“If we’re just investing money and not asking questions they don’t know need to be asked, we’re not doing our job.”
It all started, as many of our relationships do, with a casual conversation. A couple at a gathering approached Chris Sorce, one of our HBKS founders, and said, “We know you do investing. Can we come in and see you?” They said that they had some excess cash in bank accounts that they thought could perform better invested. We put our team together—Chris, Quinto Ambrosetti, and myself—and sat down with them for an initial discussion.
In that first meeting we learned that they had vast resources, but also, as you might expect, that they were cautious about sharing information about their wealth. So we started with a small investment. The investment performed well, and as it did better and better, the client added to the portfolio. The investments were in his wife’s name, and he was reluctant to discuss his personal information, but as the portfolio continued to perform well, the conversations eventually evolved to discussions about the business he owned.
The relationship kept evolving, rather quickly, and we started getting more and more information. Based on the amount of money they were turning over to us to manage, we knew they had a substantial estate to be concerned about. So we brought in our chief estate planning partner, who reviewed their information and explained to him that if they did nothing about estate planning so much of their wealth would go to taxes, and that given the concentration of their wealth, they might not have the liquidity to pay the estate taxes. That put us in full-blown estate planning mode.
Where did they want their wealth to go upon death? We learned that they wanted most of it to go to a child they had together, but there was also a child from a previous marriage who needed to be taken care of.
Then we engaged an HBK CPA to review their tax returns and make recommendations, and soon we began doing the tax returns for the business. And what about a successor to the family business? A valuation of the business had not been done, so we got the HBK Valuation team involved.
All these discoveries and solutions came together into a fully executed estate plan with a trust and business interest being gifted and a spousal limited access trust being implemented. Ultimately, we have provided a service they hadn’t previously realized they needed. It just came from asking a lot of questions and not giving up when the answer was, “I just want to focus on our investments.” We didn’t want to pry, but we knew there were issues that needed attention.
This is an example of a high-level case that took more than a year of meetings with the family while they tried to figure out how they wanted this all to look. It’s not unusual and it can be hard to do when the client doesn’t think they need it. But if we’re just investing money for somebody and not really asking questions that they don’t know need to be asked, then we’re not doing our job.
Based on our experience we knew that many other issues needed to be addressed beyond how their money was invested. While we started with investment reviews, we always made a point to ask probing questions. They didn’t want to talk openly at first, but we would say that we think you need to consider this and that, and we have professionals who are expert in these areas. The more people we brought in, the more they realized how we could help. We’d talk about similar issues we have dealt with and they could recognize the experience and expertise we had.
Our job can be morbid at times because we have to talk to people about what could happen when they’re gone, what would happen to everything they’ve worked their entire life to build. When you die, that money doesn’t just go away, and you want to see it go where you want and in the correct way. A financial plan has a beginning but no end; the plan continues long after you’re gone. It’s important to have that conversation.
Because we work collaboratively as a regular practice, we know exactly which specialists to bring in for each unique situation. You’re hesitant to refer people to outside sources because you’re putting your own reputation on the line, and can jeopardize your relationship with that client. The familiarity and trust I have with others inside the firm make it easier to talk to a client about our process because I know what they’ll bring to the table and that it will be quality work.
We coordinated the professionals to properly address their issues, and met every week to hash things out to ensure we were capturing the essences of everything they needed and wanted to accomplish. Understanding that we know them deeply, when we bring three or four advisors into a meeting they understand the depth of our bench. Clients often choose us over other firms because of our deep bench of expertise, ensuring someone knowledgeable is always available to answer their questions. We provide all this additional expertise, services, and support while maintaining fees that remain competitive within the industry.
The information and examples included in this document are for general, educational, and informational purposes only. It does not contain any financial or investment advice and does not address any individual facts and circumstances. As such, it cannot be relied on as providing any financial or investment advice. If you would like financial or investment advice regarding your specific facts and circumstances, please contact a qualified financial advisor.
Any investment involves some degree of risk, and different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, including loss of principal. It should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment, strategy, or allocation (including those recommended by HBKS Wealth Advisors) will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated or intended results or performance level(s). Past performance of any security, indices, strategy, or allocation may not be indicative of future results.
The historical and current information as to rules, laws, guidelines, or benefits contained in this document is a summary of information obtained from or prepared by other sources. It has not been independently verified but was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. HBKS Wealth Advisors does not guarantee the accuracy of this information and does not assume liability for any errors in information obtained from or prepared by these other sources.
HBKS Wealth Advisors is not a legal or accounting firm, and does not render legal, accounting or tax advice. You should contact an attorney or CPA if you wish to receive legal, accounting or tax advice.
