade, and something in excess of that going forward. So everybody in the financial services industry is into this business, from Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs all the way down to the l
