Integrated Thinking Drives Successful Wealth Management

In our 45+ years helping clients, AMG has seen countless examples where taking an integrated approach to wealth management translates into innovative solutions and improved results.

At AMG, wealth management starts with a clear understanding of each client’s values and goals. This sets the foundation for developing wealth management solutions tailored to each situation. Our solutions go well beyond just investment management. They include retirement, taxes, insurance, trust and legacy planning, charitable giving, private capital opportunities, banking, and much more. Multiple perspectives are considered, thoroughly analyzed, and integrated to build a comprehensive financial plan that makes sense.

The importance of integration across all facets of a client’s financial picture doesn’t end there. Once a comprehensive plan is developed, it is implemented and managed in an integrated way to keep the components of the plan coordinated and tracking toward the client’s desired goals.

CASE STUDY: TURNING A CONCENTRATED HOLDING INTO MEANINGFUL CHARITABLE DONATIONS

After years of career success, our wealth management client amassed a significant stock position in a publicly traded company that was a sizable portion of their overall wealth. While a concentrated position can inherently present risks, it can also fuel opportunity to accomplish important goals like starting a philanthropic effort and providing for future generations.

After analyzing the situation, AMG proposed using a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT) funded with the concentrated stock position. With this type of trust, the grantor (our client) puts a specified amount of money into the trust and designates a charity or charities to receive a guaranteed annuity payment during the term of the trust. What value remains in the trust after the term is complete is then distributed to designated beneficiaries such as the client’s children.

The client immediately saw the benefit of the CLAT to address their concentrated stock position, jump start their charitable giving, and provide for the next generation, but they weren’t ready to decide on specific charities to receive money from the CLAT.

With help from AMG’s tax team as well as outside tax attorneys, we determined that the charity named in the CLAT could be the client’s donor advised fund at the AMG Charitable Gift Foundation. In doing so, the client did not have to decide on one or two charities. Instead, the money would go into the donor advised fund from which the client could suggest future distributions to qualified charities. To date, over half of the client’s concentrated stock position has been distributed to a variety of charities, and the portfolio risk from the concentrated position has been lowered.

AN INTEGRATIVE PERSPECTIVE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

This client success story highlights how AMG’s integrated approach to planning, execution, and ongoing management helps our wealth management clients maximize their opportunities and realize a better way to wealth.