The Family Consigliere: How Aker Secured Multigenerational Wealth with a Multimillion-Dollar Real Estate Sale… and Beyond
By Randy Kaufman
with research assistance from Dustin Lowman
Introduction: Aker, Abstract
I’ve been in wealth management since 1998. Before that, I practiced corporate tax law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison and worked as an investment banker at JP Morgan. I’ve seen the topic of financial security from many angles: the legal, the numerical, and most recently, the psychological and emotional. Indeed, the core of my client work is as much about encouraging healthy mental habits as healthy financial habits.
Through Aker, I take a multidisciplinary approach to bringing my clients peace. I often describe myself as a “family consigliere,” as I receive input from many different sources — estate lawyers, tax lawyers, accountants, husbands, wives, children, grandchildren — and factor it all into a financial plan that meets each stakeholder’s needs. While I’m not licensed to give investing advice, many clients require investing support, so Aker works with clients to find the investment manager that best suits them.
Below is an example of how I helped a real estate entrepreneur with a wide variety of needs. From liquidating a large property to redesigning an estate plan to aligning the interests of a large and growing family, this story is a powerful example of Aker’s full potential.
The Challenge: Convert Prized Real Estate Asset into Generational Wealth
A new client, Roger, was at a turning point. He had owned a large commercial real estate property in Detroit for decades. Having just turned 70, Roger was considering selling his property to alleviate the stresses of being a landlord, and to secure his and his family’s financial future. I was a good fit. Years prior, I was recruited to work in the private wealth arena by a senior executive who had formerly run the real estate lending division of a bank. In the 90s, the idea of serving clients with a range of assets in a more holistic way was revolutionary. Especially when it comes to real estate entrepreneurs, people need much more than just investing advice.
When I met Roger, the Detroit property was his sole asset. In fact, it had always been his sole asset. Having worked with numerous real estate professionals, I knew well that selling the crown jewel is not easy. Even when it means a big windfall — and in Roger’s case, it certainly would — it also means a embracing a completely different view of life.
Building and sustaining such real estate properties is not for the faint of heart. It takes decades of sweat equity, all-nighters, riding volatile market waves (just think of real estate during COVID-19), dealing with new regulations, and handling difficult tenants. They pour their hearts and souls into their work. Turning it into cash means saying goodbye to all of that — the lows and the highs both. It means giving up control to a large degree, and trusting in a portfolio for your financial future. For virtually all of my entrepreneurial clients, this is a new, different, and uncomfortable transition.
But, Roger had received an offer for double what he thought the property was worth. Given his age, his family situation, and that price tag, it was an offer he didn’t want to refuse.
So, my challenges were several:
Help Roger understand his options. What would it mean to sell the property? Should he look at a 1031 transaction? How could an investment portfolio work for him, after debt and taxes were paid?
Orchestrate the sale. A multimillion-dollar sale takes a lot of buy-in — from lawyers, accountants, family members, and more. I sat with all of them, listening, coordinating, and helping bridge gaps and to close the deal.
Manage the money. A big pile of money can be enormously powerful — if you can make it work for you. In addition to sustaining his life, Roger wanted to set up the rest of his family for long-term financial security, which would require a multipronged approach.
The Aker Approach: Grit, Grace, Growth, Gratitude (The 4 Gs)
Different clients need different levels of support. In Roger’s case, I was the coxswain, assembling all stakeholders, assessing their needs, and making sure they all rowed in the same direction.
Step 1: Listen. I always lead with listening to my client, their team of advisors, and their family. By securing input from all stakeholders, I develop a sense of “the prize” — the goal we’re all shooting for.
Step 2: Paint a picture. Before closing the deal, Aker worked closely with Roger to project the kind of lifestyle that the proceeds from the sale would support under various scenarios. We took an unknown and replaced it with plausible, positive outcomes.
Step 3: Close the sale. Prior to Aker’s involvement, the deal was on shaky footing. The many complexities, financial and emotional, were undermining everyone’s confidence in the decision. But when Aker stepped in and replaced anxiety with the order, we were able to rejuvenate the deal, leading to a successful closing of tens of millions of dollars.
Step 4: Find an investment manager. Aker recommended three investment firms for Roger and conducted numerous interviews with all three alongside him, his family, and his other advisors. The questions were extensive and the process took time. We evaluated what was important to Roger and his family, not Aker. Together, we all built toward a consensus on which firm was the right fit.
Step 5: Secure the future. Aker collaborated with Roger, his family, their estate planning attorney, and their accountant to reconfigure his estate plan in light of his newfound wealth. We also successfully transferred tax preparation and planning work to a new CPA, as his former accountant was retiring.
Step 6: Keep it going. We now conduct regular meetings with Roger and his other advisers to make sure that we’re all on the same page, that important information is shared early on, and that objectives get done on time. This ongoing work includes working closely with Roger’s wife and son, incorporating their needs and wishes into the overall plan.
The Results
Successful multimillion-dollar real estate closing
Investment strategy tailored to Roger’s financial priorities
Revised estate plan gauged to new financial circumstances
Total alignment between client, client’s family, and client’s advisors
Ongoing Aker Role
Organizing regular advisor meetings
Implementing and adjusting the estate plan
Running investment meetings with the chosen investment manager
Creating and maintaining a balance sheet
Quarterbacking all the advisors
Being available to answer any and all questions for the client, his son, and his granddaughter
Grit: I can’t resist a challenge. I view each one as an opportunity to dive deeply into complex problems, turning obstacles into springboards.
Grace: Solving problems requires universal buy-in. Grace is the only way to build bridges between people with differing personalities and objectives.
Growth: I treat unknowns as opportunities. No one knows everything, but this who are open to learning what they don’t know can replace ignorance with authority.
Gratitude: The most important element. I take nothing for granted, and practice gratitude for what I have, each and every day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Randy Kaufman, formerly a corporate tax attorney and investment banker, is now a wealth advisor who prides herself on focusing on what matters most: clients’ peace of mind, family dynamics, and getting enough, not more. Randy is a passionate student of impact investing, strategic philanthropy, and behavioral psychology (while not a psychologist, she occasionally plays one in the boardroom). She is dedicated to helping the underprivileged, and is a proud member of global venture fund Acumen's advisory board. A thinker, learner, and pursuer of overarching truths, she is always eager to discuss big ideas about money, and its off-and-on associate, happiness.