A. Make sure to do your due diligence before recommending any managers.

B. Introduce the prospects to at least two or more prospective managers so they can make the choice, not you.

C. Insist clients make the final decision. Don't offer your opinion. This forces clients to be accountable for their decision, reducing the chances of you being blamed.

D. Create an Investment Policy Statement per account that defines what the manager is expected to do. This should be reviewed annually by you and the client. It includes asset allocation, non-approved assets, etc. This minimizes the chances of the manager making mistakes and creates the ground rules for retention.

E. Check a couple of times a year how well the relationship is working. Inadequate service is often more important than poor performance. If the relationship is not working, either fix the situation or fire the manager,

F. Require the manager chosen to report their performance as it relates to the agreed upon benchmarks. This will give you an early warning if the manager is doing an unacceptable job.

A. If your client is interested in your advice regarding the management of their portfolios and agrees to let you arrange a meeting for them to meet and interview pre-qualified managers, you are performing your role as trusted adviser. This is a lot different than just giving them names to call.

B. Trusted advisers are people who help clients plan, monitor and achieve important financial goals. This is what you are already doing.

C. Being a trusted adviser does not mean that you are managing the assets, only the process.

A. If you are going to be in the wealth management business you may lose such relationships. These may include stockbrokers, insurance agents, banks, estate planning attorneys and other financial advisers. This is an important concern.

B. You can minimize the potential loss of these clients by:

C. Those professionals you include on your wealth management team should be eager to send you leads. You have to remind them to send you business in return. These new leads can replace those clients you might lose.

D. This program should also generate leads from satisfied clients as well as give you something to distinguish yourself in the marketplace.

A. There should be no problems if the program is offered in the way we recommend. Many accounting and legal firms in Illinois and around the country are offering similar wealth management programs.

B. Boston law firms, banks, brokers, insurance firms and major CPA firms offer such programs. Regulatory compliance is required but should not be a significant deterrent.

C. To maintain both the real and perceived image of impartiality, we do not recommend taking commissions, except under certain circumstances, selling products or steering clients to exclusive vendors.

D. Most insurance covers this practice; check beforehand.

A. The time people really need help and are most interested in their trusted adviser’s counsel. When the market is making all managers look brilliant, there will be less need for this kind of counsel.

B. You can minimize the impact of such catastrophes by recommending a conservative asset manager. Older, more anxious clients should have a large portion of their money in bonds, minimizing the disruption a bear-market can instill. Believe it or not, we have not lost that many clients in the last three years.

C. You are not the money manager. Your job is to monitor the money manager and advise your clients. By just introducing your clients to high quality managers, you are not making the decision what manager to hire.

D. Everything you do has some risk, but there are distinct rewards in this program that are worthwhile understanding and enjoying.

E. You can get paid either by us (receive a portion of our fee), by the client (hourly or a per cent of the assets under management), or you can take your fee out of the assets under management (if you do the billing and pay us as a sub-adviser).

F. You keep competitors away from your best clients. Almost all large banks, brokers and insurance companies are offering wealth management. A good offense – offering such services yourself – can keep the “wolf” from the door.

G. This allows you to differentiate yourself from your competitors. It also provides a unique selling proposition to help you go after new clients.

A. Like any new service, the more you know about wealth management the greater likelihood you will want to offer it.

B. Most of you have been offering advice regarding the building, protecting and distribution of wealth for most of your careers. We are basically repackaging it - coordinating the various elements and helping you get properly paid for your work.

C. Risk taking is a part of building any professional practice. What is the downside? To us the biggest downside is letting your clients seek this kind of counsel from someone else, potentially causing you to lose this person. This service can bind the client closer to you.

August 2004