Table Of Content“It is natural to feel insecure about managing your wealth, especially if you don’t
have a finance background. Charlotte’s book clearly outlines the responsibility
you have to your wealth and equips you with the tools to manage it. This book
simplifies what many people find complex about wealth management, helps
readers understand what kind of investor they are, and clearly breaks down the
different aspects of the wealth management business. It is a masterpiece that every
investor should read and own.”
—Lloyd Hascoe, Hascoe Associates
“At last a book that unwraps the mysteries of investing. Charlotte Beyer helps
readers to deal with the practical problems of managing wealth wisely. She shows
them how to assess their own strengths as investors, provides a checklist for
interviewing advisors, and shares keen insights to make the reader savvier about
the pitfalls of investing. A must-read for both sophisticated investors and those
who want to better navigate the investment process.”
—Richard Marston, James R.F. Guy Professor of Finance, Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania
“Wealth Management Unwrapped insightfully explores investor and industry
(mis-) behavior and the challenges of crafting and sustaining a robust wealth
management strategy. Individuals and families would do well to read this before
selecting a financial advisor.”
—Ashvin B. Chhabra, President, Euclidean Capital LLC and author of The
Aspirational Investor
“Einstein said, ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.’ In
Wealth Management Unwrapped, calling on her unrivaled experience, Charlotte
Beyer has done just that with regard to the financial advice everyone needs.”
—Howard Marks, Co-Chairman, Oaktree Capital Management
“Charlotte Beyer has dedicated her professional career to improving the wealth
management business and this book is one of her greatest contributions to
the industry. It’s a smart, fun and creative snapshot of what investors should
look for in their financial advisors and an important call for an improved client
relationship.”
—Sallie Krawcheck, Founder & CEO, Ellevest
“Charlotte’s incredible experience in wealth management – from both sides of the
table – makes this book indispensable for wealthy families AND the advisors who
wish to serve them. The new chapters on digital advice and ‘women with wallets’
brings this already excellent book right up to date on the disruptions affecting the
wealth management industry. There is no one besides Charlotte who could have
written this book – and we can all be thankful that she did.”
—Scott Welch, Chief Investment Officer, Dynasty Financial Partners
“Charlotte Beyer is a gifted ‘translator.’ She understood the investment world, but
also the high net worth individual and family. She used her instincts, sensing the
unique personal and emotional needs of that world. Her book beautifully translates
her thoughts, insights and instincts, helping families and investment managers
with an understandable, and pragmatic, path to helping both.”
—Ginny Corsi, Consultant, Corsi Associates
“As I read Wealth Management Unwrapped, unique and amazing were the words
that came to mind. In this most readable book, Charlotte integrates her extensive
experience, common sense and humor to masterfully write for two audiences
concurrently – the client and the advisor. She writes ‘This book attempts to pull
their [investors] stories together into practical lessons you can learn from. . .’
Charlotte is wrong, she doesn’t ‘attempt’, she succeeds magnificently. This is not
only a book I will own, it is one I will share widely with my clients. Investors and
other advisors will be well rewarded by joining me.”
—Harold Evensky, Chairman, Evensky & Katz; Foldes Financial Wealth
Management I Professor of Practice, Texas Tech University
“In her newly revised manual, Wealth Management Unwrapped, Charlotte Beyer
uses plain talk, common sense, wit and wisdom, and a knack for choosing just
the right analogies to coax even the wariest investor into becoming a wise and
confident CEO of his or her own wealth. She offers helpful lists, charts, and scripts
to help investors find, evaluate, hire and fire advisors, and, as important, really get
to know themselves as investors and investment decision makers.”
—Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, Executive Director, CFP Center for
Financial Planning
“As always, Charlotte demystifies the complex by speaking plainly and directly. It is
not only her deep expertise that comes through in this book, but that she truly cares
about guiding people to confidently make the best decisions financial decisions
from a place of knowledge and comfort.”
