Advisers to get a peek at their peers

The Foundation for Financial Planning’s annual Be Our Guest program kicks off next month when six of the nation’s top financial planners open their firms’ doors to colleagues from around the country.

The program, which features planners sharing information about how they run their businesses, starts May 14, when Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management, will play host for the day to a group of financial planners at his Coral Gables, Fla., headquarters.

“The firms who are hosting completely open up,” said Mr. Evensky, whose firm has about $500 million in assets. “We talk about everything from operations to software to how our investment committee works.”

The price of admission is a $1,000 contribution to the Tucker, Ga.-based Foundation for Financial Planning, which is processing reservations on a first-come, first-served basis. The next host will be Glenn Kautt, president of The Monitor Group Inc. of McLean, Va., June 17.

Last year, he was both a host and a guest, visiting three other planning firms around the country.

INSIGHT

Mr. Kautt said being a guest enabled him to gain insight from other planners.

“Technology is a good example where firms do things radically different,” said Mr. Kautt, whose firm has about $350 million in assets. “Some firms use strictly in-house technology, while others totally outsource everything. We were able to pick off some ideas from two of the firms we visited that we are now using.”

As a host, Mr. Kautt said, he expects three topics to be of particular interest this year. “People are going to want to know what you are doing operationally and financially during this incredible downturn. Second: What are you doing to get new clients and work with existing ones? And third: In such an unsettled time, how do you prepare for the new normal?”

James Pennington, the foundation’s executive director, agrees.

“The economy is the most pressing issue,” he said. “Everybody has seen their assets dwindle, and they want to know how they can best plan for the future.”

Last year, Mr. Pennington said, about 60 planners participated in the program, and on average, about 10 guests visited each host.

While he is expecting fewer guests this year as a result of the economy, he remains optimistic.

“I think word is getting around,” Mr. Pennington said. “We’ve gotten excellent feedback, and people are always going to want to improve their business.”

Indeed, Robert Horowitz, principal of an eponymous wealth management firm in Corte Madera, Calif., with approximately $20 million in assets, said he “loved the idea of hearing how other people run their firm. I have to believe if I spend a day inside a successful firm, I’m going to learn something valuable.”

Mr. Horowitz said he is signed up to spend time at the San Francisco office of Vienna, Va.-based Yeske Buie Inc. on Sept. 17.

Jeffrey McCurdy, principal of Sarasota, Fla.-based Guardsman Wealth Management Inc., will be a guest of Mr. Evensky in Coral Gables next month. “I’m interested in how they manage their business,” Mr. McCurdy said. “It’s a wonderful chance to gain insights from one of the best planners in the country.”

Mr. McCurdy declined to disclose his firm’s assets under management.

EXCHANGING IDEAS

In addition to learning about how other firms operate, one of the biggest benefits of the program has been exchanging ideas with other planners during the visit, according to participants.

“Everyone shares with each other,” said Ross Levin, president of Accredited Investors Inc. of Edina, Minn., who initiated the program three years ago and will be a host Sept. 21. “It’s an environment where people can talk openly about what works and what doesn’t.”

Last year, planners who visited his office wanted to know how he kept his 35-member staff happy and motivated, said Mr. Levin, whose firm has about $550 million in assets under management,

“This year, I expect the biggest question will be: How do you manage client and staff relations in this environment and stay realistic?” he said.

E-mail Charles Paikert at [email protected].