I've heard positive reviews and complete horror stories.
So I dove into a FatFIRE AMA from a wealth advisor with clients at $5M - $1B+ AUM.
Here's what I learned:
Q: What is the biggest mistake your clients make on average?
A: "They allow emotion to guide their decision-making.
Example: Panic-sold in March 2020 and did not buy in."
Q: Why do I need active portfolio management?
A: "The honest answer is that most people do not. Most investors would be perfectly fine with a robo-advisor like schwab, betterment, or any index fund mix ..."
Q: What are your top tips to your clients to preserve generational wealth?
A: "1. Put structure in place (trusts, T&E attorney)
2. Understand what you are trying to achieve with generational wealth. Do you have philanthropic desires? Where do you want your money to go?"
Q: What % of net worth should we invest in crypto now?
A: "Whatever you are perfectly fine with lighting on fire. Any allocation in crypto should be seen as pure speculation (<5%).
I see value in the underlying tech, but valuations seem way top momentum driven atm."
Q: How did you become one?
A: "I studied finance in college and knew that I wanted to be a part of the industry in some form or fashion ..."
Q: "What do the people you advise have in common (except their net worth)?"
A: "The drive and work ethic is what stands out to me as a common trait.
There is a very big difference between clients with inherited wealth vs business owners (1st gen wealth)"