ersonal financial planners help
clients identify financial goals, organize ways to
achieve them and set timetables for implementation.
Together, a planner and client look at the clients
total financial picture, including income, savings,
investments and debts as well as his or her personal
situation. Then, they analyze where the money goes
and create a budget. Where estate considerations
come into play, the planner advises on tax or trust
issues. He or she will develop a risk profile for
the client, recommend actions to take to achieve
short-term to long-term financial goals and follow
through with annual evaluations to help the client
stay on track.
Karen R. Goodfriend, CPA/PFS, CFP
, is a partner of GoldsteinEnright
Financial Advisers, a division since 1996 of
Goldstein Enright Accountancy Corp. in Menlo Park,
San Francisco and San Ramon, California. Worth
magazine cited Goodfrienda financial planner
for about 10 yearsfor excellence four years in a
row. The niche has about $200 million in assets
under management.
The firm:
GoldsteinEnright Financial
Advisers Inc. 650-833-5900
Key staff: Three PFP
partners and four additional staff.
Advertising and marketing:
Networking in the professional
community. Public speaking.
Best resource to get started:
Attending AICPA PFP conferences and
participating in PFP committees.
Smartest thing we did since starting
PFP: We developed niche
expertise to serve clients who hold stock options.
One partner focused his energies solely on
financial planning and investment management
services.
Smartest thing we did in the past five
years: We hired good people with
complementary skills and delegated tax compliance
work to colleagues.
Budget breakdown: Salary:
68%; advertising and marketing: 2%; overhead: 30%.
What will change in the near future:
Clients who have been through a
difficult period in the stock market will seek
objective professional advisers. The demand for
investment advisory services will increase
significantly as baby boomers start to retire or
inherit wealth. The financial planning field will
become more competitive, however. Well need a
broad range of in-depth financial planning
knowledge, vast product resources and strategic
alliances to stay competitive.
E-mail:
kgoodfriend@goldstein-enright.com .
Web site:
www.goldstein-enright.com
.
Alan Rothstein, CPA/PFS, has been
a financial planner for 13 years and is a
principal of Avon, Connecticut-based Asset
Strategies Inc., with offices in Arizona and
Wyoming.
The firm:
Asset Strategies Inc. 860-673-5500
Key staff: My associate,
Kathryn K. Norris, CFP.
Advertising and marketing:
Networking helped, as did joining
the National Association of Personal Financial
Advisers (NAPFA) referral program and being listed
in Worth and Mutual Funds
magazines as a leader in the financial
planning arena.
Best resource to get started:
The AICPA and having an associate
keep client service on an even keel during tax
season.
Smartest thing we did since starting
PFP: We added investment
management on a fee-only basis in 1989 and priced
our financial planning engagements competitively;
fees are based on the value of assets under
management and range from 0.6% to 1% of account
value.
Smartest thing we did in the past five
years: Networked with the
20-member All-Star Financial Group alliance, which
expanded our access to information and referrals.
What will change in the near future:
Im not sure its a time for
optimistic speculation. We will contact corporate
human resources departments about how their
employees can benefit from our services. Were
putting together a PFP service package for
high-net-worth individuals. We also intend to
pitch to investors who have used large brokerage
firms and other investment managers and may want a
change in strategy and more personal service.
E-mail:
alan@asset-strategies-inc.com .
Web site:
www.asset-strategies-inc.com
.
Peggy Ruhlin, CPA/PFS, CFP, is a
principal at Budros & Ruhlin Inc., a 25-person
Columbus, Ohio, financial services company with
$480 million in assets under management. Shes been
with the 23-year-old practice since 1987.
The company: Budros
& Ruhlin Inc. 614-481-6900
Key staff: Principals
James L. Budros, CFP, Daniel B. Roe, CFP, John D.
Schuman, CPA, JD; senior financial planners and
CFPs Linda Campbell and John McHugh, CPA.
Advertising and marketing:
Schwab Advisor Network, a strategic
alliance of PFP advisers. The network vets
clients, determines their goals and refers some
for planning services. In return, it gets a
percentage of fees.
Best resource to get started:
Schwab Institutional: Eligible
advisers participate in Schwab Institutionals
back-office services, which include resources for
trading, wealth management, investment,
operational and technology support, equity
investment research and many other services.
Smartest things we did since starting
PFP:
We were fee-only from day one.
I served as president and chair of
the International Association for Financial
Planning. It brought priceless national
recognition to our company.
Budget breakdown: Salary:
55% including principals salaries (32% excluding
principals); advertising and marketing: 2%;
overhead: 34%; profit: 9%.
What will change in the near future:
More high-net-worth clients will
seek unbiased, comprehensive wealth management
services.
E-mail:
pruhlin@budrosandruhlin.com .
Web site:
www.budrosandruhlin.com .
James A. Shambo, CPA/PFS, is
president of Colorado Springs, Colorado-based
Lifetime Planning Concepts, PC, a two-person firm
with $27 million in assets under management.
Shambo began offering PFP services in 1983 and
formed Lifetime Planning Concepts in 1995.
The firm: Lifetime
Planning Concepts, PC 719-638-3505
Key staff: Shambo.
Advertising and marketing:
Responding to inquiries only.
Best resource to get started:
Member organizations resources (the
AICPA PFP manual, for example).
