David Smith Advisory joins the Wealth Advisor Alliance’s parent company, Forum Financial Management. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, David Smith joins the Forum partner group as one of 10 partners to hold the CFP® certification.
In 2010, David founded his Registered Investment Advisor firm in Miami. He serves clients in South Florida and along the Eastern Seaboard.
David has developed a philosophy about advisors and financial advice: “People often come to an advisor because of a change of circumstance, something they are concerned about. An advisor should be able to tell them definitively what is in their best interest. I think clients appreciate the confidence and clarity.”
In the following Q&A, he discusses joining Forum and what the alliance means for the next stage of his financial advisory career.
Q&A With David Smith
Why did you decide to make the change from David Smith Advisory to join Forum?
As a sole practitioner, I recognize the benefits of working with a larger organization and having a larger team with a mission. That’s what I see happening with Forum, there are more people on the team looking to determine how we can be even better. I benefit because my skill set is working with people. Now, I can spend more time with my clients.
Each step of the way, when I had a question, someone answered it and answered it well. Not only the onboarding team, but partners and other Forum advisors. They were honest about transition.
How will the move to Forum benefit your Miami team?
The team that works with me is tremendous. It will be different but beneficial for my team to have more of a structure where they can each take the lead. What we do matters to them on a higher level, it is bigger than just a job. We are all looking forward to the change with Forum.
What appealed to you about the support that Forum and Forum’s BackOffice team would provide?
Clients should be asking their advisor if they have a backup plan if something happens inside or outside of the office. If something happened to me, or the physical office with the hurricanes we have around here, my staff would step up to the plate and we know after 2020 that we can work remotely. Now, we have partners at Forum who can step in at crucial times, and I know my clients as well as the Miami team will be taken care of whenever might they need help.
How do you build the optimal financial plan for your clients?
My job is to listen and find out what someone really needs and then take care of it. Some people don’t know what they need, so it can take time to talk about everything — their money, their children, their businesses, their legacy and how to take care of the next generations — and they turn into cathartic conversations. I don’t think that new clients start out understanding why a financial plan is important, but they are relieved after plans are in place. I believe in working with other professionals, so things make sense when we put everything together. The most effective plan is one where there is nothing in isolation.
What is your vision for you and your team post-transition?
It takes courage to make the initial decision and to see it through. Six months from now, I envision growth and bringing on new accounts while taking care of our clients. By then, we’ll be doing things differently, having learned quite a bit about the systems. It’s been a long road and getting it done is a big deal but no way I could do it without this team.
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