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How To Select An Advisor

How To Select An Advisor

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Download our E-book on Selecting an Advisor

Providing You the Key Questions You Should Ask – and Our HB Answers

Thinking about hiring HB or another firm as your financial advisor? We encourage you to review this list of questions and answers as you think about your choices.

Care

Will you manage my assets using the fiduciary standard? Collapse

Homrich Berg operates under the fiduciary standard, meaning that we must put your interests first, period. Homrich Berg was founded as a Fee-Only Fiduciary firm in 1989 and we have never changed our view – we believe in our approach, and our clients value the peace of mind that comes from knowing that our transparent client service model puts us on the same side of the table working together for their best interests.

Who will work with me? How big will my client service team be? Expand

At HB you will typically have 3-4 people on your client service team, and the culture of our firm is for the entire firm to serve you as a client. Some firms with sales oriented cultures do not really share ideas between teams and may be financially motivated not to get more people involved in serving you as a client. That is not our approach – we believe in a team approach.

Will I feel comfortable with my team? Expand

Personal fit is important to us and we try to align our new clients with the best potential fit for their personality and needs among our HB team members. We feel our 98% retention (please see disclosures to understand how we calculate client retention) rate speaks to the success of our focus on service and fit.

Conflict Free

Are you “fee-only” or just “fee-based”? What about commissions or other payments? Expand

Homrich Berg is fee-only, not fee-based. We are only paid by our clients. Most clients pay a fee calculated as a percentage of the assets we manage. Some firms charge fees in a similar way…but then also collect commissions, mutual fund fees, incentive fees, or other side payments from other business services, leading them to call themselves “fee-based.” Some brokerage firms will try to tell you that their service “is not as expensive as those independent firms where you have to pay a fee” but they do not tell you that can often end up paying even more in commissions and mutual fund fees and hidden incentive payments – but you may not see that number anywhere on your monthly statements.

Does your firm sell products or services besides wealth management? Expand

Some firms sell insurance, mortgages, accounting services, or estate planning legal services. Homrich Berg does none of the above. We believe this makes it easier for us to be your fiduciary advisor across all parts of your financial life.

Do you use a third party custodian? Expand

This is a critical question that should always be asked. Most independent firms like Homrich Berg will use a third party custodian like Charles Schwab or Fidelity. This provides you as the client an independent way to verify your assets outside of reports from your advisor.

Do you provide a disclosure annually to the SEC? Expand

Registered investment advisers (RIAs) like Homrich Berg must file a Form ADV with the SEC each year. You can search for the ADV of an advisor at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Form ADV Part 1 online describes the firm’s services, how many financial assets they manage, their compensation, disciplinary history, and other operations details. Form ADV Part 2A is what the advisor is required to give you as a prospect (we include one in every set of brochure materials for a potential new client meeting). Part 2A provides more information about the services, investment strategies, fees, and potential conflicts for the firm.

Credentials

What credentials do your people have? Expand

In our view the two most critical certifications are the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and Chartered Financial Analyst® certification. CFP® certificants have completed university level financial planning courses and have passed a lengthy exam covering over 80 planning-related topics. You can learn more at www.cfp.net. CFA® charterholders must pass three separate full day exams focused on a wide range of investment related topics, each of which demands a minimum of 250 hours of study per the CFA Institute. Learn more at www.cfainstitute.org. We also have many Certified Public Accountants (CPA®) on our staff who bring the rigor and focus of their background to their client work.

Comprehensiveness

Does your firm offer investment management AND financial planning expertise? Expand

Some firms focus mostly on planning as their true focus area, while other firms are mostly asset managers focused on investments but not really helping their clients with their entire financial life. Homrich Berg believes in the importance of combining both into one complete level of service for our clients, and invests in building our expertise in both areas.

What is your approach to investing? Expand

This is a lengthy discussion, and we have a brochure solely focused on this topic. Key areas you should discuss with your potential advisor should include their thoughts on diversification, asset allocation, manager selection, active vs. passive strategies, manager monitoring, rebalancing, and risk management. Who is making the investment decisions and how often do they meet? How do they define investment success? How do they handle the ups and downs of financial markets? Do they focus on tax implications and estate implications when building your plan? This is a good topic to spend some time reviewing in detail with your potential advisor.

Does your firm have a dedicated investments staff? Expand

Many firms have their principals also doing the investment strategy. At HB we have a dedicated investment staff focused solely on investments research every day, not on serving clients. But we mix in the client perspective and the experience of our partners by having both groups on our Investment Committee that makes our investment decisions.

Does your firm have a Director of Financial Planning? Expand

In addition to most advisors being Certified Financial Planner™ certificants, Homrich Berg also has a dedicated financial planning department led by our Director of Financial Planning who can provide support and expertise to your client service team.

