FAQ

Why couldn’t you tell me about this move before you changed firms?

Many large banking and brokerage firms require a duty of loyalty to their current firm that specifically prohibits advisors from notifying clients prior to their resignation. These requirements are addressed both in agreements advisors enter into with those firms, and an industry agreement known as the Broker Protocol. While we would like to have been able to prepare you for our move, we were bound by those agreements. As an independent firm, Wigand Integrated Wealth can place our loyalty to you above our loyalty to anyone else. We now have the ability (and commit to you) to notify you in advance of any significant future changes to our relationship. Other advisors employed by us will also be required to place your interests above those of any other party, including our own firm.

How will I benefit?

You will benefit from the collaborative approach we take in serving you. We will be able to offer you an enhanced array of financial solutions – placing your best interests first, in fulfillment of our fiduciary duty.

Fiduciary Standard of Care (Acting in your best interest):
We formed Wigand Integrated Wealth to focus on delivering the highest standard wealth management solutions to our clients, driven solely by your circumstances and needs. We believe this fiduciary standard can only be sustained in the absence of incentives and pressures to sell proprietary products and services. At WIW, there will be no hidden pressures or incentives to recommend any specific products or services.  Most importantly, we will have the freedom to find ways to continuously increase both our capabilities and the value we bring to our relationship with you.

Access to a Broader Marketplace:
Previously, we could only recommend banking and investment products offered through or approved by the company, regardless of whether better solutions were offered elsewhere. To provide truly independent and tailored financial advice, we saw the need to transition our clients to a model where we would have the flexibility to identify and recommend the best products and solutions. As an independent firm whose interests are aligned with those of our clients, we are now incentivized only to find the best solutions for you —for securities-based loans and many other services— and to negotiate the best rates and terms on your behalf.

Robust Planning Solutions:
We are excited to share with you our new planning tool, eMoney.  This tool is similar to the wealth planning tool you were accustomed to seeing at our former firm.  However, eMoney has more robust capabilities that allow our clients, as well as ourselves, to incorporate their complete financial picture into their wealth management plan - including assets held at other firms, in real time.  Further, eMoney has a secured, user-friendly “Vault” which allows you to safely store important documents, such as trusts, wills, tax filings, insurance documents, titles, etc.  You will be able to choose to share the uploaded documents with our team, in cases where it is helpful for us to have them.

Exceptional Client Service:
At Wigand Integrated Wealth our Client Services Associates priority is to meet your service needs promptly and professionally.

Will my assets be secure with your new firm?

Why Now?

We have taken the time to research and plan our transition carefully.  Since the start of the recent coronavirus concerns, we have been monitoring the financial environment very closely to ensure that we are making this transition at the best possible time for our clients.  We decided that now is the right time to make this transition for the following reasons:

Volatility:
While volatility has subsided, the fall is often a much more volatile time than the summer. Moving now will allow your relationship to be established with our new firm well before fall begins.

Year-End Tax Planning:
By moving in the summer, we will have sufficient time to coordinate with you and your tax advisor regarding actions that need to be taken before year-end, including the following:

• Capital Gain and Loss Realization
• Charitable Contributions, including Qualified Charitable Contributions (QCD's) from IRAs
• Roth IRA Conversions

Other Year-End Considerations:
Moving during the summer months will allow sufficient time for accounts to be settled prior to year-end, which can be important in determining year-end account valuations needed for many purposes, and also confine dual tax reporting statements to this calendar year.

Offer Benefits Sooner:
We're excited about the benefits our independent approach will offer our clients; and regardless what the current environment may have held, we knew that the sooner we made this move, the sooner we'd be in an even better position to respond. We are confident that in our new firm, together, we'll be capable of handling any challenges that arise – whether those challenges are specific to your situation or, like the current pandemic and upcoming elections, affect us all.

Will the way you manage money change in any way?

The core strategies we use to manage your assets customized to your needs will not change. However, certain capabilities, including enhanced interactive financial planning, as well as a greater availability of investment options and investment strategies (created by a broadening of our platform), will improve and will likely result in updated recommendations in the future.  Some of the outside asset managers we use will change.  However, we will discuss those changes with you before making them, and they will not result in an immediate change to your investments.

What about my existing banking services?

The Wigand Integrated Wealth Team is available to help you with automating bill payments, direct deposits, and all other banking services.  While we are now free from bank ownership, we are excited to explore and develop relationships with multiple providers of lending and other banking services to find those that best meet your specific needs.