Smartest thing I did since starting PFP:
Decided to control the investment
process in-house rather than refer the client to a
broker and have him or her disrupt a careful plan
by pushing certain products.
Smartest things I did in the past five
years: Updated retirement
projection software for real world returns rather
than constant rate projections. (Clients feel more
comfortable when they see how volatility
influences their risk.) Require annual update
meetings for all clients.
Budget breakdown: Salary:
62%; overhead: 27%; retirement plan contributions:
9%; profit: 2%.
What will change in the near future:
I foresee emphasis in two areas:
reestablishing trust in the adviser and using
alternative investments. Advisers will
have to align their goals with clients, and they
will have to stay ahead of the types of available
investments and avoid the ones more concerned with
market share than with a fair share for the
client. Ive been skeptical about the alternative
hedge funds that have grown popular in the past
few years, but Standard & Poors, Oppenheimer,
Tremont and others are developing index approaches
to using managed futures and hedge fund strategies
that now may truly benefit client portfolios.
Comments: Im using a new
risk tolerance questionnaire to better identify
each clients risk tolerance level. Its given me a
common yardstick for all clients and is helping me
make better investment policy decisions. Its
available from ProQuest at www.risk-profiling.com
.
E-mail:
jim@shambo.com
.
Web site:
www.shambo.com
.
Chas P. Smith, CPA/PFS, heads
Chas P. Smith & Associates, which had $320
million in assets under management as of June 30,
2002. The Lakeland, Florida, firm has been around
since 1975 and employs more than 20 people.
The firm: Chas P.
Smith & Associates 863-688-1725
Key staff: CPA/PFS
professionals Frank M. Ashley, Peter C. Golotko
and James M. Luffman.
Advertising and marketing:
Bimonthly seminars, television and
newspaper ads, brochures.
Best resource: Continuing
PFP education through the AICPA and Practitioners
Publishing Co. (PPC); training to obtain the PFS
designation.
Smartest thing we did in the past five
years: Taught other CPAs to add
financial services to their practices. This lets
one- and two-person firms take advantage of our
investment in technology and the learning curve
for compliance, reporting and licensing. It has
led to an alliance of about 50 firms, and we split
fees with them 50-50. Made sure our clients didnt
put too many assets into equities.
Budget breakdown:
Salaries: 15%; advertising and
marketing: 2%; overhead: 16%; profit to partners:
67%.
What will change in the near future:
Because many banks, trust companies
and financial services companies attract asset
management business by offering extras, we will
include more financial and tax planning for our
fee. The investment advisory/financial planning
business is primarily a relationship business, and
maintaining a strong personal connection is the
key to succeeding.
E-mail:
cpsmith@cpalliance.com .
Web site:
www.cpalliance.com
.
Michael S. Tucci, CPA, CIMA, is a
principal of Lexington Advisors, with nine members
and $125 million in assets under management (90%
acquired since March 2000). The company was
started in 1997 and has offices in two locations.
The company:
Lexington Advisors Inc.
Lexington, Massachusetts,
800-626-1566
NewYork, NewYork, 212-534-1622
Key staff: Kristine M.
Porcaro; CFPs and directors Carolyn B. Howard,
Robert P. Miller and Edward Papier, CIMC; behavior
specialist Szifra Birke.
Advertising and marketing:
Word-of-mouth referrals.
Best resource to get started:
The AICPA and state PFP sections and
the Investment Management Consultants Association.
Smartest thing we did since starting
PFP: We were one of the first
companies in the nation to engage a psychologist
to assist with our clients emotional needs as they
relate to money.
Smartest thing we did in the past five
years: Moved away from fee-based
planning and accepted only clients that have a
minimum of $1 million of investable assets.
Budget breakdown: Salary:
70%; advertising and marketing: 5%; overhead: 25%.
What will change in the near future:
Well take on more responsibilities
such as mortgage refinancing. We intend to test
flat fees and a retainer-based structure, so
clients dont have to see market ups and downs in
their bills.
E-mail:
mtucci@lex-advisors.com .
Web site:
www.lex-advisors.com
.
Stuart Zimmerman, CPA/PFS, is a
principal of St. Louis-based Buckingham Asset
Management, which serves investors and has $500
million in assets under management and BAM Advisor
Services, LLC, which serves investment advisers
and collectively oversees $1.3 billion in assets.
The companies:
Buckingham Asset Management
314-725-0455
BAM Advisor Services
Key staff: Nine principals
who are investment advisers and seven other
investment advisers.
Advertising and marketing:
Director of research Larry Swedroe
has written three books.
Best resource to get started:
The national regulatory service
(NRS). This is the best of the compliance
services. They file for you and keep you within
regulations.
Smartest thing we did since starting
PFP: Decided on passive
investing from the start, allowing us to focus on
institutional, long-term, low-cost, tax-efficient
investing.
Smartest thing we did in the past five
years: Started BAM Advisor
Services in 1997, which provides back office
support services to about 100 firms, mostly
CPA-related registered investment adviser
practices.
What will change in the near future:
Buckingham and BAM were on the St.
Louis Business Journal list of fastest-growing
local companies each of the past five years. BAM
will add strategic alliances, enhancing what we
offer CPAs. Firms that manage assets using a
passive, academic approach and outsource
back-office functions probably will do well.
E-mail:
stzimmerman@bamstl.com .
Web site:
www.bamservices.com
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