How to tap into the next generation of ultra-wealthy investors: Finance 101 and parties

Why go to business school if you can get in to young investor programs hosted by UBS, Citi Private Bank, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse?

There is a catch: the banks’ young investor programs–sometimes called Next Gen programs–are only open to ultra-wealthy youth who will one day be at the helm of their vast family fortunes, aka the banks’ best clients, as the South China Morning Post reports.

The median age of attendees is 27, though the age range spans from about 21 to 34. The itinerary of the often multi-day events features age-appropriate activities such as rosé tasting, “Shark Tank”-like sessions where entrepreneurs pitch ventures to the young heirs, personal branding sessions, and lectures from prominent finance professors. In New York, Morgan Stanley even took participants bowling at Manhattan’s Lucky Strike.

“We want young ones to understand that, as a scion of a wealthy family with a business legacy, you have responsibilities,” said the inexplicably-named Money K., head of Citi’s Next Gen programs in Singapore, to the Post. “Eventually you will inherit, so how should you think about it, and what are the rules on estate planning in different jurisdictions around the world?” [SCMP]—Erin Hudson