ATS Advanced Trustee Strategies, a San Diego-based financial services firm specializing in multigenerational estate planning, has joined the Avantax network with over $400 million in total client assets, the companies announced.
Formerly with FSC Securities Corporation, a broker-dealer of Advisor Group, ATS is led by veteran advisor Sandeep Varma, president of the firm. According to a news release, Varma wanted to grow his firm by working with Avantax’s network of CPAs and accounting firms, which can be referral sources for Avantax financial professionals, and by expanding his firm’s national footprint to potentially include an office on the East Coast.
“Family is very important to me, whether it’s the families of my clients, the family feel of my firm, or the environment Avantax has created where you feel like a family and they care about your success,” Varma said in the release. “When I decided to join Avantax, I quickly heard from their senior leaders. Having a direct link to leadership is a big deal to me.”
He said in an email that the firm stresses family communication in its estate planning strategies.
“It all boils down to communication,” he said in an email. “If that’s lacking, divisions can occur. If communication is strong, unity can be better achieved for two or three generations of families.”
Varma said that parents often don’t want to tell their children how much they will inherit based on the belief that disclosing the information will inhibit any drive in offspring to earn their own wealth.
“Or maybe they have second or third marriages,” Varma said. “There are elephants in the room that are difficult to talk about.”
Varma said that when he and his team get involved with a family, they require a meeting with all familiy members. He said that no two family issues are the same, but discussing them together serves to clear the air so everybody can get down to business with the same goal of preserving generational wealth.
“We all know there is no such thing as a perfect family,” he said in the email, “But we operate under the maxim that communication is the heart of estate planning. Our job as advisors and as fiduciaries is to understand both sides and to guide the family towards the same goal so they can plan together.”
Varma said that he and his team also strive to work with related professionals, including attorneys and CPAs. He said that without an estate plan in place, a death in the family can cause members to grapple for control, which can be very damaging to the family legacy.
“We work with accountants as a team to help clients better understand the tax implications, both positive and negative, of various types of investments,” he said. “We find that it helps clients to get a full understanding when they hear about tax implications from both the financial advisor, as well as the accountant.”
Formerly known as HD Vest Financial Services, the Avantax Wealth Management and Avantax Planning Partners brands are part of the wealth management segment of Blucora Inc., a financial services company headquartered in Irving, Texas. As of March 31, Blucora reported $86 billion in total client assets.