Interesting article on changing needs with increased assets

[catman2020]

Article from Forbes on how value of professional tax planning and estate advice changes with increased assets. The DIY mentality that gets someone to seven figures net worth can be a barrier to judiciously using professionals when they can add value.

https://apple.news/Anp4AINDYTSmue8ReOzdt2A

 

[jimbee]

Written by a financial planner. Hm.

 

[6miths]

Yes things do get more complicated as assets accumulate and good advice is valuable. The question is more about where to get it. Until the 'financial advice' industry agrees to a fiduciary standard and robustly enforces it - I would not be looking there. An accountant with tax and estate experience and an estate planning lawyer would be where I would be looking. To me this is just another ad from the financial planning industry aimed at whales. The first sentence is the truest of the whole article. I would recommend Phil DeMuth's book - 'The Affluent Investor'. He starts with the same cautionary note but seems to keep it in mind throughout his book. I love the financial advisors who talk the 'Millionaire Next Door' and indexing talk but most of the time I find it just window dressing to get you in the door. The main goal is still to enrich themselves and their employer - which just to be clear is not you.

As I side note, I find it interesting how many MDs have gotten out of medicine to go into financial advising as this author has.

 

[jebmke]

Yes things do get more complicated as assets accumulate and good advice is valuable. The question is more about where to get it. Until the 'financial advice' industry agrees to a fiduciary standard and robustly enforces it - I would not be looking there. An accountant with tax and estate experience and an estate planning lawyer would be where I would be looking. To me this is just another ad from the financial planning industry aimed at whales. The first sentence is the truest of the whole article. I would recommend Phil DeMuth's book - 'The Affluent Investor'. He starts with the same cautionary note but seems to keep it in mind throughout his book. I love the financial advisors who talk the 'Millionaire Next Door' and indexing talk but most of the time I find it just window dressing to get you in the door. The main goal is still to enrich themselves and their employer - which just to be clear is not you.

As I side note, I find it interesting how many MDs have gotten out of medicine to go into financial advising as this author has.

In my experience, the accountants with estate and tax experience tend to be focused on the compliance (filing) side and less on the planning side. A law office with estate capabilities that include partners/senior people with advanced degrees in taxation is more likely to get the type of tax planning mentality that often requires close coordination with other aspects of your estate plan. Many small firms simply don't have this expertise in taxation which is one of the reasons we have avoided considering any of the law firms in our (small) town.

 

[6miths]

Yes agree that this is likely the case as far as accountants go especially in small markets. May also be true of lawyers to some degree in small markets. I think that things are less complicated north of the border perhaps. I feel that I have been lucky with the mix of expertise in my accountants firm. Probably not the norm.

 

[deserat]

....
As I side note, I find it interesting how many MDs have gotten out of medicine to go into financial advising as this author has....

Me, too. Saw the same at a 'wealth advisor' firm here where I live...guy who started it was an MD.

 

[gcgang]

Article seems pretty harmless, although the message, sometimes it pays to pay for help, will receive a pretty cold reception from all of us super genius DIYers.

I share the authors concern for incapacity issues. DW doesn't have much interest. We have a full service broker with whom I'm relatively comfortable, but we don't use them for much other than holding appreciated assets and using their checking and credit Card. They and their Trust department are set up to handle things when I'm no longer able.

 

[HI Bill]

...all of us super genius DIYers.

We may not all be super genius DIYers, but we do have one thing in our favor: we work for our best interest, and not a financial institution’s.

 

[SpartacusSchmartacus]

We may not all be super genius DIYers, but we do have one thing in our favor: we work for our best interest, and not a financial institution’s.

Well said ... you are your best advocate with full 100% interest in what you do.
But there are others who direly need the services of these planners ... can think of a few I know personally.