Posted on: January 1st, 2020
We see that stress testing is becoming an increasingly popular activity among the wealthy and their advisors. It involves putting a wealth plan through its paces—evaluating and assessing it to see if the strategies being used are likely to achieve a wealthy family’s key financial goals and objectives. Stress testing also seeks to identify any strategies or opportunities that are currently being overlooked but that could add significant value to the family’s financial life.
Another big benefit of stress testing is that it can help put various financial strategies and efforts together to create a comprehensive picture. Some families implement their wealth solutions piecemeal—using various professionals who rarely (if ever) work together on the families’ behalf. It’s a bit like building a house but having different construction companies build each room without ever coordinating their efforts. A stress test can examine how well the various solutions work together.
As with so many financial resources, stress testing really got its start among some of the wealthiest families—such as the Super Rich (people with a net worth of $500 million or more). we find that many of these families want to be sure that they are positioned to achieve their often-complex goals—and that they are always working with high-quality pros attuned to their needs and preferences. This can be particularly important to the very wealthy, who may be especially targeted by “professionals” who overpromise and underdeliver—or who outright try to steal wealth from them (a la Bernie Madoff).
Naturally, many families who were “merely affluent” also wanted in on this. After all, who wouldn’t want to get a handle on how their wealth plan might behave in various scenarios and learn whether any improvements could be made? And as more and more wealth management strategies and products become available to individuals and families who are significantly less affluent than the Super Rich, it is no surprise that stress testing is gaining traction.
But we’ve noticed a troubling trend. As stress testing becomes more commonplace, it’s not always being done with as much focus and rigor as is often necessary. As a result, there can be faults, errors and missteps made by some professionals who proclaim they are adept at the process, but who don’t fully grasp stress testing. This has led to some substandard outcomes.
If you want to stress test your personal financial situation, how can you be confident it’s being done thoroughly by a high-quality professional? We suggest taking the following three action steps.
It’s a good sign when a financial professional can explain stress testing—the value it can bring and the reasons for doing a stress test in the first place.
For starters, stress testing is not about being sold services or products, nor is it going to always result in making any changes to the current wealth plan.
Instead, think of stress testing as more like an annual physical checkup. You may not have any medical concerns going into the appointment, but you show up because you want to ensure that any unidentified or hidden problems are uncovered. That way, you can take steps before the problems become serious.
Stress testing can also be done, and often is done, when people don’t know if they have the best wealth management solutions for their situation. If you feel confused or uncertain about the wealth management solutions you are employing—which might occur after a big life change, for instance—then stress testing may be a good idea.
Recommendation: The professional who will do the stress testing should be able to explain the process as well as all the ramifications that are likely to occur. A nice bonus is if the professional can share with you examples of stress testing and how it benefited other families.
Stress testing isn’t meant to coldly evaluate each of your wealth strategies versus some benchmark. Rather, it’s designed to help you see if they collectively are still well suited for you (based on your needs, wants and preferences) versus available alternatives.
In short, in order to be effective, a stress test has to take into account important personal and even emotional traits. This human element is vital in ensuring you are getting the desired wealth management results—and that those results are within the parameters you establish.
That means the professional who does the stress test has to have a deep understanding of you—including your goals and values as a person, not just your net worth. Such an understanding takes some time to develop and often relies on individuals sharing their concerns as well as their hopes and wishes. Professionals who employ systematic processes to develop insight into their clients and are able to connect the dots based on these insights will be most able to consistently create significant advantages for their clients through stress testing.
Important: Many times, high-quality stress testing does not lead to any meaningful changes in a family’s wealth plan. While some minor refinements and tweaking are common, major changes usually aren’t needed. That said, when errors and oversights are uncovered, they can be quite substantial.
Recommendation: Make sure the professional who stress tests your wealth management solutions is truly client-centered—that is, focused on you as a person.
Although the human element takes center stage, it won’t do much good if the person doing the stress test can’t expertly evaluate your current wealth solutions or ones that potentially could be a good fit for you.
A highly proficient professional can evaluate the most sophisticated and complex wealth management solutions to see if they work, are working as expected, and are not in any way skirting laws or regulations. He or she also will be knowledgeable about alternative strategies and products, and be able to bring in specialists if needed to evaluate current strategies and alternatives that may be superior. Being able to construct side-by-side comparisons and looking at all qualities of a wealth management solution (including efficacy and cost-effectiveness) are characteristic of a highly technically proficient professional.
Recommendation: Fundamentally, the technical proficiency of the professional (and his or her team of specialists) should be exceptional. He or she has to be able to evaluate even the most arcane wealth management solutions and determine if there are better possibilities that would produce comparable outcomes.
We believe technically expert professionals who understand what stress testing really is (and is not) and have a keen awareness of the human element of wealth planning are the best people to conduct stress tests for you. These professionals are, generally, best positioned to actually deliver the significant value that a well-conducted stress test can offer you and your family.
Contact your financial and legal professionals to discuss your wealth plan and whether a stress test may make sense for you and your family.
This report was prepared by, and is reprinted with permission from, VFO Inner Circle. AES Nation, LLC is the creator and publisher of VFO Inner Circle reports.
Disclosure: The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra IS or Kestra AS. The material is for informational purposes only. It represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. It is not guaranteed by Kestra IS or Kestra AS for accuracy, does not purport to be complete and is not intended to be used as a primary basis for investment decisions. It should also not be construed as advice meeting the particular investment needs of any investor. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS.
Fusion Wealth Management is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. https://www.kestrafinancial.com/disclosures
VFO Inner Circle Special Report
By Russ Alan Prince and John J. Bowen Jr.
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