valleysentinel.com
March 2018 Sponsored Content
Helpful Financial Advisor/ Average Financial Advisor By Robert Cucchiaro
One of the best business books I’ve ever read is The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. In it lies a great essay called “Helpful Product Manager/ Average Product Manager” which goes on to explain the characteristics, habits, and mindset that separate Helpful product managers from Average ones. Inspired by that essay, I decided to write something similar when it comes to Financial Advisors. Having both been an Advisor myself for many years and managed/ coached over 80 Advisors, I feel like I have a good sense for what separates the Helpful from the Average. Helpful advisors understand all areas of financial planning, to include taxes,
estate planning, insurance, personal economics, and investing. More importantly, they use this knowledge to help their clients make better financial & life decisions. Helpful advisors are clear in setting expectations with clients about what they can and cannot do. They are transparent when talking about investment strategies, fees, and performance. Average advisors do just the opposite, which often leads to missed expectations and poor performance. Helpful advisors know a b o u t s m a r t i n ve s t m e n t strategies but also recognize that investing is only one component of real financial planning. A portfolio without a goal is much more likely to react to the latest investment fad, or over-react to the slightest uptick in volatility. Average advisors have no interest in their client’s financial plans,
they simply want to manage the money because all other activities are a waste of time in their opinion (though they never come right out and admit this). Helpful advisors take the time to have a conversation with clients about their recent life events, how their family members are doing, and anything else that’s on the clients mind. Average advisors spend their time telling clients about the performance of their accounts, their firm’s market forecasts, and the latest reading of their crystal ball. Helpful advisors have an external focus. They are constantly looking to add value for their clients in all areas of life and ask questions like “what else can we be doing to help you?” Average advisors are inwardly focused, asking, “What are my priorities? What actions do I want this client to take?”
Contra Costa’s Urban Limit Line Threatened By Richard Fischer
As citizens of our local communities of Danville, Alamo, and San Ramon, we enjoy many benefits that enhance our quality of life. In particular we have access to great outdoor environments such as Mount Diablo State Park, the Las Trampas Range, the Iron Horse Trail, and the beautiful Tassajara Valley among others. Those areas have been protected by zoning and other such laws and agreements that prevent these areas from uncontrolled urban development. Without such protections, our quality of life would be greatly diminished. One such protection has been Contra Costa’s Urban Limit Line (“ULL”) that prohibits urban development in rural areas outside the ULL without a county wide vote. However, the protection afforded by the ULL is not iron-clad. Today developers have purchased land outside the ULL and zoned agricultural with the expectation that they can use an exception in the ULL’s regulations. The exception allows developments of 30 acres or less with a super majority vote (4-1) of the County’s Board of Supervisors who would also have to cite at least one of seven possible “findings”. The first proposed housing development that would break the ULL is “Tassajara Parks”, a 125-home development near Danville’s eastern border in the unincorporated Tassajara Valley. If the Supervisors approve this development it could act as a blueprint for other 30
acre piecemeal developments outside the ULL. The County’s Supervisors have received numerous responses to the Environmental Impact Report prepared by the county’s Department of Conservation and Development. The responses have included the negative impact that an average of 10 daily trips per home will have on traffic congestion on Camino Tassajara Road. Responses have also included the negative environmental impact on native plants, animals
and the watershed that supports agricultural activities in the valley. Respondents have cited the impact to our overcrowded schools or the fear that the Valley will be over developed, “Dublin Style”. However, there is a fundamental concern in that a developer who is proposing a $4 million payment to a yet to be established county fund, can override the expressed will of citizens who on many occasions starting in 1990 and again in 2006 (by overwhelming votes) established and then
strengthened the ULL, effectively demonstrating their desire to control urban sprawl and preserve our limited open space. According to Joel Devalcourt, East Bay Regional Director of the Greenbelt Alliance, “Tassajara Parks is a bad precedent that would put the financial interest of sprawl developers above the will of the voters”. Many organizations are on record opposing Tassajara Parks: The Town of Danville, the Sierra Club, the Greenbelt Alliance, East Bay Municipal Utility District and the Tassajara Valley Preservation Association. Notwithstanding this, these organizations do support legitimate housing needs, but within the ULL. Interestingly enough, the county’s own Department of Conservation and Development in their required December 20, 2016 study of the ULL concluded that “sufficient capacity exists inside the ULL to accommodate housing and job growth through 2036”. A petition to the Supervisors opposing the breaking of the ULL has been developed and is being circulated by the Tassajara Valley Preservation Association (“TVPA”). The petition can be electronically signed at Tassajaravalleypa. org and will be delivered to the Supervisors prior to their hearing of the Tassajara Parks housing development. TVPA is a grass roots local organization dedicated to supporting the County’s ULL.
page 7 go on to design an alternative plan that will work. Average advisors stick their head in the sand because they don’t want to lose “the account”. And often times perhaps they assume they themselves will be retired by the time things don’t work out for the client. I could go on and on but my space here is limited. Let’s just close by saying last but not least, Helpful advisors are true fiduciaries. Our team of Helpful Advisors includes 2 CFPs, a CFA, an MBA and we just brought on board a new Tax Director (Debbie Pham, EA) to help our clients take advantage of the new tax laws. Give us a call or visit our website to see if we can help you plan a better 2018! Robert Cucchiaro is a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Summit Wealth & Retirement, a financial planning firm that has been serving Danville for over 30 years. Rob specializes in helping people reduce their tax bills, enjoy a comfortable retirement, and pass along wealth to their loved ones. www. summitwealthandretirement. com
Helpful advisors explain the pros and cons of various tax & estate planning strategies and don’t assume the client will always want the most complex choice. Average advisors complicate things in an attempt to sound smart or to confuse clients in order to make themselves seem more valuable. Helpful advisors look at changes in the industry (product, regulatory, etc.) and ask, “how is this better for my client?” Average advisors look at changes in the industry and ask “how is this better for me?” Helpful advisors work for their clients, and are free to give unbiased advice without conflict. Average advisors work for a big company (bank, insurance co., etc.) and have to toe the line, doing what’s suitable for their client but often best for their employer. They address these conflicts by simply disclosing them in lengthy agreements that clients never have time to read. Helpful advisors sometimes have to be the bad guy and say “no, you cant afford that” or “at this rate your money may not outlive you”. They then
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