If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to manage every aspect of a person’s finances. Clients frequently ask us who else they need to speak to—accountants, lawyers, and more.
The truth is: There are many areas of your finances that we can handle, from a holistic financial plan to investment management, tax optimization, and life insurance. But there are some aspects, like contracts, that require outside experts. We take pride in our ability to work with the folks who do handle those issues and create a Quorum for you.
You might say, we work as your quarterback—coordinating between key players and helping with referrals as needed. Here are the various positions you might need to fill on your team.
Financial Advisor
This term can cover a wide array of roles, from wealth manager to financial planner. At Quorum Private Wealth, we create a big-picture financial plan for you and your family while also managing client investments.
Because we take a high-level view of your finances, we’re often in the best possible position to help you figure out when you need to bring in other professionals. We may also work directly with those professionals (with your permission) to efficiently tackle complex financial situations.
Just keep in mind, not all financial advisors are created equal.
Accountant
Accountants offer a wide array of services, and many specialize in specific areas of accounting. If you own a business, an accountant may help you track expenses, create financial statements, and otherwise oversee your company’s financial movements. On a personal level, accountants can help with cash flow and day-to-day money management. More commonly, however, we see clients lean on accountants for tax-specific needs—namely minimizing your tax liability on a given year, as well as preparing and filing returns.
In many cases, accountants and financial advisors work closely. For instance, a financial advisor might help you prepare a long-term tax strategy in terms of how you allocate various investments and so on, while an accountant may help you maximize deductions within a given year.
Human resources
Many of the big expenses in your life run through your job. Ditto many important elements of retirement planning and your financial plan. For instance, health insurance and 401(k)s are frequently tied to a job, making that company’s human resources department a key part of your financial team.
While you may not have your HR representative in your rolodex, think of them as a resource. For instance, a financial advisor might recommend you take advantage of a retirement strategy—say a mega backdoor Roth—that can’t be executed without speaking to HR. Your representative may also refer you out to a third-party administrator. A financial advisor can help you navigate any confusing aspects of this.
This doesn’t just apply to retirement—you may need to reach out to HR about your health insurance, health savings accounts (HSAs), deferred compensation, and other possible benefits.
Just keep in mind: HR’s job is to provide you with facts, and they work for your employer not you. They’ll let you know about the available health insurance plans, for example, but they can’t give you advice on which plan to choose for you and your family. When it comes to making decisions about your unique situation, ask a trusted advisor who puts your interests first.
Insurance agents
Insurance doesn’t always run through an employer, and in some cases, including life insurance, you may want to purchase supplemental coverage that’s independent of your job. In these cases, insurance salesmen and brokers may end up joining your financial team.
Keep in mind, however, that many insurance agents do not work as fiduciaries for their clients, and they may be incentivized to sell you expensive policies for the commission. That said, many advisors who work as fiduciaries may also sell insurance—Quorum Private Wealth offers life insurance to clients when the situation warrants.
Attorneys
When it comes to big financial decisions, contracts abound. And when you’re making legally binding decisions, working with an attorney that specializes in that type of contract law can make a huge difference. For instance, if you want to establish a trust to help you pass assets to your heirs or facilitate charitable contributions, a lawyer with a background in estate planning can help.
Real estate attorneys, tax attorneys, divorce attorneys… focused lawyers can help you avoid costly mistakes and protect your money over time. Because we have a holistic view of your finances and background in many of these areas, we can work with your lawyers to help them finalize key details in a way that makes sense for your family.
Real estate agent
For many of us, our home is one of our biggest assets, making our realtor (both when buying and selling) a key steward of that asset. Real estate agents can help you find the best property for you—whether that’s a home to accommodate your growing family or an investment property in an up-and-coming neighborhood. Good real estate agents can help with finding, appraising, negotiating, and maximizing the value of your home.
Just remember: Real estate agents have financial incentives to find buyers and sellers. They aren’t obligated to put your interests first. So, while a real estate agent can help you spot a great investment property, a financial advisor can help you determine whether that investment makes sense in your portfolio. They may also be help you to adjust your other holdings so buying your dream house doesn’t derail the rest of your plans.
Banker
When it comes time to apply for a mortgage or finance a goal, you may need to add a banker to your financial team. Bankers can help you through the application, origination, and servicing of your loan.
If you have a high net worth and a primary bank, your relationship with your bank may extend beyond individual transactions. You may be assigned a specific banker to handle day-to-day money management issues in a concierge-style model.
Just remember, bankers are not equipped to offer investment advice. Some bankers may try to refer you to an in-house advisor for additional perspective, but these in-house advisors may be incentivized to sell you bank products. An independent advisor, like the team at Quorum Private Wealth, can review any options provided by your banker without any pressure to sell you a product.
Build the right team for you
Who’s on your team will likely evolve over time. Even if you don’t need (or work with) all the experts in this article today, you may need to add them to your team at some point in the future.
Consider building out a bench of trusted accountants, attorneys, agents, and more. That way, when you need their services, you know who to call or who to ask for a referral. At Quorum, we may be able to refer you to someone in our network.
Whether you work with someone we recommend or introduce us to someone new, Quroum takes pride in being able to quarterback your finances, so you don’t sweat the small stuff. Our goal is to reach a Quorum—ensuring all the pieces of your financial life work together and in your best interest.
