The move -- a good 18 months in the making -- coincides with rival's buy-in. Bessemer Trust has opened an office in Denver. The move brings the multifamily office closer to its clients in the U.S. Rocky Mountain region and bolsters its chances of winning more ultra-high-net-worth business in the West.

"Bessemer Trust has numerous longstanding clients who live in Colorado and the rest of the Rocky Mountain region," says the high-wealth firm's president and CEO John Hilton. "We are very excited about the opportunity to work with more families in this important area."

Eric Holt will lead Bessemer's Denver office. He had been laying the groundwork for the private-trust company's presence in Colorado and Wyoming -- initially as a report to Thomas Frank Jr., head of Bessemer's San Francisco office -- since he joined the firm from AllianceBernstein's wealth-management unit in November 2007.

Holt now reports to San Francisco-based George Wilcox, Bessemer's western U.S. region head.

Crucible

"It's increasingly evident many wealthy families here are looking for closer alignment with their wealth managers and that their needs go well beyond the management of their investments," says Holt. "As a premier wealth manager and multi-family office, Bessemer is uniquely qualified to deal with the complex situations wealthy families face today."

Bessemer's rival Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based GenSpring Family Offices just set up office in Denver by acquiring -service firm Epic Advisors.

In the wake of a record influx of new clients in 2008, Bessemer oversees approximately $50 billion for roughly 2,000 ultra-wealthy individuals, families and associated institutions. In terms of assets, that's just about where it stood a year ago.

Bessemer has made at least half a dozen senior appointments in the last 12 months.

"We are fortunate to have a business model that allows us to expand in this challenging economic environment," says Hilton. "Families have become increasingly aware that their interests are not always aligned with the economics of brokerage firms and investment banks. These families are seeking an independent, stable wealth manager who can provide objective advice."

New York-based Bessemer was founded in 1907 as the Henry Phipps family office. Next to Andrew Carnegie, Phipps was the largest shareholder in the Carnegie Steel Company. "Bessemer" refers to Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer who in the mid 1880s developed a method for making steel by blasting compressed air through molten iron to burn out excess carbon and sundry impurities.

Denver, San Francisco and New York aside, Bessemer has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Naples, Fla., Palm Beach , Fla., Washington, D.C., Wilmington, Del., Woodbridge, N.J., London and the Cayman Islands. -FWR

Purchase reproduction rights to this article