Stand Out As a Financial Advisor With Advanced Tax-Planning and Self-Directed Investments

By The Entrust Group, Mar 04, 2022 , in Retirement Planning, Advisors

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

We don't have to tell you it’s the middle of tax season. Long days, takeout at your desk too many nights in a row, and one more client with a question only you can answer.

We hear you. It’s not easy being a financial advisor, but the work you do makes a difference every single day. And whenever you do something amazing for your clients, they are more likely to share your name with their friends.

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What better way to wow your clients than by providing investment options your competitors don’t know about paired with a focus on tax-advantaged planning.

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Every financial advisor offers stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. But what if you had the chance to offer your clients opportunities to invest their retirement funds in tax-advantaged accounts that let them invest in things they love like horses, bowling alleys, real estate, or even crypto? Self-directed IRAs (SDIRA) have the potential to let your clients invest in alternative assets with the tax advantages of an IRA.

You can level up your advisor practice during this tax season and all year long by both incorporating a focus on tax-advantaged planning and offering your clients highly-tailored, self-directed investments. We even offer a B2B program to provide you all the support and tools you need to make sure your clients are sharing your name for all the right reasons all over town.

You create long-term investment strategies, find tailored investments, and make decisions about how to help your clients move toward their goals. You also have a unique position to provide an invaluable service to your clients by considering their taxes in light of their personal goals because you understand the ins and outs of their financial situation. And based on a recent Harris poll, more and more investors are interested in discussing their taxes with their financial advisors.

But how often do you think about the tax implications of your planning strategies?
Even if taxes are a part of your planning, do you clearly communicate the tax implications of investment choices to your clients?
Do you offer self-directed investment options that are focused on helping your clients grow their retirement funds in a tax-advantaged way?

How can you help your clients be ready for tax season?

Review their tax returns from last year and provide insight on possible issues or things they might want to be aware of as they file this year’s return. Look for potential tax advantages such as the following:
Deductions they could have taken
Roth conversion possibilities
Contributions they could have made
Required minimum distribution options
Walk through their current investments with them and highlight the possible tax implications of upcoming investment decisions.
Plan with them for big upcoming changes in the coming year. Look at possible pay changes, relationship changes, home purchases, etc., and help them consider the tax implications of these changes before they happen.
Let them know you’d be happy to meet with their tax preparer and provide any insight or information they might need. By being willing to meet with their tax preparer, you are providing the important service of helping them coordinate their financial matters with less stress.
Assess the tax-advantaged status of their investments and consider providing advice that helps them work toward a more tax-advantaged retirement. (Hint: It might include suggesting a self-directed IRA.)

As the person at the forefront of your client’s strategic planning, you are uniquely positioned to help your clients make investment decisions that mitigate their tax burden and allow them to invest in tax-advantaged investments.

If you are not recommending tax-advantaged SDIRAs to your clients, you might want to consider this option as an offering. The advantage of these accounts is not only their tax-advantaged status but also the ability to move beyond the standard stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and truly cater investments for your clients.

The Entrust Group loves working with advisors to allow them to offer SDIRAs to their clients. With us, you can be at the forefront of providing tax-advantaged, self-directed investment options.

Make this tax season and future ones a success for you and your clients by providing insight about the tax implications of their financial plan and by working actively with them to mitigate their future tax burden as you prepare them to meet their financial goals.

And whether you’re a financial advisor helping clients with their taxes or an investor working to meet the April 18th tax deadline, you can always check out our Learning Center to get tax updates.