Expanding into the UHNW Market After Three Decades in Wealth Management

Key Takeaways

• After nearly 30 years in wealth management, Patrick R. Buchanan earned CIMA^® and CPWA^® to build a foundation for expanding into the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) market.
• An Institute session on a virtual family office model and UHNW client communication helped him convert a $2-million client relationship into a $30-million relationship, with $10 million to $15 million more expected.
• The conversion strengthened his standing with the client’s network of estate attorneys, CPAs, and planning specialists — a referral pathway now feeding his UHNW pipeline. 

Patrick R. Buchanan spent nearly three decades building a wealth management practice before deciding, in 2025, that he needed a new challenge. He earned both the CIMA^® and CPWA^® certifications from Investments & Wealth Institute, then applied what he learned in the Institute’s session on earning the loyalty of $25-million-plus clients to his own book of business. The result: he converted a long-standing $2-million relationship into a $30-million relationship, with another $10 million to $15 million expected in the months ahead.

Buchanan, a managing director for Private Wealth Management at Heathrow, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, credits the shift to a virtual family office model and a sharper way of communicating that value to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) prospects. The single conversion also opened doors with the client’s network of business attorneys, CPAs, and estate planning specialists — relationships he’s now using to build a referral pipeline into the UHNW market.