The Next 30 Years ...
Just as when we began our "Stage II" journey in the
1970s, today we need those individuals who will set the standards and
create guidelines for others to follow. The need for a professional
association to give our new profession credibility is critical. We need
the education and curriculum that will broaden the advisor's scope to
encompass the totality of one's wealth. Yes, it's déjà vu all over
again. And the "critical epoch" has arrived. There is no turning back.
But what needs to be done, and what is currently being done to
effectuate theses changes?
Integrating The Three Dimensions Of Wealth
"Total wealth" management requires that professional
advisors learn techniques that will help clients integrate the 3
dimensions of their wealth. "Personal wealth" will be addressed with
client's families, and advisors will be the catalysts for capturing and
preserving their family values. The utilization of programs such as
"The Family Legacy Manuscript" will become part of the practitioners'
tool kit. A manuscript is a comprehensive document in written form,
bound for each member of the family. A "typical" manuscript will be in
excess of 80 pages and will provide the "credo" for how each family
wishes to "carry on" throughout the 21st and into the 22nd century.
Passing on "values" will move to the forefront of desirable goals for
clients.
Families will discuss their "Social Wealth" as part
of their "total wealth" management and philanthropy will become a "way
of life." The desire to "make a difference" will be emphasized by
advisors and naturally "caught by," rather than "taught to," younger
generations. Utilization of "family foundations" will be a tool that
will become a staple for advisors.
Even in the realm of financial planning,
"values-based" incentive trusts and "family banks," will begin to
surface. And why not? If there are tools and techniques that can be
used to eliminate or avoid potential problems by shaping or modifying
desirable behaviors, then let's introduce them into the process.
Additional education will be required to elevate
current one-dimensional financial advisors to "3 Dimensional Wealth
Managers." The blending of financial advising and psychological
counseling will move front and center. Behavioral finance will become
part of the curriculum for "total wealth" managers.
Multidisciplinary approaches to the "total wealth"
management arena will blossom. Due to the vast knowledge and experience
that is required to manage the total wealth process, the solo
practitioner will have a reduced chance of providing these services.
Like-minded groups of professional advisors will formulate so that all
aspects (three dimensions) of one's wealth can be addressed.
You Can't Steer A Parked Car
In order to navigate through life's challenges, you
have to be in motion. And the "total wealth" management movement is
being created as you read this article. Here are just some of the
programs that have been established:
"3 Dimensional Wealth
International" (www.3DWealth.org) has been created. This association
serves those "values-based" professional advisors who wish to
become "total wealth" managers. The mission is to provide
financial advisors with an on-line/on-demand educational
curriculum that adds a new level of psychological counseling to
the traditional financial education programs, which exist today. The
goal is to help advisors create their "niche," thus distinguishing
themselves from "the pack," by uniquely qualifying them to counsel
their clients through life's difficult transitions.
A new professional designation
has been established, the "Certified 3 Dimensional Wealth Practitioner"
(C3DWP). Professional advisors will earn this designation through
successful completion of the educational requirements, along with
adherence to the "Code of Ethics.").
I believe the future will
generate clusters of professional advisors who speak the same "3
dimensional" language. These like-minded advisors will naturally
gravitate towards one another and establish "3 Dimensional Wealth
Counseling Centers" throughout the world.
The "3 Dimensional Wealth plan"
will become the tool that will finally bring the client's whole picture
into focus, as represented in Exhibit 8.
Advisors will take on a more interesting and
meaningful career path as their clients' trustworthy "3 Dimensional
Wealth Manager."
The purpose of this article is to share with the reader a radical and inspiring concept concerning success and wealth. My goal is to help redefine wealth and create a "balance sheet" for your clients based on the personal, financial and social aspects of their lives. If you challenge your preconceived notion of wealth, it will help you embrace this new, broader-based approach to wealth management. The future of our profession will be different, brighter and more fulfilling if we will elevate our thinking to a new level, or better yet, to a new dimension: "3 Dimensional Wealth."
Monroe "Roey" Diefendorf Jr., MI,
CLU, ChFC, CFP, RFC, CIMA, C3DWP is the 4th generation of his family in
the financial services business. He is CEO of Diefendorf Capital
Planning Associates and founder of "3 Dimensional Wealth International
LLC."