From Intro Call to Financial Physical®: See How Our Team Works for You

Have you ever wondered what actually happens behind the scenes at a financial advisory firm? We believe you should know exactly what our process looks like before you decide to work with us.

In this video, Drew and Maddie pull back the curtain on our entire process. You’ll see who’s involved at each step, how our CPAs and financial advisors work together on your plan, and why having multiple specialists reviewing your situation matters.

You’ll discover:

• Who you’ll meet with first and what happens in that intro call
• How the Financial Physical® works and which team members are involved
• Why we review your last three years of tax returns (and what we typically find)
• What it looks like when CPAs and financial advisors actually collaborate instead of working in silos

Think of this as the behind-the-scenes tour you don’t usually get.

After watching this video, if you think this approach fits what you’re looking for, call us at 410-823-7283 or schedule a complimentary intro call at financialconsulate.com.

Transcript 

Drew: Hi, this is Drew Tignanelli. There’s a question a lot of people ask: Can I retire? The Financial Consulate has built an organization to help answer this question in a unique way. 

I have my associate Madison Bennett. Maddie, how are you doing? 

Maddie: Hi, I’m doing good. How are you? 

Drew: I’m doing great. Let’s go through the whole process as to how somebody learns about the Financial Consulate, and the difference as to how we work, and why the differences to how the team we’ve built at the Financial Consulate makes such a difference in helping someone retire. 

Why Comprehensive Financial Planning Matters in Retirement

Drew: The first thing is that being comprehensive is extremely important. So why don’t you explain to everyone what we do differently that helps us be comprehensive. 

Maddie: So many of you, I’m sure, are juggling different professionals, whether you’ve got your financial advisor over here, your CPA at a completely different firm, you’ve got an estate attorney, insurance agents. So you’re kind of trying to juggle and piece the pieces together yourself, because a lot of times they don’t talk to each other. So you’re the one that’s trying to coordinate everything. But when you work with us, we consolidate a lot of that for you. We have in-house CPAs, ourselves as advisors, and then we help refer you to different professionals, estate attorneys, and insurance agents we work with.

A Team-Based Approach: CPA, CFP®, and Financial Planning Specialists

Drew: I kind of compare it to a sports team. You may have to be the one coordinating the whole team and you don’t really understand everybody’s position. We do that for our clients. We come in and step in, and we coordinate the whole thing to make sure it all works for them. 

So that’s why we built it differently. That’s why most of the people in our firm are CPAs. I think we have 13 advisors, seven of them are CPA, CFP®. But the other ones, like yourself, have brought in other unique qualities so that we can be a team. 

For example, you work in an area called financial therapy, which helps to understand the psychological side of the equation. But we’ve got guys like Graham, who have master’s degrees in financial planning, guys like Roger, who have master’s degrees in investments and so forth. So it’s important that it’s a team of professionals, strong, credentialed, experienced, and educated professionals. That’s what we wanted to do differently.

The Intro Call: First Step in Working With a Financial Advisor

Drew: So everything starts with an intro call. Why don’t you help us and explain what the intro call is all about.

Maddie: When you reach out to us, you’ll likely speak to Krista first. And she’ll ask you some basic questions to help better understand who you are, what you’re worried about, and what you’re looking to get out of working with an advisor. 

From there, she’ll schedule an introduction call with Drew. This is where we explain what our processes are. And we start getting to know you. And we want to understand what’s keeping you up at night. How can we help you accomplish what you’re trying to accomplish and what your exact situation is.

Determining Fit: Who Financial Consulate Works With

Drew: In the intro call, we’ll be able to determine if we’re a good fit for you because we can only work with certain types of clients. And we want to make sure you understand, is the Financial Consulate going to be a good fit for you? Because we don’t want to force any relationship. We want to make sure it makes sense for both you and the Financial Consulate. That’s how we’re going to get the best fit. And if we do have a good fit, then we move on to the Financial Physical®.

The Financial Physical®: A Full Review of Your Personal Finances

Drew: This is where the team starts showing up. We want to prove ourselves to our clients. When you go to most financial people, they immediately want to just start telling you things they can do and so forth, and “I’ve got a great investment or insurance product” or whatever the case may be. 

We’re not going to do that. We want to be like a doctor of personal finance. We want to do a physical examination of your personal finances. And at the end of that Financial Physical®, you’re going to understand, does this team truly comprehensively understand me? Can they help me through my retirement?

What to Bring: Tax Returns, Investment Statements, Insurance, and Estate Documents

Maddie: And before that first meeting, we send you a document for things we’d like to review in that first meeting, like looking at your tax returns, investment statements, insurance policies, estate documents, really anything that paints a picture of your total financial life. And then from there, we pair you with an advisor and a CPA who work together to build out your plan. So in that first meeting, Drew and your advisor are both there listening, taking notes, asking any follow-up questions they see fit.

