It has been said that problems are really opportunities lying in wait. Many entrepreneurs can trace their success back to a problem that needed solving and a new approach they came up with. Even when that new approach disrupts the status quo, we celebrate the steady march of innovation because it pushes each industry forward. It's one of the reasons that innovation is a core value at Wealthquest – it is part of our DNA. In fact, Wealthquest was born from a simple idea – a mission to solve a problem that has plagued the financial services industry for decades.
Money flows through all aspects of our lives, and for many years, the industry approach to money management has been fragmented. Different advisors giving clients siloed advice that is ignorant of the big picture has become all too common. Bankers, insurance agents, 401(k) advisors, and even well-intended CPAs and attorneys are only privy to a narrow window of your financial life. Furthermore, the industry is set up to push products over outcomes with no overarching incentive to pursue efficiency, correct oversights, or to help fulfill the end goal.
Wealthquest began in 2006 with a completely different mindset: to build a more comprehensive wealth management company from the ground up. Our vision aligned client-advisor incentives with the big picture and we made a commitment to celebrate the pursuit of excellence. Our first office space was a massive, open room with one conference table and four temporary desks clinging to the walls. But even in those humble beginnings, the “all under one roof” model was taking off.
CEO Wade Daniel shared, “Those first years were electric as we introduced a new model of wealth management. Prospective clients would say, ‘Wait, you're going to manage my investments, my financial plan, and prepare my taxes? All for one fee?’ It was fun to watch the light bulb moments as prospects hired Wealthquest to bring efficiency and multiple services together.”
In retrospect, adding tax preparation services seemed obvious, like two sides of the same coin. Vice President Dan Larson added, “Clients experience better outcomes when the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. For example, a prospective client's accountant took pride in their client paying zero tax. We pointed out that this was, in fact, a missed opportunity to take some capital gains tax-free. Advice in December is worth a lot in April. Coordinated tax planning makes that happen.”
But this service model which is obvious to us has not been realized by much of the financial advisement industry.
David Rae, contributor to Forbes, notes in his March 2022 article that “According to Orion advisor solutions, many advisors lack the tools to even begin offering tax planning; other financial advisors are not even allowed by their firms to offer tax guidance…few financial advisors even take the time to collect and review their clients' tax returns.”
1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrae/2022/03/14/why-most-financial-advisors-do-not-provide-valuable-tax-planning/
At Wealthquest, we feel that common sense means looking at all the dollars and cents.
As Wealthquest grew rapidly, we doubled down on the All Under One Roof approach, adding Estate Planning credits and services to the model in 2014. “We found that a client's big picture always includes their family, and family is inseparable from wills, trusts, and final wishes,” shared Vice President Steve King. “Caring for the estate plan reveals the heartbeat of the family and brings depth and meaning to all the work we do.”
However, a major hurdle for families to get this work done is cost. We found that some families put off the conversation, not just because it’s a heavy topic to discuss, but because of the financial investment often required in building a comprehensive estate plan. In order to remove that barrier, Wealthquest began offering an estate plan credit for our clients that would pay for most, if not all, of the estate planning work that needed to be done. This benefit is so cutting edge that this offering does not even appear on the annual list of advisor services within either the 2022 Schwab or the 2021 Fidelity benchmarking studies of Registered Investment Advisor firms.
Now in our 20th year, Wealthquest is committed more than ever to raising the bar in the industry and empowering clients to live meaningful lives. On top of our core services of investment management, financial planning, tax planning, and estate planning, we've added trust services, insurance planning, education planning, and Social Security & Medicare planning. More recently, we launched our Priorities exercise that helps clients identify and actively pursue their short-term goals. Our in-person and online Learning Center events continue to provide programming from our own experts and outside advisors about both financial and lifestyle topics such as travel and wellness.
By bringing all these services together under one roof for one simple fee, our clients can save money, save time, and achieve better outcomes.