—Nan J. Morrison, CEO, Council for Economic Education
W E A LT H
MANAGEMENT
U N W R A PPE D
R E V I S E D A N D E X P A N D E D
W E A LT H
MANAGEMENT
U N W R A PPE D
R E V I S E D A N D E X P A N D E D
UNWRAP WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW AND ENJOY THE PRESENT
C H A R L O T T E B. B E Y E R
Copyright © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
All interior graphics and illustrations: Bud Lavery Design.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or
otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750–8400, fax (978) 646–8600, or on the Web
at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the
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748–6011, fax (201) 748–6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their
best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to
the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or
extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained
herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where
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damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 978-1-119-40369-2 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-119-40370-8 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-119-40367-8 (ePub)
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Images: Open box © Line - design/Shutterstock; Dollars roll © Africa Studio/Shutterstock
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to the hundreds of private investors I came to know
over four decades in this industry. I was fortunate to form abiding
friendships with many of you, and to learn extraordinary lessons
from many, many more. I could not have written this book without
your support, loyalty, and wisdom.
Contents
Contents
xiii Foreword
xv Introduction
xvii Acknowledgments
xix About the Author
xxi Prologue
1 Chapter 1: Who’s in Charge of My Wealth, Inc.?
9 Chapter 2: My Money, Myself
17 Chapter 3: Are You a Do-It-Yourselfer?
27 Chapter 4: If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any
Investment Will Get You There
37 Chapter 5: If You Don’t Know Who the Sucker Is at the
Table, It Might Be You!
45 Chapter 6: Resist the Razzle Dazzle:
How to Judge the Beauty Contest
53 Chapter 7: Transparency, or How I Learned
to Love Conflicts of Interest
63 Chapter 8: Courtship Is Usually More
Fun Than Marriage
73 Chapter 9: Can This Marriage Be Saved? When
to Fire Your Advisor
83 Chapter 10: Aging—Grave Concerns
93 Chapter 11: Born Rich—A Curse or a Blessing?
105 Chapter 12: I’m a Robot, and I’m Here to Help
x
Contents
117 Chapter 13: Women with Wallets
131 Chapter 14: The 10 Principles of Principal
135 Appendix
149 Endnotes
169 Index
xi
FOREW ORD
Do not lend this book to your friends—or even your family!
Buy a copy and give it. Better, buy several copies and
give them to those you love. Or, best of all, get them to
buy their own copies. Then, they’ll feel more committed
to reading, enjoying, and savoring the insights, wisdom,
and confident good humor with which my friend Charlotte Beyer has gath-
ered together valuable investing insights from her years of experience, particu-
larly as the founder and doyenne of the Institute for Private Investors.
Meanwhile, keep your copy where you can easily reach for it to refresh
your own best thinking on the particular ideas and explanations that mean the
most to you. NB: Keeping your copy handy is not being selfish, it’s setting a
good example for your friends and family.
“Phooey on Phees!” could have been yet one more chapter title with
attitude. All the titles send a clear signal: candor is coming! Candor with an
edge—and a sense of humor—is coming from a writer who “knows the score”
and “tells it like it is.”
Being realistic about investment prospects is the first half of every inves-
tor’s challenge—and opportunity. The second half is being realistic about our
particular objectives and priorities. All this and more is illuminated in a breezy,
easy way – but with evidence behind every point and sources cited in the
extensive endnotes.
Charlotte Beyer’s readers will enjoy receiving treasured insights into
the world of investing and how each individual can best navigate to catch
the favorable winds and tides—and avoid the rocks and shoals—to reach the
chosen destination safely. Along the way, her companions will enjoy having an
engaging story-teller who knows what’s important and how best to share her
understanding. Charlotte has been my friend for many years and, over a few
interesting and enjoyable hours of reading, she will be your friend, too.
Charles D. Ellis
New Haven, CT
June 2017
xiii
