Financial Advisor Coordination

What is financial advisor coordination?

It's having one advisor whose job is to make sure everyone else's work fits together. Your investment advisor, CPA, estate attorney, and insurance agent each handle their own piece. Coordination means someone reviews all of it as one plan and catches where the pieces conflict.

Can you have more than one financial advisor?

Yes. Nothing prevents it, and many families with meaningful wealth do. The risk isn't having several advisors. It's that none of them sees what the others are doing, so you end up with overlapping investments, missed tax moves, and no one accountable for the whole picture.

Is it bad to have multiple financial advisors?

Not by itself. It becomes a problem when each one manages their piece as if it were your only account. Two advisors can own the same funds, sell at a loss you can't use, or take opposite sides of the same bet. Having more advisors doesn't diversify you unless someone is coordinating them.

Should I consolidate everything with one advisor?

Not necessarily. Consolidation is simpler, but it isn't required to get good advice, and sometimes there are good reasons to keep accounts where they are. What you need is one plan. Whether that takes one advisor or three is a separate question.

Who needs a coordinating advisor?

People with two or more advisors, accounts at several firms, or a CPA and attorney who have never spoken to each other. It also fits anyone who has inherited an advisor relationship, been through a liquidity event, or simply can't say how all their accounts work together. It's less useful if you have one advisor who already handles planning, taxes, and investments as a whole.

Do I have to move my money to work with you?

No. There's no asset transfer requirement. I can review and coordinate accounts that stay exactly where they are. If you later want me to manage part of the portfolio, that's your call, not a condition.

How do I get a second opinion on my financial advisor?

Go to a fee-only fiduciary who has nothing to sell you. Bring your statements, your most recent tax return, and any plan your advisor has given you. A good second opinion tells you what's working, what isn't, what you're paying, and what you'd change. Sometimes the answer is that your advisor is doing a fine job.

Will my advisor know I'm getting a second opinion?

Only if you tell them. I review your statements and documents, and I don't contact anyone without your permission. If you decide you want coordination afterward, that's when I'd reach out to your other advisors, with you in the loop.

How do I know if my financial advisor is doing a good job?

Ask four questions. Do you know exactly what you're paying? Does your advisor talk to your CPA? Has your plan changed when your life changed? Can you explain your own strategy in a few sentences? If the answer to most of those is no, it's worth a second look.

How do I find out what I'm really paying my advisor?

Add up three things: the advisory fee, the expense ratios of the funds you own, and any commissions or insurance costs. Most of this is in your statements and fund fact sheets, but it's rarely shown in one place. Totaling it is usually the first thing I do in a review.

What does a coordinating advisor actually do?

I gather everything into one view, identify conflicts and gaps, and build a single plan. Then I work with your existing advisors to carry it out, joining calls with your CPA or attorney when it helps. You get one person who understands all of it and can explain it plainly.

What kinds of problems does coordination catch?

The common ones are the same investments held in several accounts, tax losses nobody harvested, beneficiary forms that contradict the estate plan, insurance that duplicates or leaves gaps, and too much cash sitting idle because each advisor assumed someone else was handling it.

Do financial advisors work with CPAs and estate attorneys?

They should, but most don't unless you ask. Each professional is paid for their own piece, so no one is paid to connect them. That's the role I take on. I came from a family office and Northern Trust, where every decision was coordinated across advisors as a matter of course.

Do you coordinate my business finances too?

No. I work on the personal side: your investments, taxes, estate plan, insurance, and how a business sale or distribution fits into them. I'll coordinate with your business CPA or attorney, but I don't handle bookkeeping, payroll, or company finances.

Why does fee-only matter for a second opinion?

The person reviewing your plan shouldn't profit from finding something wrong with it. A fee-only fiduciary is paid only by you, with no commissions and no products to sell. At Dynamic Financial Planning, that means I have no reason to tell you to move anything unless it's better for you.