The unique relationship Claris Advisors shares with our affiliate Anders CPAs + Advisors was one of the major reasons I joined the firm. Trends in wealth management indicate that greater coordination of tax and investment advice can lead to lower management costs for high-net-worth individuals. These clients typically have investable assets greater than one million dollars and are everyday professionals, business owners or inheritance recipients. Those managing their aging parents’ finances and investments also benefit considerably when their tax and investment advisors collaborate to ensure assets are passed down in the most effective and efficient manner possible.
Key Takeaways:
- Combining tax and investment advice creates a streamlined experience for high-net-worth clientele seeking to create more ease of management for themselves and their executors
- Aging parents’ health may affect their ability or desire to manage multiple investment or retirement accounts in addition to annuities or pensions
- The partnership between Anders CPAs + Advisors and Claris Advisors provides high-net-worth individuals with consolidated reporting, allowing them to develop more efficient planning strategies
Managing Aging Parents’ Financial and Investment Planning
The synergy between tax and investment planning especially benefits families when aging parents wish to pass down assets in the most effective and efficient manner. I recently worked with a family whose patriarch wanted to make sure his plan to distribute the family assets was in place. Over the years, particularly after a turn in his health status, the number of investment accounts, insurance policies, annuities and pensions grew to become unmanageable. Additionally, he no longer wanted to continue to prepare tax returns and deal with technical issues such as required minimum distributions (RMD) from multiple IRA accounts.
The large number of accounts and the corresponding beneficiary designations needed to be updated and reviewed to ensure everything was correct. Partnering with our CPAs, our clients’ tax returns were properly prepared and, in the process, planning issues were uncovered. This coordination resulted in a large refund of overpaid quarterly estimates. Consolidation of the accounts and reviewing the beneficiary designations, as well as mapping asset location, will make a big difference in the ease of management for the client and executor going forward.
Tax and Investment Planning Integration Moves Clients Forward
Due to health reasons, both parents recently became temporarily unable to make decisions and the responsibility fell to an adult child to continue the work of unifying both the tax payments and investment accounts. The access to consolidated reporting and verifying that the financial power of attorney is properly documented allowed for accurate and timely communication between both tax and investment advisors.
That prompt communication led to an efficient strategy for the family to know their interests are being handled in a fiduciary manner. The relationship between Claris Advisors and Anders CPAs + Advisors is one that brings our clients lower-cost, tax-managed and globally allocated portfolios that align with their goals and objectives.
I am proud of our affiliation with Anders CPAs + Advisors. It is a real strategic benefit in providing the necessary coordination for our clients to help them achieve their highest potential. If you would like to learn more about our process at Claris and our affiliation with Anders, please contact Claris below.
