StoneCastle is able to distribute cash assets across 700 FDIC insured community banks, said Tiedemann, allowing high-net-worth clients access to an insured cash solution that can meet their needs.  

Tiedemann has also found planning opportunities in the crisis, said Smith. The firm uses a team of 10 wealth planners to serve its client families, who consult the firm’s teams of experts, including attorneys, accountants, tax experts and trust specialists, all working in tandem with investment professionals

“There are several opportunities to do significant income and transfer tax planning in this environment, primarily due to historically low interest rates and what we think are temporarily depresses asset values,” said Smith. “Renegotiating and/or making new intra-family loans, establishing new or saving unsuccessful Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, and entering into estate freeze transactions with family trust or LLC structures are just a few of the more popular strategies. We are also working with clients on their retirement accounts as some of the rules and/or requirements have been changed for 2020.”

Tiedemann’s clients seem to have more “time on their hands to engage with us and pursue issues and projects they might normally put off,” including issues related to tax and estate planning, philanthropy and impact investing. The temporary removal of limitations on charitable deducations, made possible by the recently passed CARES Act, offers a unique opportunity to give, he said.

“There’s no question the recent market downturn is reinforcing the positive characteristics of impact investing,” said Tiedemann. “We’ve seen tremendous growth in that area from new clients and existing families that have shifted their mandates, however, it’s still a little early to give a definitive answer on whether Covid spurred an increase in demand for impact. Having said that, we would be surprised if it didn’t accelerate the trend. ESG assets have held up better, largely due to no energy exposure and investments in high-quality, sustainable-oriented business that will perform better over time.”

High Level Client Care
Tiedemann also engages in frequent outreach with its client families to make sure they are well-educated and informed about the world, and to assure them that opportunities are being embraced, Tiedemann said. The  approach helps during volatility, as educated clients know that downturns can be used constructively.

“We don’t believe that these windows of opportunities, including those for wealth planning, should be allowed to pass by,” said Tiedemann. “We’ve always been fully integrated, with investment teams and fiduciary counselors working with families together and integrating consistently together. It’s important to be coordinated.”

The firm has been providing a steady stream of content for advisors to share with their clients on both economic and investment topics as well as wealth planning topics. A weekly webinar for clients offers them information on different wealth planning strategies, said Smith, like how advisors can help client take advantage of lower interest rates. The webinars include philanthropic, cybersecurity, geopolitical and economic topics as well.

“We’ve also discussed topics on the pandemic itself and what it means to economies and governments around the world,” said Smith. “We’re having a tax specialist come speak to us. We try to offer a large variety of content.”

Tiedemann is also serving 64 foundation and tax exempt clients, with $1.6 billion of foundation assets under management, $1.2 billion of which resides in impact strategies.