Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is Peers a not-for-profit group, or are you planning to turn commercial and charge fees for "Premium membership" or some other reason in the future?
A. Peers is not-for-profit. There is no commercial game plan.  The founder created two other groups, one in Belgium in the 1990's and one in the Philippines more recently. They were both non-profit.

Q. I assume you have expenses, who pays for them?
A. Peers operates on a low cost basis. Some expenses are unavoidable, such as office, advertising, mailing, staff and catering. Peers was initially funded through a loan from a trust related to the founder. Without losing its independence, Peers encourages corporate sponsorships to defray expenses, but does not seek income from them, and in particular does not seek anything which could be regarded as commission.  On occasions, members are asked to contribute to catering costs for individual meetings they attend.
 
Q. If Peers ever manages a financial surplus, what are you going to do with the money?
A. Expand member services.

Q. If Peers is a not-for profit group, what is in it for the founder?
A. Organizing a group like this is a useful hobby. Wealth management is a major interest of the founder.  His personal goal is to manage wealth well, but at the same time organize, delegate and outsource as much as possible to allow time for other pursuits. Previous experience has shown that a lot of advantages can be better developed in a group like Peers than individually.
 
Q. How can I be sure that Peers will not sell my membership data to some other organisation that will commercially exploit the data?
A. It is a firm policy not to release individual membership details. Frankly there is little interest. Why? Wealth Monitor, a subsidiary of the Financial Times, gathers data about every one they can find in Europe and the USA who had a liquidity event, ie acquired money by sale of a business or similar,  in the preceding few years. That data gets sold.  It contains the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of thousands of people for only a few thousand pounds. Who would pay anything for a few dozen addresses? 

Q. Why would I want to talk about my money?
A. You do not have to.  The basic topic is not your money, but wealth management in general.

Q.  Do you endorse or recommend service providers who may speak to or provide information for Peers members?
A.  Peers attempts to secure providers who have something interesting to say, but Peers does not endorse or recommend providers.  It is up to individual members to decide if and how to make any arrangements with service providers.

Q. Are all Peers members sophisticated investors?
A. We have ex-bankers up to the level of Head of a National Bank, lawyers, economists, a former Prime Minister, retired fund managers, etc. The majority of memembers are entrepreneurs who have sold their companies. Many of them are new to wealth management so members at all levels of sophistication are welcome. Peers meetings do not have a competitive edge. We meet to make contacts, exchange information and combine our buying power. We seek to promote an atmosphere of informality and co-operation. 

Q. Is there a dress code?
A. Business attire is recommended for meetings, unless otherwise advised.