If you have credit cards, checking or savings accounts, vehicle loans, or mortgages through Merrill or Bank of America, those will not need to change for you to maintain your relationship with us.  In fact, we recommend that you maintain those services initially.  As part of our relationship, we will seek the best banking services for you and will recommend changes if we believe they are in your best interest.  Certain credit card rewards may be affected as a result of transferring your accounts.  However, we are confident that our freedom to explore rewards programs available through all credit card issuers will allow us to identify attractive alternatives for you. Please consult with us before closing any Merrill Lynch or Bank of America credit card accounts, as we want to ensure you do not lose any accrued rewards points.

Why did you create your own firm?

Wigand Integrated Wealth was founded so that we could continue to act in your best interest—without the constraints imposed by a parent firm—and to find ways to continually increase our value to you by ensuring all aspects of your wealth management plan are coordinated to provide effective outcomes for you and your family or organization. We believe that establishing our own firm was the best way to help our clients pursue their objectives. We are excited to begin showing you the benefits that our improved platform will bring to you.

Is setting up your own independent firm a trend in wealth management industry?

There is a fast-growing migration of advisors joining RIA’s (Registered Investment Advisor) and exiting captive environments like banks and other large financial institutions. Cerulli Associates reports that in 2020, nearly one third of all client assets will be managed by an RIA. Each year, many of the most experienced advisors are deciding that the independent model is better for their clients. By moving from a “professional seller” to a “professional buyer,” advisors are able to deliver on the fiduciary promise they make to their clients every day. The move to independence is a long-term movement of clients to a more consumer-friendly model, and many of the industry's most accomplished advisors are making that move.

Why did we choose to be part of an elite advisor network like Sanctuary Wealth?

We will be able to leverage the technology, tools, and standardized processes available through Sanctuary that help maximize scalability and manage risk so that we can reinvest time where it matters most—with our clients. Sanctuary is a hybrid platform, that is, it is an investment advisor as well as a broker-dealer, which opens up the range of products we can offer our clients. By partnering with Sanctuary, we will also deliver operational excellence to our clients; have a strong culture of compliance; and offer a robust cybersecurity program, which will safeguard the assets clients entrust to our guidance. Sanctuary also empowers its teams with access to a solid community of like-minded, elite independent financial advisors. These advisors share best practices and can tap into the community’s intellectual capital to deliver more specialized expertise to clients.

Will my fees change with this transition?

Your fees will remain the same. You will benefit from what we can now access at Wigand Integrated Wealth: best-in-class products, services, and technologies. In addition, with our new custodian you will not incur transfer fees, ATM fees (at any ATM), or account maintenance fees.

What will I find in my welcome kit?

You will find all documents needed to maintain your relationship with Wigand Integrated Wealth. You will also find information about our custodian, Charles Schwab. We will be reaching out to you in the coming days to discuss the transition process. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or would like to know more, please call us with any questions at 719-284-2200.

How long will it take my assets to transition from the old firm to Wigand Integrated Wealth?

Once you sign the account opening and transfer documents found in this welcome packet, we will submit a request to our prior firm that includes your account details to begin the transfer process. The transfer process usually takes 5 to 10 business days to complete, once transfer documents have been submitted to the prior firm. We will monitor your accounts daily for progress and confirm that all assets have transitioned and are showing in your account at Wigand Integrated Wealth.  Once your accounts have transferred, we will work with you to re-establish any recurring payments and other transfers you may currently have. 

How can I expect to view my assets once they transition to my new accounts?

You will be able to view your assets by utilizing the Client Login section of the Wigand Integrated Wealth website. Once you log in, you will have access to all of your accounts and the ability to utilize services as you were able to do at our previous firm. You can also install the Schwab app on your phone to view your assets, see activity in your accounts, and perform services such as depositing checks into your accounts.

Where are you located and how can I reach the team?

Our temporary offices are in 2320 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO, 80904 – just a couple of miles from our old office.  Our new, permanent office in the 1st Bank Building in Downtown Colorado Springs is currently under construction and expected to be completed by September 2020.  We look forward to showing you our new space when it is complete.  Our local number is 719-284-2200, and our toll free number is 888-284-7949.

What happens now?

We would be honored to continue to work with you.  We will be reaching out to you in the coming days to walk you through it all to ensure a smooth transition of your accounts and assets.  If you have any questions before we reach out to you, please call us at 719-284-2200. Once we receive your signed paperwork, your assets will be moved electronically to our new custodian, Charles Schwab, by means of an ACATS transfer (“Automated Customer Account Transfer Service”).  After your accounts have transferred fully, we will be in touch again to schedule an in-person or remote meeting to review your wealth management plan and determine how we can best accomplish your goals using our new tools and resources.