That's a significant component to FamilyOfficeNetwork because, typically, it's easy for an advisor to lose touch with a client whose issues are being handled by multiple professionals. This is because the client is usually the one at the center of the system, Wheeler says.
"This keeps the advisor in the loop," he says. "I found time and time again, when referring a client to an attorney, let's say, the client is back six months later, and I never heard from the attorney he talked to."
As of now, the network is more vision than reality. Wheeler is still striving to gain the critical mass of advisors that he feels is needed to provide true comprehensive wealth management services. Since launching the service in April, about 21 advisors, CPAs and attorneys have signed on.
He attributes the slow start partly to the unsteady economy and the struggle it has caused among financial advisors. "Very honestly, it's going a lot slower than I'd like it to be," he says. "Everyone is so busy trying to stay even that taking on a new project is something they don't see themselves doing at the moment."
The network has thus far signed on local coordinators in nine locations: Oklahoma City, Dallas, Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington D.C., Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Palo Alto, Calif., San Diego and Sydney, Australia.
The job of the coordinator, Wheeler says, is to recruit professionals who would be members of the local network and potential partners in serving clients. A coordinator will typically try to limit the network to professionals within a 25-mile radius, he says.
Individuals pay $1,000 per year to be members of the network. Coordinators pay $3,000 per year and get a 20% share of all fees collected from local network members, Wheeler says.
At that cost level, Wheeler feels the network could make wealth management service cost-efficient for a broader range of clients. "When I first designed it, the target was a minimum of $2 million to $5 million in assets," he says. "Once we got it done and looked at it, I changed my mind. It's really something beneficial for any level of client if there is a need for two or more advisors."
He notes studies indicate clients prefer the comprehensive wealth management approach. He cites a survey by J.P. Morgan Fleming Advisor Services in which clients who were offered one service had a satisfaction rate of 39.9%, compared with 96.6% for clients who were offered three or more services.
Mark Tibergien, a consultant with Moss Adams LLP in Seattle, says the network could be a big cost saver for advisors at a time when they're under pressure to expand services. But he was skeptical of the claim that it's suited for all clients. "That's a great example of someone creating an outsource solution for practices that don't have the wherewithal to do it on their own," he says.