Citigroup Inc.'s private banking unit plans to set up a social networking site exclusive to the kids of ultrarich Citi clients.
Citi has yet to come up with a domain name for the website, which will combine elements of functionality found on Citi, Facebook, Twitter and Financial Times' website, said Peter Gaudry, vice president and business development officer of New York-based Citi Private Bank.
"The goal is not to social network but to reinforce friendships they've built from other platforms," Gaudry told wealth managers at last week's Private Banking and Wealth Management Forum in Toronto, an event hosted by Insight Information.
The site will not be all about finances. For instance, children will be able to rate the best restaurant they've been to. "It builds an online tribe without acting like you're building one," Gaudry said.
Citi has been expanding the use of Web-based sites and tools to reach the next generation of wealthy clients, particularly the children of its private banking clients, who typically have at least $25 million to invest.
Retail brokerage firms in North America have long been holding events like summer boot camps for the children of affluent clientele, but social media is fairly new territory.
"Your future clients are already there whether you're there or not," Gaudry said.
Citi partnered with Tile Financial for last year's launch of spendgrowgive.com, a financial tool exclusive to the older kids of its private banking clients. "The point is not revenue generation," Gaudry said. "It's relationship creation."
