Research from McKinsey & Company points to historic wealth shifts underway with important implications for impact investors and the underserved communities they support.
By 2030, U.S. women are expected to control much of the $30 trillion in Baby Boomer financial assets, recasting who makes wealth decisions and how those decisions are made. As this wealth changes hands, many women are actively seeking advisory relationships that reflect their goals and lived realities, switching providers at striking rates when they don’t feel understood. At the same time, interest in investing for positive social or environmental outcomes is mainstream among U.S. investors with recent research showing 84% of U.S. investors are interested in sustainable investing and more than half say they would choose an advisor based on sustainability offerings.
Against this backdrop, Bespoke Group is helping to meet a growing demand for financial guidance that aligns wealth with purpose, offering an approach designed to resonate with investors and the values shaping this new era of wealth. CNote had a chance to connect with Ali Marchand, Bespoke Group’s Senior Relationship Manager, to dig into their novel approach.
A Different Starting Point
When most wealth management firms sit down with a new client, the conversation starts with numbers: assets under management, risk tolerance, target returns. But at Bespoke Group, the first question is different. They want to know: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
This unusual approach stems from the firm’s equally unusual origins. Founded by estate planning attorneys rather than traditional asset managers, Bespoke Group has built its practice on a fundamental belief that who clients are matters more than what they own. And increasingly, that philosophy is leading clients toward impact investments that align their values with their wealth including partnerships with mission-driven platforms like CNote.
Most asset managers start with what to invest in: where the money should go, which stocks to buy, how to construct a portfolio. Bespoke takes several steps back. Before discussing asset allocation or risk profiles, they explore legacy goals, family dynamics, and personal values. Do clients want to include their children in investment discussions? Are they planning for multigenerational wealth transfer? What change do they want to see in the world?
And finally, they arrive at the “what,” the actual investments themselves. By this point, everything discussed earlier naturally informs the investment choices. What motivates clients in their daily lives becomes inseparable from how their capital is deployed.
Expanding the Definition of Impact
This client-first approach has led Bespoke to a provocative stance on impact investing: the term itself is too narrow. The firm believes every investment has an impact, it just depends on perspective and whether a client is focused on that particular impact. For Bespoke, impact investing shouldn’t be reduced to ESG scoring systems and rejects a checklist approach. Rather than scoring investments on predetermined metrics, Bespoke works to understand each client’s unique definition of impact. Whether that definition is supporting their local community through philanthropy, backing women entrepreneurs, or ensuring family wealth can sustain multiple generations of giving.
The firm has observed that impact often shows up differently than the industry expects. While environmental concerns dominate much of the ESG conversation, many Bespoke clients focus elsewhere. Their passions might center on economic opportunity, education access, healthcare innovation, or community development. By starting with a narrow definition of impact, advisors risk excluding vast numbers of people from a conversation they’d otherwise want to join. Those people do care about impact, just not necessarily in the ways conventional frameworks recognize.
The Power of Collaboration
Bespoke’s client-centered philosophy extends to how they work with other professionals. Rather than positioning themselves as the sole source of financial wisdom, they explicitly embrace collaboration. The firm actively works to meet clients where they are, with the partners they already have. Bespoke positions itself as one piece of a larger puzzle, a crucial piece, but not the only piece that matters.
This collaborative approach is how Bespoke discovered CNote. One of their clients was a woman deeply passionate about impact investing, particularly supporting underserved women entrepreneurs and amplifying their voices in communities. The client had already engaged an impact advisor to ensure her values were genuinely reflected in her portfolio. That impact advisor introduced Bespoke to CNote’s Wisdom Fund, and the firms began collaborating on the client’s behalf. This willingness to work across professional boundaries reflects Bespoke’s fundamental belief that serving clients well means building teams, not silos.
Why CNote: Meeting Multiple Needs
The Wisdom Fund resonated with Bespoke and their client on several levels. First, there was clear mission alignment. The client’s passion for supporting underprivileged women mapped directly to CNote’s focus on getting capital into the hands of women entrepreneurs in underserved communities and addressing a persistent gap in the financial system.
But mission alignment wasn’t the only factor. The investment also needed to work financially and this is where CNote’s structure proved particularly valuable. CNote offered something different: a bridge between high-impact mission focus and practical financial considerations. The platform provided meaningful income generation, far greater liquidity than venture capital, and more stability than typical startup investing. For Bespoke’s team, this combination of liquid, impactful, and income-producing characteristics made the difference.
Looking Forward: Advice for Other Advisors
As more advisors encounter clients interested in impact investing, Bespoke’s experience offers valuable lessons. The firm’s advice is straightforward but profound: be creative, embrace collaboration, and go deep with clients.
- Start with the Why: Impact objectives are deeply personal. Rather than assuming impact investing is only about ESG metrics, advisors should focus on what truly drives their clients’ decisions.
- Embrace Collaboration: The future of wealth management is not about single-entity expertise but partnerships. Working with impact advisors, estate planners, and mission-driven partners results in stronger, more effective investment strategies.
- Reject the Myth of Trade-Offs: The belief that impact investing requires sacrificing returns is outdated. The right financial solutions can deliver measurable social benefits alongside strong financial performance.
Through their partnership with CNote and their commitment to truly understanding client motivations, Bespoke Group is demonstrating that impact investing doesn’t require sacrificing financial pragmatism and that the most powerful portfolios start not with assets, but with understanding the human beings behind them.
Ali Marchand is a Senior Relationship Manager at Bespoke Group, a multi-family office built for modern wealth owners, families, and founders alike. She supports clients seeking thoughtful asset protection in an increasingly global landscape and leads Bespoke’s impact team. Ali provides timely insights into the evolving world of sustainable and values-based investing and helps clients structure portfolios that reflect their purpose, lifestyle, and long-term goals.
Based in Zurich, which happens to be an excellent jurisdiction for owning your wealth, Ali believes that wealth is an extension of the people behind it and should be used intentionally to shape the life and world they want to build.
