Why you need to know your advisor’s continuity plan
Death is inevitable as it is one of the prime characteristics of any living thing. The problem, however, is not in its certainty but the fact that more often than not, it comes when we least expect it. This spells many challenges, and the relationship with your advisors is one of them. The Wealth management industry is full of many advisors a few of which are truly competent. Chances are that if you have a really good advisor, you wouldn’t change him or her on impulse.
But unless your advisor is a cat with nine lives, it is crucial that he or she has a continuity plan in place to protect you and your family in the eventuality of death, retirement or incapacitation. In a time where so much attention is being drawn to the generational transfer of wealth, there is really no organized plan to also transfer the wisdom and knowledge that will shepherd the wealth across multiple generations. As such, there is a growing concern over the population of aging advisors – especially those without succession plans.
Who will your children and your wealth be entrusted to? How will the continuity of sound advice be retained across multiple generations, and how will younger advisors benefit from the aging advisor population in such a way that gives your children an edge?
If you are a wealth creator with a multi-generation wealth perspective in mind and you currently work with an advisor who is above the age of 50 without a continuity plan in place, then you have an
emergency hands.
You may probably have spent a considerable amount of time stumbling over so many incompetent advisors to get to your advisor. So, you will already know that there is a large pool of incompetent advisors out there disguised in their suits and misleading the next generation of innocent victims. If you leave your children to decide for themselves which of these advisors are competent and which are not, chances are that they will fall into the wrong hands and your wealth can be put at risk. This is why your advisor needs a continuity plan.
There are two prime problems that plague the wealth management advisory industry. The first is the lack of a continuity plan for the protection of client’s wealth affairs and the second is the lack of a succession plan that properly hands over the advisor’s business, expertise and knowledge to another advisor to preserve the advisor’s legacy. Older advisors are leaving the scenes without the necessary handshakes and hand overs that will protect you and your family and they are leaving behind an increasing number of incompetent advisors that your family and wealth will be exposed to.
It is therefore no longer safe to work with an advisor who does not have a continuity plan in place because all your years of hard work may be exposed to the risk of a loss. Even when your advisor works with a larger organization or institution, this risk still exists – every big advisory organization is made up of people few of which are truly competent. Within every big organization there is that one person that understands you and is committed to serving you. Usually when this person leaves, retires or dies, it is hard to find their replacement even within the same large organization. It is also why clients have had to follow the same advisor to different organizations as they move. Sometimes, situation on even big organizations simply do not have holistic and organized continuity process within them for making these necessary handshakes.
The question you must ask yourself is this: does my advisor have an organized continuity plan?, Who will take over this critical relationship from my current advisor and does this person have the capacity to understand my family unique needs and service me the right away? Would I have a say or be involved in this transition process of who is a good fit for me and my family? Will this handing over process take place long before there is a crises and is there a contingency or back up plan in place? These and many more are the questions that you need to ask your advisor to be sure they are acting in your best interest in the long-term.
The trust and relationship that you have built with your advisor over the years should not end with the end of your advisor. You need a system that hands you over to another competent advisor who you already know and who you are comfortable continuing the relationship with. This process should be repeated across generations.
You owe it to yourself and your family to ensure that your advisors take all the necessary steps to prepare for continuity and a full range of a worst-case scenarios.
To help your advisor get started so they can help you and you family is a new opportunity called “The Wealth Management Advisor Continuity Program”. This program will bring together in one place a highly curated group of advisors who are interested in creating a continuity plan that will protect their client and a succession plan for themselves.
This program will also provide a platform where advisors within the wealth management industry can meet other independent advisors from the diverse wealth management industry for knowledge sharing, trust building, business relationships, and working relationships. Advisors will have access to an intimate community of advisors who want to connect as well as protect the long-term interest of their clients so they can determine which advisor is the best fit for their client.
Advisors will be exposed to investment opportunities, merger opportunities, acquisition opportunities, as well mentoring opportunities for younger advisors. The client on the other hand will be involved in the transition and continuity process, and will have interactions with a new advisor long before the transition is complete.
The ultimate beneficiaries of this program are the clients who will have the privilege of retaining a continuous supply of sound advice across multiple generations. Advisors that have a continuity plan in place are the ones who protect the best interest of their client.
For more details about The Wealth Management Advisor Continuity Program for Advisors as well as their client kindly SMS “Advisor Continuity” to 08101860042.
It’s Time To Ask Your Advisor the same tough questions that they have posed to you.
It will save you and your family an enormous amount of pain and the risk of falling into the wrong hands.
Grace Agada is a Senior Wealth Advisor and Author with extensive experience in wealth creation, wealth preservation and wealth transfer.
info@createsolidwealth.com 08101860042