Does your firm have a Family Wealth Strategist advising on estate planning strategies? Expand

Families with estate planning needs can consult with one of our HB Family Wealth Strategists at no additional charge in order to be better prepared to seek updates with their estate attorney that align with their goals. Your client service team can engage with one of our HB Family Wealth Strategists (veteran estate planning attorneys) to spend time with you understanding your needs, evaluating your existing documents, and discussing potential new strategies.

Coordination

Does your firm act as the leader of my entire financial team? Expand

Homrich Berg believes in serving as the leader of your financial team, effectively coordinating the activities of all of your advisors including your CPA, estate attorney, business attorney, bookkeeper, insurance agent, banker, and relevant family members.

Can you show me a consolidated performance report for all my investments? Expand

Some firms will send you monthly or quarterly account balance information, but not true total return performance data. Other firms may give you an overall portfolio view, but no details on how individual managers or funds are performing vs. benchmarks or what is driving your overall performance. HB gives you online access to your entire portfolio at any time with updated values.

Does your firm provide detailed tax information to my CPA for my financial activities? Expand

HB typically provides a summary of prior year tax-related activity to the CPA, including retirement contributions, charitable gifts, income, and other relevant information.

Does your firm upload K-1s and 1099s to a confidential portal for my CPA to have easy access? Expand

HB has invested in software that automatically pulls in 1099s and K-1s from the investment managers and custodians of our clients and organizes them in confidential folders accessible to their authorized CPA contact.

Continuity

How long has your firm existed? Are you going to be there for me and my family in the future? Expand

Homrich Berg has been helping clients for 35+ years and has a strong succession plan in place with a large staff that ensures continuity over time for your family. Some firms have only been around a few years, or have teams of people who have jumped around from firm to firm over time. We believe our long-term financial strength and growth through many ups and downs of the financial markets should give you comfort in our ability to work with your family for many years to come.

Who owns your firm? Expand

HB principals own the largest percentage of equity, not a bank or brokerage firm. We feel this independence allows us to focus on you as clients with our long-term strategy and investments.

Can your firm grow with me over time? Expand

Some firms specialize only in small clients or large clients. HB serves clients with portfolios from under $1 million in assets to over $100 million. We have the ability to handle the complexity of your financial life no matter where you end up on that spectrum.

Does your firm have a young management team ready to lead the business for the next 30 years? Expand

At Homrich Berg, the majority of our management team and board members are second-generation leaders for our firm.  HB has already successfully completed the transition from being a founder-led firm to being led by the next generation guided by our core values that have never changed.  We believe that it is important for your advisor to avoid being forced to suddenly sell or make radical changes to deal with the lack of a succession plan.

Learning More

We have included links in many of the Q&A items in this section but will repeat those and add a few more here that could be helpful resources for you as you search for a quality advisor.

NAPFA
Independent Advisor Learning Center
FPA
CFA Institute

Want to Learn More About HB Wealth?

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TENNESSEE

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SOUTH CAROLINA

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Our Locations

GEORGIA

Atlanta (HQ)
Alpharetta
Augusta
Sandy Springs

FLORIDA

Palm Beach
Tampa

MARYLAND

Baltimore

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Metro Washington

TENNESSEE

Nashville

SOUTH CAROLINA

Columbia

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About Us Expand

  • History
  • Profile
  • Mission / Values
  • Clients
  • Diversity
  • Community
  • Awards
  • Locations

Meet The Team Expand

  • Principals / Directors
  • Associates
  • Investments
  • Client Care/Operations/HR

Our Services Expand

  • Service Levels and Costs
  • Financial Planning Services
  • Investment Management
  • Foundations and Nonprofits
  • HB Family Office

Client Experience Expand

  • Fiduciary Fee-Only Financial Advisors
  • Financial Team Leader
  • Online Reporting
  • Interactive Planning
  • Team Approach
  • Deep Expertise
  • Client Stories

Resources Expand

  • How To Select An Advisor
  • Insights and News
  • Form ADV/CRS
  • Client Login

About Us
  • History
  • Profile
  • Mission / Values
  • Clients
  • Diversity
  • Community
  • Awards
  • Locations
Meet the Team
  • Principals / Directors
  • Associates
  • Investments
  • Client Care/Operations/HR
Our Services
  • Service Levels and Costs
  • Financial Planning Services
  • Investment Management
  • Foundations and Nonprofits
  • HB Family Office
Client Experience
  • Fiduciary Fee-Only Financial Advisors
  • Financial Team Leader
  • Online Reporting
  • Interactive Planning
  • Team Approach
  • Deep Expertise
  • Client Stories
Resources
  • How To Select An Advisor
  • Insights and News
  • Form ADV/CRS
  • Client Login

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