By Mike Byrnes

When working with clients that have millions or even billions of dollars, advisors have to know how to transfer wealth. But they also need to provide a total solution that encompasses life  management issues.

Speaking at the First Annual Elite Wealth Management Conference in Boston, sponsored by Private Wealth magazine, Richard Flynn of Rothstein Kass said advisors to ultra-high-net-worth clients need to basically act as their quarterback.

"A team consists of seven or eight key service providers. It is a total solution to that family. That is the model that is winning today," stated Flynn.

Advisors working with the ultra wealthy have to be the macro manager of the micro managers, he said. There are hundreds of components that can be part of the model, including legal advice, accounting services, investment management and insurance protection. Insurance is of particular importance because all it takes is one accident-driving into a school bus full of children, for example-to potentially wipe out someone's wealth.

Russ Alan Prince of Prince and Associates asked the attendees, including among the most prominent advisors in the country, whether they really knew their clients. Repeatedly he proved that they did not because they are not asking enough questions.

Creative Solutions

On the topic of concierge medicine, Dan Carlin of WorldClinic spoke about different models of healthcare service. Some of the basic options are connecting a high-net-worth individual to the right doctors. Carlin's firm goes beyond that, providing telemedicine services for clients who are constantly on the go. Using devices such as an iPad, Carlin and his team can quickly diagnose individuals' problems in remote areas and overseas and get them the medical help they need. WorldClinic also provides clients with medicine kits to take on their trips.

"Your lifespan can be treated like an asset," said Carlin. "The most important asset you have is a beating heart. Not a car in the garage. Make an investment."

He challenged the attendees to think, "How much is your health worth?"

In the area of personal security, Carolyn Renzin, managing director of Guidepost Solutions LLC, provides services that go beyond "the guy with the gun" when protecting those with extreme wealth. She agreed with Carlin, stating, "What matters the most? Their beating heart. Their health. Then their family, assets, reputation and privacy."

She said the benefit of an advisor working with her firm is that he or she can be trained to recognize a crisis where security for the client is needed.

"Today, there is more publicly available information and these clients are targeted," she said. Guidepost Solutions uses CIA experts that have created an algorithm that finds perceived threats through social media.

"How many of your clients have valuable information that is stored online?" she asked the attendees. "Do they access their information from personal devices? Who else has access? The kids, nanny, butler? How many people have asked these questions?" Not one attendee raised a hand.

Mike Byrnes is a national speaker and owner of Byrnes Consulting LLC. His firm provides consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. Need help with business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness? Read more at ByrnesConsulting.com and follow @ByrnesConsultin.