What You Might Be Missing When Planning for Your Financial Future

You’ve diversified your investments and put money in the bank. You may be on the right track for financial success, but if your wealth management and banking accounts are spread across different firms, you could be missing out on advantages that make managing your money and planning for your future easier.

Of course, one of the easiest ways to manage your financial assets is through your wealth management advisor team. By consolidating your accounts, you provide them with a single view of your financial situation. With more knowledge about your finances and assets, your wealth management advisor is better able to guide you on the appropriate actions to take when allocating your financial resources.

To evaluate whether consolidating your wealth management and bank accounts with a single firm is right for you, consider the following points.

Managing Liquidity

Sometimes, it’s necessary to quickly convert investments into cash funds. When your investment and banking accounts reside with the same institution, it’s simple to contact your advisor regarding your cash needs.

Then, since your financial portfolio is readily available, your advisor has all of the information necessary to quickly advise you on which assets to liquidate. Taking this approach is likely to net you better long-term outcomes by keeping the big picture in mind when making decisions.

Transferring the funds is also faster and easier since the accounts reside in the same institution.

Borrowing Instead of Liquidating

There are times when it won’t make sense to cash out investments. Factors such as capital gains tax and how much the investments are returning, can complicate the decision to liquidate. Fortunately, there are other alternatives.

For example, a family looking to make some home improvements may be thinking about cashing out some investments to fund the renovations. However, since those investments may have a higher return than the interest rate on a loan, their advisor may recommend they borrow the funds instead based on the overall financial picture. 

This decision isn’t right for everyone, but when your advisor has a complete view of your situation, it’s easier to make the best determination.

If a decision is made to borrow, securing a loan is easy when your accounts are consolidated with a single firm. The bank requires minimal financial information since your investment account serves as collateral for the loan, so applications can be turned around quickly and conveniently.

You might also qualify for lower interest rates. Loans are priced according to risk and when the lending bank has the ability to collateralize your investment account, the firm is likely to feel easier about lending you money.

What happens when that loan is paid off? It might be time to reinvest those funds.

When you have your wealth management and bank accounts at the same firm, your advisor is aware that the loan pay-off is approaching and can start planning to help you invest some or all of the money that would have gone into payments.

It’s a Family Affair

Your financial advisor is interested in helping you achieve your financial goals, and that’s often a family affair. With complete visibility across family bank accounts and investment portfolios, your wealth management team can help you better plan for the financial future of your entire family, including college expenses, retirement and estate planning, and even transferring wealth.

When it comes to managing your money and investments, you have many options. Advisors review those options and help you find a strategy that is right for you. The more of the big picture they can see, the easier it is to narrow in on the choices that make the most sense for your entire family and your long-term goals.

About the Author

Steve is Senior Managing Director of Wealth Management. He leads our Wealth practices in Illinois, Kansas, and Lincoln, NE, along with the lending practice for all Wealth Management offices. His team works with clients to deliver customized lending solutions and outstanding client service to ensure a positive experience.