Between Meetings: Financial Analysis, Planning Technology, and Projections

Drew: At the end of that first meeting, you’re going to have a good understanding as to what we’re thinking, what areas we see weaknesses in and so forth. But between that first appointment and the second appointment, we’re going to, like a doctor, put those final pieces of analysis down. That’s where we’re going to bring in the technology to help enhance the evaluations we’ve done. And we’re going to come back to you in the second meeting and really help you understand what are the key points we want to address in your Financial Physical®.

Tax Projections, Roth Conversions, Insurance Gaps, and Estate Planning Review

Maddie: We’ll be working, like Drew said, behind the scenes, putting together tax projections, looking for Roth conversion opportunities, maybe any gaps that you have in your insurance, working with the state attorneys to figure out the best estate plan that fits with your wishes and needs. And then from there, in the second Financial Physical® meeting is really where we present everything to you.Your advisor, who’s been working with one of our CPAs, will walk you through your total financial plan, with all those projections and findings and recommendations, and provide you with a checklist of items to go over.

Common Tax Issues: Overpaying Taxes and Missed Opportunities

Drew: We found many times, working with the CPA as part of the Financial Physical® and giving you an evaluation, that there have been many times we have looked at their tax returns and realized they were overpaying taxes. We had a client where literally well over $90,000 of mistakes were made. 

But we see it all the time. A few thousand here, a few thousand there. There are a lot of CPAs that do great returns, but it’s so complex nowadays, Maddie, that you really need that tax specialist. If you’re going to have somebody that’s your financial advisor, you better make sure they’re a tax specialist because it’s not just the investments, it’s that whole package. And taxes are such an integral part of the investment strategy, making sure that, like you said earlier with Roth conversions, everyone needs a Roth strategy and knowing how to do that strategically. That’s where the CPA component of our Financial Physical® comes in strategically. 

Collaborative Planning: Multiple Professionals Reviewing Your Retirement Plan

Maddie: Drew may or may not be in that second meeting, but we’re working as a team. So he’s reviewed everything, we’ve gone over it with CPAs and all of that. You have many people that are really touching on your plan to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be. 

Drew: So then we go into the second part of the physical, and at that meeting we’re doing some more detailed evaluation of the client’s retirement. That’s where our collaborative retirement analyzer comes in. That’s actually going to be the workhorse for the client long-term. We’re going to look at everything and we’re going to show the client that when you do the Financial Physical®, you realize you’re working with somebody different than just an investment or insurance person. 

That’s our objective. We do investments just like everyone else does investments. But it’s that comprehensive piece when you put it together. That’s when you have a dynamic process to your retirement plan.

Retirement Questions: Social Security Timing, RMDs, and IRMAA

Drew: We do the Financial Physical® and that’s how we determine if you can actually retire. What tax strategies can we implement? How do we maximize family wealth efficiency? That’s where the estate planning comes in. Generational legacy planning. And you’ll stop wondering if there’s anything out there you’ve been missing. 

We call them invisible losses, Maddie. That’s when you forgot to do something and you didn’t realize you forgot. You just never knew it even existed. And, bam, you have what we call an invisible loss. 

Maddie: So if you’re approaching retirement or already retired and you’ve been managing everything yourself for a long time or bouncing between different professionals who really don’t talk to each other, you know how exhausting it is to continue to juggle all of those. Reach out to us. 

And you might be wondering: Am I doing this right? Should I take Social Security now or should I wait? What about my RMDs? What about IRMAA (which is related to your income and how it affects your Medicare premiums)? Or am I missing an opportunity that I don’t really know about? Feel free to reach out to us.

Working With a CPA and Financial Advisor Together

Drew: And, Maddie, we’re not the only financial advisors out there, but we might be the only ones who are also your CPA, and we’re working as a team, proving our value before you commit to anything. 

 

Maddie: So if you’re within five years of retirement or already retired and you want someone who sees your whole financial picture, not just pieces of it, let’s talk.

Schedule a Complimentary Intro Call With Financial Consulate

Drew: 410-823-7283, or 410-823-SAVE is an easy way to remember that. You can also visit FinancialConsulate.com to schedule a complimentary intro call. No pressure. Just a conversation. If we’re the right fit, we can go on to the Financial Physical®. 

Maddie: Because you’ve worked too hard to mess this up now. 

Drew: That’s true. I don’t want to mess anything up and we want to make sure you don’t. And unlike other advisors, we’ll prove it to you before you ever become a client by doing a Financial Physical® for you. 

The Financial Physical® proves the Financial Consulate difference. That’s what it’s all about, Maddie. So hope you give us a call and we’ll do your intro meeting.