“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Theodore Roosevelt
My stepfather has a small boat. He’s a good fisherman and loves taking the grandkids out on the lake where I trust him entirely. While there are only a few people I trust as much as him piloting a boat with my kids on it, if I were to purchase a yacht and let him sail it down the east coast to the Caribbean, could he, do it? Sure. Maybe. I think he’d make it. Would he be the best and most efficient at it? Nope. (It sure would be a fun ride though!)
As your life changes, your wealth builds and your career advances, your needs change too. What worked for you financially 10 years ago may no longer be the best solutions for you today. So how do you know whether you’ve outgrown your current financial advisor? Today we’ll discuss a few clues.
One area to consider, is when you realize that you’re paying a massive amount of taxes, but your advisor is not proactively working on solutions to mitigate that exposure. If you are a successful executive you will be paying a painful amount in taxes, but there are many creative strategies to potentially limit that exposure. If your advisor is not planning and evaluating strategies for you, it’s time to start looking at new options.
A second area to think about is the scale of your wealth today, relative to your past. Is your portfolio much larger but you’re still using the same tax inefficient mutual funds? As your portfolio size scales, new investment solutions and strategies can be accessed and leveraged. Change is a good thing and if your advisor is investing the same way with your $3 Million as they did with your $300 Grand, it is time to start looking at new options.
And finally, if your wealth and income have grown in complexity to a point where you wonder about the benefits of having access to specialized advisors, it’s time to start looking at new advisor options. When you were just starting your career, that generalist advisor might have been great. But now that you have substantial and differing stock benefits, executive compensation, and substantial wealth with unique needs, you need an advisor that specializes in advising clients like you. This can save you time and ideally provide creative solutions for you that could build wealth faster, and help you avoid potential landmines (ones you might not even know you were already stepping on).
If you’re reading this and it’s all hitting close to home, now may be the right time to test the waters. If you’re a corporate executive/professional, please click the link below to schedule a brief complimentary introductory call with our team to see if we might be a good fit. Regardless of the outcome, I think you’ll be pleased you did.
Connect with Us to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation call.
- Tim Golas
Partner, Spurstone