Also working in the favor of gift annuities is that they generally receive more favorable tax treatment than a charitable remainder trust. "People like the fact that the check is the same every month and backed up by all the assets of the institution to which they've donated," Sangster says.
An advisor should play a role in a client's philanthropy plans no matter what route they chose, says Michael Haubrich, owner of Financial Service Group in Racine, Wis. Haubrich is often involved in helping clients-generally in their late sixties-pursue gift-giving goals, including the establishment of client remainder trusts and other vehicles.
One reason advisors don't get involved in such matters, he says, is that from a business perspective they may see it as lost assets. Or they may be shunted aside as the estate planning attorneys take over, he adds.
If advisors are comprehensive in their planning approach, he says, they should be part of the process every step of the way. "I really am the strategist in the process," Haubrich says. "I use the attorneys, accountants and administrative companies as tacticians" to carry out the plans that he has devised with clients.
Jeffrey Daniher, co-owner of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC in Cincinnati, concurs, saying advisor involvement in clients' charitable giving is a sign of a healthy advisor/client relationship. Daniher says he's worked with about 20% of his clients on philanthropy pans, including eight who have donor-advised funds. He also makes regular use of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation as a vehicle for his client's gift giving. He notes that since those donated assets are not managed by his firm, philanthropy work doesn't benefit the firm's bottom-line. But he feels it strengthens his relationship with clients.
"If it's in the client's best interest, we do our best to help them," he says. "It's a triple win. The charity wins, the client wins and we win, because we help cement the relationship."