Goals-Based Wealth Management: An Integrated and Practical Approach to Changing the Structure of Wealth Advisory Practices

Chapter 15An Alternative Structure

Philippe Néricault Destouches, a French dramatist of the early 18th century once said, “Criticism is easy, and art is difficult.” It would be fair to apply this same saying to the first two chapters of Part 4 of this book. I can hear someone say, “If the current structure doesn't work, what might work instead?” This is the point of our final chapter, which combines two thoughts: first, the lead advisor plays a central role and, second, some leverage must be built into the process to allow some satisfactory profitability for the wealth management firm, without having to fall into the trap of “selling” products.

The Primordial Role of the Advisor

No one should be surprised by the contents of this first section, which will be short. The notion that there is a need for an interpreter is the most important insight. As already discussed in Chapters 3, 10, and 14, clients need someone to help translate whatever occurs in “financialese” into their native tongues. We concluded that translation goes in two directions: clients rely on the firm to make sure that their needs are truly met, and because of this, there is a crucial role for someone to translate their goals and needs into actionable strategies. Clients also must be prepared to learn what can be done and what cannot be done. It is unfortunate that many individuals think they know markets when, in fact, they have only limited experience, colored by the many behavioral biases aptly described ...