The private banking division of the Bank of Montreal is venturing far beyond financial services to offer its affluent clients a suite of “lifestyle services”—from laundry and grocery shopping to lining up emergency day care.
The new package, marketed as enCircle Exec, “takes financial and daily life chores off busy executives’ hands,” BMO Harris Private Banking said Wednesday.
Described as “a complementary service that assists with time-consuming daily life chores,” enCircle Exec will “meet the needs of 40-55-year-old executives, professionals, and business owners who are trying to both care for children and aging parents, and who simply don’t have the time to manage their personal day-to-day affairs as closely as they’d like to,” stated BMO Harris Private Banking vice-president Jean Blacklock.
In focus groups, Blacklock said, “We heard, clearly—from time-starved, busy executives, entrepreneurs, accountants and lawyers—that if we could bundle a package of services that incorporates the comprehensive services traditionally expected from a full-service private bank with access to a suite of non-banking lifestyle services, we’d have a solution that they would embrace.”
BMO Harris Private Banking, which focuses on high-net-worth households, offers a list of new ways it will free clients from “time-consuming distractions,” including:
- Personal services (laundry, groceries)
- Home (locate handyman or housecleaning services)
- Moving (recommending qualified, reputable real estate agent)
- Auto (new automobile search)
- Health & Fitness (research gyms/exercise facilities)
- Leisure/Entertainment (order concert/sports tickets)
- Family (locate emergency day care)
- Personal Travel (accommodation booking)
- Business (organize/research corporate gifts)
- Seasonal (gift wrapping)
It also can provide access to advice and coaching on personal issues such as relationship counselling.
