"A Season for Giving" By Lisa Gray Giving is on everyone's mind this time of year. And that's a good thing. It also presents the opportunity for advisors seriously interested in attracting wealthy clients to ask them about their philanthropic interests. Family foundations can range in size from $1 million on up. A family with a net worth of as little as $5 million can establish one comfortably. A family with less capital can be actively involved in a public charity or a donor advised fund. Some families for whom setting up a family foundation is not a viable option instead set up an endowment through a donor advised fund in an effort to establish a family legacy of giving. Either way, philanthropy is a growing and pertinent interest to your clients, whether you are addressing it with them or not.   The reason many advisors avoid talking to their clients about philanthropy is its highly personal nature. A philanthropic interest may be a passionate topic for the client. Let's face it, dealing with highly emotional topics has not traditionally been the arrow advisors are most likely to pull out of their arsenal. But it's a powerful one, and clients want advisors to broach the subject. Lauren Katzowitz Shenfield, executive director of Philanthropy Advisors in New York City cites the importance of asking the 'difficult' questions when it comes to philanthropy. "Asking clients about their values and dreams, their family dynamics and the legacy they want to leave may seem too personal or invasive, but a successful philanthropic conversation depends on their answers. Advisors need to understand who their clients are beyond their investment portfolios and donors need to understand themselves and what they want to achieve with their giving."   Successful advisors add value by being familiar with their clients values, motivations, and goals regarding both family and philanthropic issues-not just their investment objectives. As stated earlier, families often use philanthropic organizations to carry on a family legacy. How is an advisor to know about, much less understand, that legacy if personal questions-especially the ones that are commonly thought of as 'uncomfortable' never get asked?   By establishing a more personal level of interaction with clients, advisors make a huge deposit into the relationship trust bank. The more and larger the deposits made into that bank, the greater trust can be built. But be careful, advisors seeking to 'get into' their clients' philanthropic mindset just to get to the assets can be spotted from miles away. Make sure your motives are pure-that you are expressing interest in an effort to get to know your client better and to help them achieve something that's highly personal and important to them. Going in with the right focus will lead to winning results for everyone. What better holiday gift could anyone ask for? Lisa Gray is president/CEO of graymatter STRATEGIES LLC, a financial journalism and marketing consulting firm based in Memphis, TN. She has 17 years' experience in wealth management and is the author of "The New Family Office: Innovative Strategies for Consulting to the Affluent," http://www.euromoneybooks.com/default.asp?page=4&productID=3178  She consults with advisors on the effectiveness of their relationships with their clients.   **** Since our inception we have helped over 400 financial consultants make the move to independence. "I cannot express to you the joy and the increase in quality of life that I have found since leaving the wirehouse world." Shane Merritt, Branch Manager Merritt Capital Management Here Are A Few of the Benefits of "Going Independent": Payouts on all your business, including fee based accounts of 90% plus. The opportunity to build substantial equity in your business and sell it at an attractive multiple when you desire. The opportunity for you, not someone at the home office, to control your bottom line and the profitability of your practice. The opportunity to build related businesses such as insurance, qualified plans, or trust companies, and keep those revenues. The opportunity to eliminate your clients' perceptions of conflicts of interest with research departments and corporate finance groups - TRUE OBJECTIVITY. The opportunity to charge and keep substantial fee income for planning, analysis and other services to your clients. The availability of technology that is as good or better than anything you have now. The list goes on... This Month's Registered Representative Opportunity: This independent broker-dealer has been supporting advisors for over 27 years. Their focus and philosophy is simple: Create value. The true purpose of a broker dealer is to serve the interests of its representatives. Many firms lose that focus over time and shift to self-interests, proprietary products, and/or parent company demands. This BD will always focus on you! They run an efficient back-office, provide big-firm services with a small firm touch and offer one the most competitive payout schedules in the country. At this BD, they understand your independence, and that their role is only to perpetuate your success. They also understand that the client relationship is between you and the client and that they work for you. With that said, they feel that 27 years of independence, solid financial foundation and resourceful philosophy are a perfect fit for the representative that needs no boundaries. With this BD, independence is paramount. Allowing their representatives to conduct their business without obstruction or the introduction of proprietary products is important to them. Because of this value, their independent representatives have certain freedoms and access to outside resources not generally provided or promoted by other broker dealers. This BD has no proprietary products, advisory services or technology. They rely on outside resources for the things they should, those things best left to the vendors that specialize it such items. They have a strong and experienced Compliance, Brokerage Service, and Licensing & Commissions Department. Those are the areas they specialize in. This BD understands that transitioning your practice is a HUGE decision and requires a great deal of planning as well as attention to detail. Their goal is to ensure to the best of their ability that your transition experience to the firm is successful, quick and efficient. They try to make it easy to do business with them and will treat you like a part of their family, before, during and after your transition.   If you know someone who might be interested in the above opportunity or who might be ready to go Independent, please have them contact Jason Burke directly at 727-725-8876.

Here's some additional information from Turning Point, Inc...

www.BrokerBestPractices.com
www.BankBrokerBestPractices.com
www.IndependentRepBestPractices.com (*Sept 2005 REPORT AVAILABLE!)
www.FABestPractices.com (Financial Advisors)
www.InsuranceAgentBestPractices.com

By clicking on any of these links, you will be taken to a webpage where you can Preview these reports, take a short survey, and then print the entire report when you're done. It's that easy.

TURNING POINT PARTNERS:
Are you getting the most out of your business?  Are you operating at peak efficiency?  How about your marketing, your compliance,  or your HR?  We have some friends who can help you out.  Just visit our Partners section in our website for links to a variety of services that are helpful to building your business!

Quote of the day: