“The types of activities that we're engaging in that no-minimum space are different from the marketing activities we engage with Truepoint Wealth Counsel,” Michael said. “RhineVest is actually generating quite a few referrals through digital search opportunities and some area marketing event activities. I think RhineVest has created that young professionals type of organization that goes across many, many different professions and industries. They do a lot of great activity just to promote and grow awareness for the RhineVest name.”

Integrating For Maximum Value

The real key to Michael’s success is how thoughtful he’s been about structuring his company to provide maximum value to his clients through the client experience.

For one, Michael doesn’t scrimp when it comes to hiring top staff: 25 percent of the people on his staff are CPAs. That’s 15 out of 60 employees! Many advisory firms don’t even have 1 CPA on staff.

“That's a significant cost,” Michael admits, “but many of our clients have very complex tax pictures, and just providing some tax planning around their situations isn't enough. It's actually a turnkey type of service. Being able to prepare our clients’ returns gives us an insight and an ability to serve them in a way that I think many of our peers don’t.”

Truepoint offers its clients a set of services and solutions that are customized to their specific planning. It’s an integrated approach to wealth management that might prove to be the “special sauce” that sets successful RIAs apart going forward.

“I think something happens when the individual has really become vulnerable, sharing with the wealth advisor areas of sensitivity,” Michael says. “We find that an investment decision, the ownership and title, how it fits into the client's long-term financial goals and objectives will have lots of impact on income tax, estate, just general income requirements that the client seeks. Understanding how it all fits together for the client is really where the value is created.”

CEO Still Meeting With Clients

At first, I was surprised to hear Michael estimate that he spends 60 percent of his time meeting with prospects and onboarding new clients, and the other 40 percent working with his marketing and business development committees.

A CEO, spending so much of his time on the ground floor?