Addie Woods Consulting Co

A Wealth Manager is someone who is involved in more than just financial transactions with a client.   The true wealth manager’s first task is to understand the client’s lifestyle, his/her hopes, dreams, needs, and wants.  A Wealth Manager starts with a conversation about life rather than with a balance sheet.    A Wealth Manager understands and deals with the personal goals and values of the client.   A Wealth Manager knows what is going on in the client's life and can help him/her blend the events that are taking place in their lives with the financial aspects. 

A Wealth Manager is kinda like an outfitter.  An outfitter is someone who prepares people for a journey such as a camping trip.  The goal of the outfitter is to make sure that the camper has everything they need for their trip.  If it rains, raingear is available; if they need a fire, matches and lighter fluid are available.  The outfitter understands the camper's needs and skill level by asking the right questions to make sure that the camper will have a wonderful experience.  The outfitter uses a checklist to make sure that everything is packed and in working order.

The Wealth Manager understands the life goals of his/her client and makes sure that the "Backpack of Life" is correctly packed for the journey through life.  Regardless of what happens, the right services, documents, or products are in place for the journey.

The value proposition of the Wealth Manager is to help clients get done what they haven't done and secondly to make sure that their money lasts longer than they do.  Ultimately, the job is to make sure that clients are keeping the promises they made to themselves, their families and business partners.

The first tool of the Wealth Manager is the Fireproof FileBox.  It is the first step in organizing all the documents that would be needed in an emergency.

Click here to view or save the FileBox Checklist

 

The second tool is the Wealth Management BluePrint which highlights the key items that should be discussed with every client.  There are twenty categories to cover with each client.  Some categories may already be completed, others only partially completed, a few may not apply to a specific client and the rest are open to more discussion.  The truly great wealth manager's role is to help his/her clients complete the things they haven't done.  The Fireproof FileBox and the Wealth Management BluePrint are just the starting points.

Click here to view the PowerPoint Wealth Management BluePrint.

The third tool of a Wealth Manager is the the Owners' Manual for the family.  When a family member dies, the survivors need to know what to do.  The Owners' Manual is a book of instructions that will help the family deal with all the issues that arise following death.  The Owners' Manual is a "gift of answers" for the family.  The Wealth Manager is kinda like the director of a movie.  The mission is to make sure that all the right characters are cast in the roles, each actor knows and understands their part and their lines and that all the necessary props are in place.  Likewise the wealth manager makes sure that when death occurs, everyone understand their role, the scripts are in place and all the necessary documents, products and services are ready to go.

 To learn more about the "Owners' Manual, See The Beneficiary Book. 

The fourth tool is the financial plan which serves as the compass to make sure that the family gets where they want to go.

Contact us to learn more about how to set up a Wealth Management practice.