What Does a Wealth Advisor Do? Go Beyond Picking Investments

At the core of the relationship should be the comfort of knowing what you have, how you’re doing, and whether everything is going to be okay.

The services my practice provides are intentionally built around those three questions. Through Account Consolidation, we get a clear look at what you have and organize it so it’s easier to track and adjust as needed. When it makes sense, old 401(k)s are moved into individual retirement accounts. Financial Planning gives those accounts intention and lines them up with where you would like to be. Through Investment Management and Specialist Coordination, we take the proper steps to set you and your loved ones up for long-term success. Getting you in the appropriate investments is key, but we also put you in touch with an expert if insurance or an estate plan is needed.

When you have scattered savings and checking accounts, it’s hard to stay on top of your budget and emergency fund. Scattered 401(k)s and IRAs cloud your view of your net worth and make it hard to stay organized with investment goals – or even to know who your beneficiaries are. That’s usually where the work starts.

One client had an old retirement plan and was not sure what was going on with it. We were able to roll it into an IRA. Before building a plan, we had a conversation. When did the client want to retire? Once we had that information, we discussed appropriate investment options. Next, we looked at projections and started to estimate some hypothetical budgets. This is when we brought in a healthcare benefits specialist. We set goals and used realistic numbers.

Then we discussed best-case and worst-case scenarios. This allowed us to have a contingency plan if things went better than or worse than expected. The client knew what they had since it was now more organized. They knew how they were doing since we could quickly compare performance to goals. And they knew what the plan was if things changed.

Not every firm is built around answering those three questions. Research from Cerulli Associates found that just 25% of advisor practices meet the standard for comprehensive planning, even though 60% say they offer it. I believe many firms have the tools and intentions to plan comprehensively. The follow-through is where I think they fall short. The team and systems may be in place, but the process and implementation are often missing.