You Need a Cohesive Wealth Management Team. Here’s Why.

Thomas M Dowling CFA, CFP®, CIMA® |

Chances are, you know that you likely need to tap the expertise of multiple professionals to pursue optimal financial results in your life. That is because finding one single professional with the full depth and breadth of knowledge required to effectively address all of your wealth management needs and wants—especially the complex ones—can feel like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Such a person probably does not exist.

That is why you may already be working with a diverse group of advisors—which might include wealth managers, accountants, attorneys, and other specialists.

But it is not enough to simply hire a bunch of highly qualified professionals. You have also got to make sure that they are working together, in a coordinated manner, on your behalf.

Simply put: When it comes to managing your financial life, you do not just need a roster of players—you need a cohesive team.

The coordinator

A cohesive wealth management team has a coordinator—a professional who has a full understanding of clients’ situations and what is important to them, and who works closely with the various appropriate experts (accountant trust and estate attorneys, wealth manager etc.) to pursue the best results possible.

Depending on the client’s preference any member of the wealth management team may act as the coordinator. The coordinator draws on the skills and expertise of a broad array of specialists to deliver various wealth management products and services. These specialists provide the specific niche expertise the coordinator does not personally possess.

Example: The coordinator may see the need for a client to have an advanced-level asset protection plan involving complicated trusts or other tools. That coordinator would then bring in a professional who specializes in asset protection plan design and implementation.

The other members of your cohesive wealth management team whom the coordinator is managing should have four main characteristics:

 

  • Specific expertise. They should be among the very best authorities in a relatively narrow area, such as estate planning.
  • Integrity. The highest ethical standards are indispensable.
  • Professionalism. In every way—from responsiveness to inquiries to ongoing learning—the specialists should embrace professionalism.
  • Personal chemistry. There should be a strong level of comfort and appreciation between everyone involved on your cohesive wealth management team.

 

There is also the issue of follow-through and accountability. The coordinator of your cohesive wealth management team should stay in close contact with you to ensure the various specialists working on a plan for you are delivering as promised.

 

STATE-OF-THE-ART CAPABILITIES

One key attribute of cohesive wealth management teams that makes them so adept at pursuing great results is that they have state-of-the-art capabilities. Your cohesive wealth management team must be able to deliver the appropriate solutions to match your requirements, from the basic to the most sophisticated.

State-of-the-art capabilities have three dimensions (see the chart below). A cohesive wealth management team that uses these capabilities is able to deliver sophisticated and even cutting-edge solutions when appropriate. Sophisticated solutions are intricate and complex strategies with many moving parts. Cutting-edge solutions are innovative ways to get the results you request that are usually novel and even groundbreaking.

 

State-of-the-Art Capabilities

 

 

Regardless of the type of solution, a key component of state-of-the-art capabilities is exceptional implementation of any solution chosen. This means that execution is:

 

  • Cost-effective. While not cutting corners, the ability to choose the most appropriate solutions and implement them exceedingly well keeps costs down.
  • Error-free. Mistakes are exceedingly rare when it comes to high-performing, cohesive wealth management teams.
  • Expeditious. Doing things on time or before deadline is characteristic of cohesive wealth management teams.

Preferential arrangements

A truly cohesive wealth management team will also provide you with preferential arrangements that enable you to receive complete and rapid access to expertise at highly advantageous pricing.

 

There are two aspects to preferential arrangements:

 

1. Cost mitigation. This means that either you pay less for the expertise, products, and services you receive, or you get more for your money. For example, say that implementing your proposed asset protection plan is quoted at $20,000. The coordinator of your cohesive wealth management team might work to negotiate the price down—perhaps by 20 percent or more.

In the other instance, the coordinator of your cohesive wealth management team might accept the quoted fee but negotiate additional deliverables. For example, you pay the full $20,000 to implement your asset protection plan—but as part of the package, you can also set up a trust.

The upshot: Except for instances where costs are statutory, as in the case of traditional life insurance, the cost of just about all the services and products you may use could be negotiable.

2. Jumping the line. The other aspect of preferential agreements is the ability to jump to the head of the line—or closer to it. Getting access to leading authorities, especially when you want it, can be difficult. A cohesive wealth management team will be designed with the goal of enabling you to move way up in any queue.

Getting results

Generally, when it comes to managing wealth, we believe that no one person can do it all at the highest levels of excellence—not even someone with extraordinary talent and drive. That is why clients should consider working with subject matter experts to help address their financial agenda. Just as important, those experts need to work together—in a coordinated, comprehensive manner—on your behalf.

Supported by a cohesive wealth management team, you have the potential to access state-of-the-art capabilities as you pursue the best possible outcomes for your situation.

 

 

 

 

Brokerage and investment advisory accounts, are offered through Alliance Global Partners, a member of FINRA and SIPC.  

The opinions expressed and material provided are for information purposes only and is not an offer, recommendation, or solicitation of any product, strategy, or transaction. Any views, strategies or products discussed may not be appropriate or suitable for all individuals and are subject to risks.  Prior to making any investment or financial decision, a person should seek advice from a financial, legal, tax and other professional that consider all the particular facts and circumstances of the person’s own situation.  Alliance Global Partners does not provide tax or legal advice.

Data Provided by AES Nation, LLC. AES Nation, LLC is the creator and publisher of the VFO Inner Circle Flash Report.

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