Do I Need a Wealth Advisor?

By Royce Ramey, CFA

The short answer is that almost everyone would benefit from working with a wealth advisor.

► Do you work out at a gym with a trainer?

► Do you take golf, tennis, or pickleball lessons from a local teaching pro?

► Do your children have teachers, coaches, or mentors in their extracurricular activities?

► Do professional athletes, musicians, and entertainers engage professional coaches to help them achieve their goals?

Like the examples above, a wealth advisor is like a coach in other areas of your life. An experienced and skilled advisor provides much more than investment returns on your investment portfolio. They can serve as your financial guide and leverage their years of experience working with different family profiles to help you think through many decisions you encounter through life’s major events. From marriage or divorce to inheritance or selling your business, helping you make sound choices to grow your wealth through generations is at the center of what wealth advisors do.

On a daily basis, you are faced with some sort of personal financial thought or decision:

• Is my investment portfolio positioned to maximize my after-tax and after-expense returns?
• Am I saving enough, or do I have enough to have financial freedom?
• Can I afford a new home? Can I afford a second home?
• What if I was to take a break from my career?
• Should I buy or lease a car?
• My friend showed me an investment opportunity. Is it right for me?
• How should I maximize my charitable giving?
• Does my estate plan really do what I want it to?
• Am I paying too much income tax?
• What is the best way for me to fund my children’s college education?
• Is it better to use my credit card or a debit card?
• How do I prepare my children, who might inherit a large sum of money?
• How should I maximize my wealth transfer plan?
• Do I have any gaps in my personal or business insurance coverage?
• Should I have life insurance? How much? How should I own it?
• Should I establish trusts for my children?
• How do I protect my assets from creditors?
• My parents are getting older. What are the options to care for them?
• How can I ensure my family is getting the best healthcare?
• Who would my partner turn to if something were to happen to me?

If you’re wrestling with financial questions that have the power to shape your future, enlisting the expertise of a wealth advisor could prove invaluable. Also, consider a switch if your current advisor falls short of delivering comprehensive financial planning.

How can a wealth advisor help you and your family?

Instead of juggling multiple and separate professional services you have to coordinate, having a wealth quarterback on your side can bring all the puzzle pieces together to work in unison toward achieving your financial goals, creating a seamless and streamlined experience.

According to the Vanguard Investment Advisory Research Center, wealth advisors can provide upwards of an annualized +3% to investment returns through comprehensive, holistic planning. As fiduciaries focused on your well-being, wealth advisors coach you through your financial journey and help bring peace of mind and clarity to your financial life.

Royce Ramey, CFA, is the Co-CEO of Versant Capital Management and focuses on investment management, portfolio construction, tax planning, wealth-transfer strategies, trust and estates, and family governance to help people navigate their complex financial lives.

Disclosure: For complete information on your tax situation, you should always consult with a qualified tax advisor. Any tax-related material contained within this article is subject to the following disclaimer required pursuant to IRS Circular 230: Any tax information contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended to be used and cannot be used for purposes of (i) avoiding penalties imposed under the United States Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting marketing or recommending to another person any tax-related matter. Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Versant Capital Management, Inc. [“Versant]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this commentary will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this commentary serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Versant. Versant is neither a law firm, nor a certified public accounting firm, and no portion of the commentary content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of Versant’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request or at www.versantcm.com.  Please Remember: If you are a Versant client, please contact Versant, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services.  Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian. Historical performance results for investment indices, benchmarks, and/or categories have been provided for general informational/comparison purposes only, and generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.  It should not be assumed that your Versant account holdings correspond directly to any comparative indices or categories. Please Also Note: (1) performance results do not reflect the impact of taxes; (2) comparative benchmarks/indices may be more or less volatile than your Versant accounts; and (3) a description of each comparative benchmark/index is available upon request.