Page 30 - Investment Advisor April/May 2023

Cover Story

“Yes they ‘manage’ money as well, but the true planning and income to build a budget and steadily grow their wealth,” Savir
consultation is not in their DNA, and FINRA’s rules against explains. “In coming to work with us, they have often just sold
‘selling away’ make it untenable for them to do what we can their business, and now they have a really significant pot of
do as a fee-only RIA,” he states. “We had a strong conviction money that they have to steward for the long term.”
that we could differentiate ourselves in this space as a fee-only
RIA, where our sole source of revenue comes from advising More Than Investments
clients. It’s great to be able to have that true alignment.” Savir says another big part of the deliverable that has brought suc-
Savir says the firm at first tried to also serve the mass afflu- cess to the firm is what he calls “curated lifestyle services.” “One
ent marketplace, but it soon became apparent that the plan- cool thing we have done is build a curated shortlist of best-in-class
ning needs of the two markets were different enough that true providers in different spaces, from cybersecurity to private avia-
specialization was needed. tion to curation of art collections,” he explains. “These are areas
that we know are raising challenges in the lives of our clients, so
Often Irrelevant we make sure we have the right experience and the right relation-
Regarding these planning needs, Savir says, one big differ- ships to help them navigate what can be some complex needs.”
ence between the two client groups is the scope of goals being According to Savir, cybersecurity is a major topic right
considered. For many clients in the middle class and the mass now, because UHNW people are principal targets for hackers
affluent, financial advisors are asked to help with retirement and malicious identity theft. “Frankly, a lot of really wealthy
planning and the effort to build shorter-term financial wellness. people haven’t treated their personal tech stack like a business
Much of the work on the accumulation side involves coor- would, and that’s an issue,” he shares. “Just like a business with
dinating tax-advantaged retirement plan assets, health savings substantial sophistication and assets, they should be doing
accounts, 529 college savings accounts and taxable brokerage penetration testing on their systems and having professionals
accounts. Then, the decumulation effort involves tax-efficient set up and monitor their networks.”
retirement income planning and, in some cases, relatively
modest but still meaningful legacy planning. Attracting the Right Talent
These needs exist for UHNW clients, to some extent, but Asked for other tips about finding success in the UHNW space,
the overall planning needs are much more expansive, Savir Savir emphasizes the importance of securing top talent and
explains, and the most important goals in the eyes of the clients making the firm an inviting, attractive place to work for skilled
tend not to be so personal. In the case of Element Pointe Family staff: “One of the keys to this at our firm is that we have created
Office, for example, the current new-client minimum is $15 pathways to partnership.”
million in investable assets. This is enough for any individual or In first founding the firm, Savir explains, his instinct was
family to immediately stop working and enjoy a “retired” life. to retain all the ownership among the two founding partners,
“Given that basic fact, ‘retirement’ as a concept is not really and to try to attract talent via generous salaries and benefits.
the goal or topic of our client conversations,” he says. “Instead, “However, I have a mentor who is the founding partner of a
the focus is on finding a bigger purpose for their wealth, and very large law firm, and before we started Element Pointe, I
putting a wealth plan in place that addresses personal fulfill- sat down with him and told him about my approach,” he says.
ment and intergenerational legacy. Baring extreme levels of “Well, he quickly set me straight. He told me I would never be
spending, most of the clients we are dealing with will never able to attract and retain talented people if we didn’t give them
run out of money in their lifetime.” this path to partnership, simply because the most talented
That being said, even clients with what can fairly be called people will leave and start their own firms.”
a massive amount of wealth still worry about worst-case sce- Savir says there are some creative and innovative ways to
narios. “It’s really interesting, because the most common ques- create ownership opportunities for junior advisors and key
tion we get doesn’t really change depending on the amount of staffers, for example through “phantom equity arrangements.”
wealth, whether a person has $15 million or $500 million,” Savir This is similar to the approach his firm is taking, Savir says,
observes. “What they want to know is, ‘How much can I respon- and it is working out fantastically.
sibly spend while still achieving my long-term legacy goals?’” “We feel strongly that this is the way to build a truly strong
The wealth expert says this is the case because many cli- and stable firm,” he explains. “It’s gratifying to see that some of
ents become UHNW individuals after the sale of a successful our earliest team members are now participating in a [stock-]
business that they had spent substantial time building and appreciation-rights plan that we created. When we eventually
operating. “So, these people probably were used to drawing invite them to be partners, that phantom equity can financially
a substantial salary, and they were able to use that regular support their taking some ownership of the firm.”

28 INVESTMENT ADVISOR APRIL/MAY 2023 | ThinkAdvisor.com