The Third Deadly Sin that Can Undermine High-Net Worth Families

Third Deadly Sin: Disparate Array of Advisors vs.
Collaborative Team Approach

Here, we refer to CPA’s, attorneys, trust officers, asset managers, life insurance specialists, and all other financial professionals who serve high net worth families.

Let’s see: the accountants and lawyers say the financial folks are “only interested in commissions,” the financial folks and the accounts say the attorneys are “deal killers,” and the financial folks and the lawyers say the accountants are “bean counters,” incapable of looking at the future.

Let’s just say it is hard to accomplish anything in these circumstances. Granted, the family can use advisors who focus on their particular specialty but do not communicate among one another, and can form plans based on consensus of opinion.

But how about if advisors work as a team? Can we have some communications here please? And better than working as a team which suggests one advisor is the leader (aka “the quarterback”) and everyone else is an order taker, how about a collaborative approach, where all advisors feel free to present and compare and contrast their value-added ideas (and where “the quarterback” leads only administratively: tracking due dates, responsibilities and accountability).

The moral of this story: no one advisor can “control” a high-net worth client anyway, so stop trying….

Next Blog: Fourth Deadly Sin: Documents Scattered in Various Locations and Not Accessible by All Advisors