Steward advisors say tax and estate skills win clients

Three Steward Partners advisors said at a webinar the firm held Tuesday that tax, estate and Social Security knowledge is what closes clients now, and that a portfolio opinion no longer does, Financial Advisor magazine reported.

Gary Walker, a founding partner and Northeast divisional vice president at Steward, opened the session by describing how he used to land clients: one investment idea, the returns behind it, and a slice of the assets. He asked the three advisors what it takes now, "because it's a much different landscape."

For principals building junior advisors, the panel's answers amount to a training agenda: estate, Social Security and tax fluency, plus the discipline to work alongside a client's CPA and estate attorney instead of answering every question in-house.

Deal Tracker records one announced deal for Steward in the past 12 months, a Sept. 17 purchase of $950 million in client assets, with none closed in that window. That record suggests the firm's asset growth rests mostly on the advisors it recruits and develops, which puts weight on whether those advisors can sell planning work rather than allocation.

William Puduski, a wealth manager and senior vice president with Steward's Seacoast Wealth Management team, said passing a certification exam is just a start. A working command of estate planning, Social Security and taxes is what closes a client, he said. Asked about having a view on which stock or bond to buy, he said, "Quite frankly, I think most people can get that through AI today."

Zach McCown, a wealth manager and director at Steward's Perspective Wealth Partners, said he built his book knocking on doors. Talking about himself, what he could do and how good the firm was drew refusals, he said; asking people how long they had lived in their house or about their families gave him a better chance. He now shows prospects how he coordinates with their CPA, tax professionals and estate attorney. "It's just so important to know all the pieces of the puzzle," he said.

Conor Wolchesky, a wealth manager and vice president with Steward's Philleo Private Wealth Group, said clients hire an advisor for a lifetime rather than a quarter. What wins them, he said, is trust, competence and chemistry. "The best client relationships overall are built on confidence, and not salesmanship," he said.

When the discussion turned to portfolios, performance was not the subject. Wolchesky said his team no longer spends all its time on asset allocation and is just as focused on asset location, meaning which account holds which investment. "Clients can't spend pretax returns," he said.