The Benefits of Working with a Team of Advisors
What’s better than working with one amazing financial advisor? Working with a team of them, of course.
Over the past couple decades, the rise of the Independent RIA has taken the financial services world by storm. When Sam Hull first founded Northstar Financial Planning back in 1994, there weren’t nearly as many options when it came to finding a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional to work with. Luckily, for consumers, this has all changed.
While the CFP® certification is still certainly difficult to come by—since earning this esteemed designation involves passing a very difficult test, completing 6,000 hours of professional experience, and committing to a high ethical standard—there are certainly more CFP® to choose from than there once were.
And nowadays, many planners specialize in working with certain groups of people. For example, some advisors work exclusively with dentists, others with young professionals just starting their career. This is great news because it means you can find someone who is an expert in helping people just like you. You don’t have to settle for a generic planner who isn’t accustomed to helping widows or business owners, which are a couple of our specialties here at Northstar.
But what happens when you combine a group of highly talented advisors, each with their own specialty, all under one roof? Clients have access to not just one specialist, but many. And as many advisors like ourselves have found—the clients truly benefit from this team structure.
What’s an Advisory Team?
As the name implies, advisory teams are small groups of advisors who work together to service a specific group of clients. These teams can be organized in several ways.
1) They can be organized according to an area of planning such as portfolio management, estate planning, life planning, insurance, etc.
2) Or, the team can be comprised of a group of individuals who each works with a different client segment; where one planner may work with divorcees, another might help the business owner clients.
3) The third option is a hybrid model where both combinations exist. There may be a dedicated portfolio manager or investment manager who handles the oversight and monitoring of client portfolios while planners mainly assist with client-facing matters. The planners might then be broken down further into specialties, but all work together for the benefit of the client.
Benefit 1: Clients Have Access to a Broader Scope of Knowledge and Information
More advisors mean a broader scope of knowledge and information. If there are any questions about strategy or a need for a second opinion, we have multiple minds to access at any given time. For example, Kristina George is simply mad about taxes (she used to be a practicing CPA), and I myself get jazzed about behavioral psychology. With such a talented team in house, you won’t have to look outside the firm for answers to your financial questions.
Of course, we happily work in conjunction with your CPA and attorneys to make sure your actions and outcomes are all in alignment; but as a team, we’ll lead the charge in helping you achieve a sense of personal and financial well-being.
Benefit 2: Advisor Teams Improve Efficiency
They say many hands make light work, but we think many hands make more thorough work. Under the teaming structure, you have multiple financial experts looking at your big picture from different vantage points, each bringing his or her specialties and skill sets to the table. Just like a sports team would work together for a common goal, your group of advisors works together to uncover the best strategies for reaching your financial goals. When your professional advisors are sharing information, we can catch potential problems or opportunities we weren’t able to see alone.
Benefit 3: Consistency Over Time
With the team structure, you don’t have to worry about getting help if your advisor is out of the office, retires, or leaves the firm. The rest of the team—whom you have built a long-standing relationship with—will be there to support you. They will already be well-versed in your plan and your needs, so getting you the help you need is seamless and easy. This can be especially comforting in the wake of loss, when the need for financial and personal support systems can be urgent.
Let’s Get Acquainted
One of the greatest compliments we hear from our clients is how comfortable and close they feel with all the members of our team. We truly believe this is made possible by our team’s unique collaborative bond and ability to work together harmoniously for our clients’ common benefit.
Each one of us truly brings something special to the firm, and we’d love the chance to share that with you. Meet the team here on our site and then go ahead and schedule some time on our calendar so we can get to know you.
