VisionQuest and the Personal CFO Role
VisionQuest has created a business model that brings together the breadth of expertise and scale to service individuals and families in the same boutique manner as a single-family office.
Online, December 1, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Everyone is familiar with the role of a chief financial officer, CFO, in business, but when does an individual or family need one? Raleigh-based firm, VisionQuest Wealth Management, has cracked that code.
In a corporate context, the CFO is responsible for financial analysis, accounting and budgets, overseeing insurance, banking, investments, and certain legal issues. By focusing on the numbers, the CFO provides the crucial inputs to owners, the board, and other executives when managing the business goals.
Individuals and families with wealth often have many of the same traits as an operating business. Unfortunately, for most, the job of managing personal wealth usually requires a different set of skills. Individuals of wealth, like the Rockfellers, traditionally have met this challenge by creating a family-office. In the US, there are many who have grown successful enough to need the expertise of a CFO, but don't want the expense of a full-fledged family office. VisionQuest creates a business model that brings together the breadth of expertise and scale to service individuals and families in the same boutique manner as a single-family office.
The responsibilities of the Personal CFO role that VisionQuest provides to its clients generally include addressing most or all of the following areas:
• Balance sheets. A detailed and complete balance sheet is a necessary starting point for almost all the other analyses for which the CFO is responsible.
• Income and estate tax planning. Income taxes can take up to 50% of earnings, and estate taxes can take another 50% at death. The CFO must have a strong background and understanding of the intricacies of tax law and must be committed to staying abreast of changes in the law. This allows the CFO to better partner with the family's CPA, estate attorney, or other advisors creating a powerful team to consider all angles.
• Investment management. Overseeing investments is a primary responsibility of VisionQuest. This often entails selecting and working with outside money managers and monitoring them. In a good partnership, the investment portfolio can be built to maximize return at an appropriate risk level by acknowledging the different tax consequences and time horizons of the various structures and goals they are associated with.
• Life insurance. When viewing the family's portfolio as a whole, including wealth transfer to future generations, life insurance can act as a portfolio diversifier, as its return pattern can be very different from other assets held in the portfolio. It is the job of the Personal CFO, or in this case - VisionQuest, to review the appropriateness of the structure and amount of any existing coverage to determine if the policy or policies are performing as they should be or if they should be replaced with a better solution.
• Property-and-casualty insurance. The job of managing wealth includes the responsibility to protect it as much as possible against the risk of loss. If the family's house burns down, will the insurance proceeds be adequate? Additionally, fishing boats and expensive yachts have something in common as they both transport people across water, but there are vast differences, and it takes significantly more skill to insure the yacht.
In closing, the same way there is a difference in fishing boats and mega-yachts, people with wealth inescapably have additional complexity and moving parts. VisionQuest Wealth Management, acting as a Personal CFO, can take on that complexity for individuals and families. By recognizing that each client is an individual and each situation is unique; they understand that every goal is different in the time and resources it requires to be achieved. The best strategies are those that address multiple goals and that are truly customized and designed to fully support the way you live your life. All of which is something that VisionQuest Wealth Management can offer through its Personal CFO business model that is focused on providing high quality advice and attentive service to wealthy individuals and families.
To find out more knowledge from VisionQuest Wealth Management follow the link: url:http://www.vqwealth.com/modules/news/archive.php?year=2013&month=-1]http://www.vqwealth.com/modules/news/archive.php?year=2013&month=-1[/url]