SKY Investment Group Founder Robert Bingham on Partnering with Aspen Standard Wealth
Bob Bingham made a promise to his clients, and he intends to keep it. That promise is to position his firm, SKY Investment Group, to be at their side to help guide the stewardship of their families’ wealth across current and future generations. Given his 40 years of service to his client families, the last 20 years as founder and president of SKY, Bob knows he will not always personally be there to fulfill that promise. That said, he fully intends for his team to carry on that legacy. And that’s why he recently made the decision to partner with Aspen Standard Wealth, which serves as a permanent home and long-term partner for successful RIAs.
We recently caught up with Bob to learn more about why he decided to partner with Aspen and what he believes is critical for the long-term success of firms like SKY.
Bob, please tell us more about why you chose to partner with Aspen and what specifically you were looking for.
It all starts with our clients, who are typically very successful multi-generational families who through hard work and discipline have built considerable wealth. They depend on us to engage with the different generations of their families to ensure the successful transition and stewardship of their wealth. That continuity is critical. They are very focused on ensuring that the upcoming generations are equipped to be responsible stewards of the family’s financial resources. To do that successfully, you need to have a durable platform and stable team of advisors to manage those relationships for the long term. Aspen was founded to be a permanent home for the RIAs they partner with. That was everything for us, and it’s why Aspen was ultimately the only firm we wanted to partner with.
Attracting and retaining top talent is a key priority for many RIA leaders, as is succession planning. How did those needs factor into your decision to partner with Aspen?
We have an incredibly talented team who love what they do, but like any team, they will eventually need to be led by the next generation of leadership. That being the case, we needed to partner with a firm that has the right demographic of team members and depth and mix of experiences to meet the needs of the rising generations of our clients. Aspen brings that diversity of talent and expertise to the table and complements our in-house team. It’s exactly what we were looking for and gives us enormous confidence in Aspen as a stable, dependable partner for our clients and team members for many years to come. I can’t stress how important that long-term orientation is and how glad I am we found it in Aspen.
Aspen positions itself as permanent partner for successful RIAs. What does that mean to you, and how important was it to you to find a partner that respects your legacy and brand?
Our clients are with us because they expect us to execute on our various commitments to them: to be there for them for the long run; to build stable relationships with their family members; to engage with the “next gen” in an educational capacity. That’s our legacy – delivering on these promises. They entrust us with their financial resources, as well as their family relationships and promoting harmony across generations. That’s no small thing, and it’s all based on trust. We simply could not risk the trust that we’ve worked so hard to build. It was critical to find a partner that understands the importance of that trust and is committed to protecting it. We’ve found that in Aspen.
The ability to scale and offer the breadth and depth of services that wealth management clients today expect and deserve is a key concern for many RIA leaders. How will partnering with Aspen enable SKY to continue to meet client expectations?
Scale matters. Regulators increasingly expect smaller firms to act and behave like larger firms. From a technology perspective, scale means having the ability to make sure client assets are appropriately invested and kept safe. Plus, with scale comes the ability to share best practices and leverage a broader range of ideas and perspectives among our colleagues in our sister firms. That diversity of thought and depth of experience benefits us as wealth and investment managers, which accrues to our clients. In the end, scale is both exciting and critically important. Aspen, and the other RIAs it has partnered with, provide that scale, which is exactly what firms like ours need to grow long into the future. I don’t see any limit in our ability to do that knowing the talent and resources that Aspen brings to the table.
What are your goals for the future, and how do you envision Aspen helping you reach those goals?
It all goes back to our client families and our guiding principles. We are doubling down on our commitment to being here for these multi-generational families for decades to come. We will keep evolving to meet our client families’ needs, and Aspen will enable us to do that at a very deep level. That’s exciting. It feels so good to know that we’ve developed the team and infrastructure to deliver on our legacy long into the future.
