FINANCIAL LIFE PLANNING

Ross Levin

Wealth managers must have some combination of technical skills , relationship skills and attention to detail .

S MEAT LOAF ONCE SANG , “ TWO OUT OF THREE AIN ’ T BAD .”

But what if even two isn ’ t enough ?

I think of that song when I ponder the traits of successful wealth managers . There are generally three traits , at least at our firm : technical skills , relationship abilities and an attention to detail . The problem is that three-tool wealth managers are rare . One of these traits an advisor might likely be bad at . It might even be their downfall , if not just their greatest source of job unhappiness .

At Accredited Investors Wealth Management , our employees need to have pieces of all three traits , but they need to be especially strong in at least two of them — and they won ’ t make it at our firm with only one . Admittedly , since we have over 60 employees , we can mix and match capabilities more easily than a smaller firm can .

Let me talk about why the traits matter .

Technical Skills

Technical skills are far more than simply knowing something . Technical competence involves understanding which ideas are the most important to our clients and what other concepts could come into play to serve them , as well as what effects the ideas will have on their financial plans . Technical competence also means being able to communicate the ideas so that the client can grasp the information . That requires versatility .

We recently had a couple come in to discuss their estate plan . They weren ’ t

Technical competence also means being able to communicate the ideas so that the client can grasp the information . That requires versatility . sure how to tell their kids about their objectives because the plan was complicated : They wanted to leave some wealth to the kids , but also some to charity . They make annual charitable donations of 10 % of their after-tax earnings . Furthermore , they wanted charity to be part of their grown children ’ s lives as well . They came into our office with a complicated flowchart , which showed an initial amount going to the kids , an amount above that going to a foundation , and an amount above that split between the kids and the foundation . It was quite convoluted .

The first thing we discussed with the couple was how their giving — their generosity — made them feel and how it felt to make a difference . But they had never discussed the 10 % threshold with their kids nor why giving was a central piece of their lives .

Though they had thought about putting charities in their wills , we asked the couple about instead giving to charity through the beneficiary designations of their sizable retirement plans . That would allow them to shift things more easily if their plans changed , enable the children to inherit assets with a stepped-up basis , and still free them to accelerate gifts to either the charities or their children without having to make changes in their wills .

If they were willing to use current gifts , for example , they could anticipate any possible changes in the tax law in 2026 and help their adult kids sooner . We dis-

DECEMBER 2024 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 23