Kestra expands advanced planning under HNW estate lawyer

In a signal of the race in wealth management to boost their tax services, one of the largest independent firms hired a veteran estate lawyer to lead its advanced planning team.

Last month, Austin, Texas-based Kestra Financial announced that the firm was ramping up its investment in tax, estates and other complex planning areas under Christine Brown, a onetime wealth strategist with tenures at UBS and Credit Suisse, and decades advising high and ultrahigh net worth families on wealth transfer strategy. The firm also unveiled a planning software integration with RightCapital. 

In the Q&A interview below, Brown explained the structure of Kestra's advanced planning team and the trend of further adoption of tax and estate services across the industry.

As the No. 11 firm on Financial Planning's annual IBD Elite ranking of the largest independent brokerages in wealth management, Kestra also recapitalized last year in the second phase of investment into the firm's parent by funds managed by private equity firm Stone Point Capital. The term "midsize" likely represents a misnomer for a firm that generates revenue north of $857 million annually. 

Nevertheless, Kestra has carved out a distinction for itself in the industry as the largest of the independent brokerages that are not as big as the giants. The RightCapital vendor agreement and the appointment of Brown displays how Kestra is, in turn, pressing its advantages over smaller rivals by boosting its bet on the expansion of tax and estate services.     

The below email interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Brown answered the first three questions in one exchange and the two follow-up questions in a subsequent one.

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Financial Planning: What is the size and structure of Kestra's advanced planning team supporting financial advisors and their clients?

Christine Brown: As we further build out the firm's advanced planning capabilities, our priority is scaling our team in direct response to the sophisticated needs of the financial advisors in our community. Our current advanced planning team includes both seasoned attorneys and CFPs, ensuring we can tackle the nuances of both tax law and financial strategy.

FP: With your decades of experience advising ultrahigh net worth families on wealth transfers, trusts and other estate planning, what attracted you to this new position at Kestra and its investments into advanced planning?

CB: Joining Kestra Financial as the head of advanced planning was a natural next step for me and an extension of my work advising ultra high net worth families on complex wealth strategies. [Head of Wealth Management] John Amore and the whole leadership team at Kestra Financial really understand the value that advanced planning brings to advisors and their clients. I am excited to be at a firm where leadership views estate and tax planning as an essential driver of client outcomes.

FP: What is your sense of the general adoption across retail wealth management of estate planning services alongside more traditional industry services such as portfolio management, retirement planning and financial planning? Do you agree with the view that these services haven't been adopted widely across the industry, and why or why not?

CB: The industry has been evolving over the last several years toward the adoption of estate planning as part of an advisor's practice. Many advisors understand how estate planning discussions with their clients can help them be more holistic in their advice and deepen their relationship with their clients, but it's not yet the norm or standard practice. At Kestra, we talk about the value of being a "complete wealth manager," which really means serving the holistic financial needs of your clients, spanning portfolio management and financial planning to tax planning and estate planning.

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FP: How many people are on the advanced planning team? How big will it grow as it is further built out, and how do financial advisors and their teams access this advisor support? Is it together with a direct service team that works with advisors, or do they contact the advanced planning team separately?

CB: Currently, our advanced planning team consists of six dedicated professionals. This includes specialized team members from Kestra Insurance Planning, ensuring we provide a holistic approach to complex wealth strategies.

The advanced planning team is a resource available to all advisors within the Kestra ecosystem. We work in partnership with the broader Kestra team, and advisors can also contact the advanced planning team directly via phone or email. Advisors appreciate that level of direct access: we regularly hear that it's a differentiator in this space.

FP: Why are estate planning services not the norm or standard practice across retail wealth management businesses?

CB: In part, I think it's a cost issue. Estate planning and financial planning experts are highly specialized, and building out a full estate-planning offering is an investment that not all firms are willing to make. However, the ROI is clear: it fosters significantly stickier client relationships, uncovers additional wallet share through a deeper understanding of the client's balance sheet, and fulfills the promise of true, total wealth planning.