The Wealth Consigliere

After a tumultuous week I find it is helpful to ask what did I learn?  The weekend financial press is full of anecdotes to instruct us on what to do next.  I’ve found that either I forget their advice or find that it is not effective.  While listening to Brene Brown on a recent Armchair Expert podcast I gleaned some wisdom that I will share.  Her wisdom was to focus on our own pain before we create pain by criticising others.  This week I will focus on the pain in the wealth advisory business above and beyond the recent market swoon. The fiduciary mantra of putting the client’s interest ahead of our own can be tested during times like last week.  We will look at what got tested and how we can address the three main challenges from the same side of the table as our clients. Bundling We offer clients numerous services that are all bundled into the fee we charge.  The services include financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, family governance, es

The recent swoon in the global financial markets has shifted the focus of business consultants to a soft subject  that they can control. Established thinkers like Mark Tibergian , Seth Godin, Mike Blackman and Sarah Kay have started to talk about experiences. This week’s blog will expand on their ideas and hopefully create a positive experience for our readers. What are my favorite consiglieres talking about?  None of them is talking about the financial markets or ETFs.  They are writing and talking about big issues that impact our lives. Celebrities Most of us believe that the grass of someone else’s life is greaner than ours.  Social media has stoked this belief and the tweets of celebrities create an unrealistic view that their life is perfect.  I will never forget an interview with Debra Winger when she was at the pinicle of her fame after the success of   An Officer and a Gentleman .  The interviewer asked Ms. Winger for information about her life that would su

We are all concerned that robots are scheming to take our jobs.  Inefficiencies in all industries stoke the robot concerns and fuel the Silicon Valley investors' belief that they can optimize every issue.  Our blog this week will look at the main fintech solutions from both sides and hopefully allay any concerns that robots will take all of our jobs. Inefficiencies Potentially successful fintech  solutions can be identified with an honest business model evaluation that will show procedures that are consistently experiencing issues.  Optimizing procedural performance should also increase profit margins that are being squeezed by fee compression.  This reality alone is a good reason to consider fintech solutions for your business.  A recent research report from Aite Group is a good place to start. Their Digital Advisory Matrix of nine solutions identifies several solutions that should be investigated. Our favorites include Client onboarding, Portfolio constraints/comp

The senate confirmation process of a potential Supreme Court justice and the recent FBI investigation was at times painful but necessary.  The extensive two-sided nature seems merited since a court appointment has no term limit.  This week’s blog will examine how we make other decisions that could have a lengthy term.  Are we diligent or partisan?  Let’s investigate. Effectively choosing a wealth advisor should be as comprehensive as our senate confirmation process.  Thankfully we have numerous tools that we can use to make this important decision.  Let’s take a look. Broker Check Many advisors either work at a regulated brokerage firm or they did at one time in their career. The broker check system archives any complaints that have been filed against the registered professional. It will allow you to be the FBI and ask the advisor about alleged customer complaints that happened over the last ten years.  Their answer can be very helpful to your final vote.   FINRA now