KORE Private Wealth Management

“As we were deciding whether to build an independent firm, we went through every facet of our business and asked ourselves this question: Could we deliver a wealth advisory offering that was better and more cost effective for our clients? The answer was ‘yes.’”

Ben Sax, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

KORE’s five founding partners had bright futures at powerful brokerage firms—career-building positions many would envy. The work they did was challenging and rewarding, but they found that the complicated issues their clients needed help with were more difficult to resolve at a big firm. 

They wanted to build a firm that could be nimble while being more connected—a strong, sharp team that could do more of what their clients were asking without having to ask for exceptions. They wanted to work with character while pushing past traditional, cookie-cutter practices. They believed they could hold themselves to the highest standards of integrity while limiting embedded costs to their clients. They sought the challenges and opportunities that accompany the $50M clients they were targeting. 

Simply put, they wanted to move on and move up.

“It was a firestorm of assets. It was a blur.”

Eric Bodner, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

Leaving the firm was difficult, to say the least. Here they were, leaving a global industry leader and asking colleagues from other successful firms—like Chief Compliance/Chief Operating Officer (CCO/COO) Leigh Pravda and Private Wealth Advisor, Steven Smith—to do the same. It was like Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” But in this case, they couldn’t call their clients, so it was more like “If we build it, we hoped the clients would come.” They took a gamble and put their livelihoods on the line. 

Soon after, the phone started to ring. All those clients and all those assets started to move over. As Sax stated, “It took five months, but it felt like five years.” 

Eventually, things stabilized, they got their tech stack in order, and they were able to do for clients the types of interesting investments that, before, were out of reach.

“We want to be different from every other wealth management firm. We want to do what’s best, and we won’t sacrifice tools or tech.”

Steven Smith, VP/Private Wealth Advisor

KORE was built to be cutting-edge and to deliver a modern approach to client service and financial planning. It was designed to more deeply involve each client and every member of that client’s financial team. It goes beyond selling stocks and bonds, beyond filling out forms and going away—KORE is an all-encompassing, far-reaching, in-depth part of each client’s financial family. 

To get there, KORE needed a partner of its own.

“Addepar allows us to do two things: Give our clients a highly customizable way to view all of their investments and performance, and give us an excellent way to track the various components of our business.”

Ben Sax, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

KORE chose Addepar not only for its offerings but for its flexibility. The firm wanted a portfolio-reporting solution responsive enough to put together the custom views clients want to see—views that make more sense and are more meaningful to the viewer. 

Addepar responded in a substantive way, stepping up to KORE’s unique requirements and ultimately allowing the firm to deliver an unparalleled client experience.

“Addepar stays relevant to their clients and keeps us relevant to ours. They are an excellent and responsive partner.”

Eric Bodner, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

As the most customizable reporting tool in the industry, Addepar helps KORE set itself apart while offering its clients three key benefits. 

Benefit 1: A strong, simple, sleek tool to get clients and prospects involved with their investments while giving KORE another way to connect. 

“Clients are getting views they can’t get with anyone else…and that opens up doors for more conversations.”

Leigh Pravda, COO/CCO

Benefit 2: A level of flexibility that gives clients exactly what they’re looking for. 

“We can show clients anything they want to see, exactly how they want to see it. This not only includes financial and market assets and liabilities, but exotic car collections, artwork and ownership in privately held companies”

Steven Smith, VP/Private Wealth Advisor

Benefit 3: A seamless way to consolidate everything, giving clients one access point for every element of their financial picture. 

“Clients get better connectivity to their investments and a better idea of their balance sheet. It helps them understand all of the moving parts, so they can make better decisions, right alongside us.”

Eric Bodner, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

Because clients get a better view of their balance sheet, they have a better understanding of where their money is and how it’s performing. They can see it all: Addepar affords them a wealth of knowledge, right at their fingertips, so they can be comfortable that they’re in the know.     

“Clients can see what’s in their portfolio, what it looks like and the goals they are trying to accomplish. Then they can slice and dice that data however they want.”

Steven Smith, VP/Private Wealth Advisor

Clients can then divvy up this data any way they like—inside and outside their KORE accounts—sorting by performance, asset class, balance sheet, income forecasts and so on. It is a usable, functional tool for any client, helping them become an informed contributor to their investment team. 

“We can work on more substantive projects for our clients, because we don’t have to answer, ‘How’s my money doing?’ They can see it all on Addepar.”

Ben Sax, Partner/Private Wealth Advisor

Clients know what their investments are up to, freeing KORE to focus on the bigger picture. Like bringing the entire wealth management team together. 

Not just the KORE team, either, because they’re not a client’s only advisor. Accountants, lawyers, insurance specialists, etc., each receives customized information from Addepar, so they can each do their best work for the client. 

As Pravda puts it, “You get to feed in assets that aren’t only KORE assets, so you’re creating a complete picture for the entire team.” 

That’s a view any client would value, and that’s precisely how KORE continues to grow.