how complex is your client’s financial security?
by anthony glomski
uberwealthy families like the vanderbilts, morgans and rockefellers realized several centuries ago that managing all of their vast wealth and resources was extremely difficult. sure, they had scores of advisors working exclusively for their families. still, when each of those advisors was toiling away in their silo, there was no coordination of their efforts and lots of waste and inefficiency.
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so, they established formal office headquarters where all financial experts working on their behalf could meet in one place to make it easier to oversee and coordinate everything important to the extended family – their taxes, asset protection, wealth transfer, and their legacy planning, etc.
the family office concept survives today and is still used by ultrawealthy tribes like the gateses and waltons of the world to coordinate their vast financial, wealth planning and philanthropic needs. family offices are a tremendous resource for the ultrawealthy, but until recently, they were generally too cost-prohibitive for anyone with less than $250 million in investable assets.
however, a new twist on the family office concept has emerged thanks to legislative changes and technological advances. it’s called the virtual family office (vfo). rather than having all the elite professionals and resources in a single physical location, there is a virtual network that accesses the best specialists in the world to help coordinate and execute the advanced planning ideas that we’ve discussed here. under this new model, it’s now possible for families with as little as $10 million in net worth to avail themselves of the same single-family office services that until recently, were only accessible to uberwealthy families with nine-figure and 10-figure net worth.
as a cpa, you should position yourself as the hub of the wheel. think of yourself as the central coordinator who assembles and manages the vfo around your client.
a fully coordinated financial life
a collaborative wealth management plan that includes both investment strategies and non-investment strategies can be tremendously valuable for your client’s financial life. by coordinating all the components that impact and influence your client’s financial security, you will put them in the best possible position to achieve the most important goals they have set for themselves as well as for their family, their business, their community and the people and organizations they care deeply about. just as important, your clients will have the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are set up to succeed.
you might also be starting to see just how complex a job it is to oversee the many areas of your client’s financial and charitable life. there’s no question that it takes significant expertise to make smart decisions about everything from investment planning to tax planning to transferring, safeguarding and donating wealth effectively.
many of your clients who are entrepreneurs can be served well enough by a wealth manager acting as the personal cfo. however, entrepreneurs above a certain threshold, who have more complex situations, should be leveraging the virtual family office model.
with a virtual family office in place, you will be able to help your client craft a long-range wealth management plan that meets their needs and goals – and to build an ongoing relationship that ensures that their needs continue to be met as they change over time. a key part of that responsibility is to oversee and manage the efforts of those professionals who will implement the advanced planning strategies related to wealth enhancement, wealth transfer, wealth protection, business exit planning and charitable giving. when operating at this level, you will likely be leveraging these top professionals throughout the country and the world.