Open your mail yourself
This is the best advice I can give the high net worth individual who uses a family advisor. Don’t isolate yourself from your mail. Open and sort the mail, and then let your assistant or advisor handle it. View the bills. You’ll have a much better chance of catching a problem.
I don’t market fear, but if you use a family advisor you should acquaint yourself with the advisor’s procedures for avoiding any possibility of fraud. Those procedures should include (or explain why they don’t)
- segregated duties (check signers should not be account reviewers, etc.)
- complete financial reports. readable and understandable and timely.
- wire transfers only with your approval or a separate authority, not the person initiating the wire transfer
- background checks for anyone in your family office
- outsourcing to separate entities for bookkeeping, auditing, bill paying, etc.
Too many fingers spoils the pie, but a single financial manager handling all your bills and investments is a recipe for damaging acts. I can help share some of that load and provide additional oversight and value.
Mike Dayoub is a financial planner in Milton/Alpharetta GA and is capable of working with a family office to provide guidance and oversight while keeping business transactions convenient for family members.
