By Marie Galetto
What role do advisors play in the larger story of wealth and poverty in the Silicon Valley? Do they have one? And how much influence do advisors truly have on their clients’ philanthropic vision?
On April 25, 2018, Bryan Polster addressed these topics and more during the Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County’s Annual Adviosr Gathering. Bryan Polster is the Chairman of the Board of Partners at Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP and brought his years of expertise to the discussion of multigenerational tax planning and the new tax legislation. He touched on a wide variety ways advisors can maximize the effectiveness of existing tax strategies in light of the new legislation, including Donor Advised Fund bunching, IRA rollovers, family endowments, and charitable lead trusts.
Bryan described many techniques advisors can utilize to help their clients, but the true takeaway was his message about how advisors can use their role as influencer to help bridge the huge gap between poverty and wealth in our local community. The Giving Code*, a 2016 study of wealth and philanthropy in the Silicon Valley, notes that there are more than 12,550 households with over $5 million in investable assets, while in that same area 30% of people are only getting by with social support. Along with the huge amount of wealth in the Valley, there is a real desire to give back, but donors, many of them young people with newly acquired wealth, don’t always know where or how to give.
According to an update to the The Giving Code in January of 2018, a common theme from the surveyed group of wealthy individuals was a frustration with their advisors. The advisors did a great job with technical recommendations or the “how” of philanthropic giving, but were lacking the “why.” Bryan encouraged everyone to not restrict themselves to the technical aspects of their position, but to draw upon and share their personal experiences with their clients when appropriate. Simple, honest conversations with clients can have a lasting impact and provide inspiration for their philanthropy.
Being this type of influencer in a client’s life is a calling and a challenge which requires awareness and collaboration. Bryan challenged everyone to collaborate more with their peers in their field and across fields to meet this need. By working together and partnering with organizations like The Catholic Community Foundation, advisors can help their clients identify, visualize, and articulate their objectives, and then make them into a reality. “Only with humility and an open mind,” said Bryan, “can we effectively collaborate with one another to benefit both our clients and our community.”
*Cortes Culwell, A. and McLeod Grant, H. (2016). The Giving Code: Silicon Valley Nonprofits and Philanthropy Executive Summary. [online] Open Impact LLC. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579ea07b414fb51257607b72/t/580e9bf06b8f5b70e606d390/1477352433730/GivingCode_execsummary_download_102516.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2018].