Besides managing investments, we help our clients plan for and go through financial transitions. There are pain points associated with these financial decisions, so we want to be there when our clients need help. Here are five ways we added value to a client’s financial life in April:
Early retirement – Sometimes, things don’t go as planned. Our client’s long-time employer informed him his position was being phased out. This forced him to ponder retirement several years early. Naturally, our client worried about the financial impact this would have on his retirement lifestyle. So we updated his financial plan and created several scenarios for him to consider. After reviewing these updates, our client expressed how much more at ease he felt with where he stood.
Settlement monies – We’ve seen this before and will again. Our client’s previous financial advisor took advantage of them. This advisor sold our client a handful of illiquid investments, including private placements, annuities, non-traded REITs, and universal life insurance. In general, we aren’t big fans of these products because they tend to have very high fees and stipulations that prevent the client from accessing their money. By working with us and a law firm that specializes in securities litigation, our client was able to get a settlement from one of these products that increased her cash on hand and decreased her financial anxiety.
Non-profit help – We manage money for a number of foundations and it’s our mission to help these organizations further their own mission. One of the ways we do this is by keeping investment expenses low, which means more funds are available to support the goals of the organization. In this case, our non-profit client provides scholarships. By lowering their all-in costs, we have helped their foundation be in a position to increase either the dollar amounts or number of scholarships given.
Inherited IRA drama – A client of ours inherited an IRA when a family member passed away. The brokerage firm who held the deceased’s IRA told our client they had two weeks to make a decision. They could either open an account with the brokerage firm, transfer it, or take a full distribution, which would be taxable. How’s that for empathy after the loss of a loved one? So we sat down with our client, called the brokerage firm and went over the process. Then, we assured our client these steps could be accomplished in the allotted time. Our client left the P&A office much less confused and stressed.
Short-term funds – A husband and wife sold their house and wanted a place to park the proceeds before they closed on their new home. We were able to find some CDs that offered full FDIC coverage and delivered a great rate for short-term money. And the best part of all for the client, we exempted these CDs from our management fee.
We learned a long time ago that if you take care of your clients, they will take care of you. Every quarter or so, we highlight client success stories to give you an idea of how we add value to our client relationships. Until next time…
