Monday, February 10, 2025
By Robert Sturges, LUTCF CLTC & Jeff Velastegui
The Case for a Strategic Alliance
In today’s competitive financial services landscape, CPAs are increasingly seeking ways to enhance their offerings and deepen client relationships. One of the most strategic moves a CPA firm can make is partnering with an established financial planning firm like The Legacy Group. By doing so, CPAs can provide comprehensive solutions, build long-term success, and maintain their edge in a rapidly evolving market.
Meeting the Demand for Holistic Financial Services
As the financial needs of clients become more complex, the demand for holistic financial strategies has never been greater. Today’s clients are seeking financial advice that goes beyond tax preparation—they want to build long-term wealth, plan for retirement, manage investments, and ensure their legacies are preserved for future generations. This shift presents a significant opportunity for CPAs, who are already deeply involved in their clients’ financial lives, to offer a more comprehensive service.
By partnering with a specialized firm like the Legacy Group, CPAs can seamlessly integrate financial planning into their practice without needing to reinvent the wheel. The Legacy Group’s expertise in wealth management, estate planning, and retirement strategies can complement the tax and accounting services CPAs already provide, allowing firms to offer a truly comprehensive solution to their clients.
The Legacy Group: A Trusted Partner for CPAs
The Legacy Group is a respected name in financial planning, known for its focus on helping business owners, executives, and successful professionals manage their wealth, plan for retirement, and create lasting legacies. The Legacy Group enhances the CPA’s ability to provide holistic financial solutions. Importantly, this alliance allows CPAs to:
- Maintain their role as the trusted advisor.
- Expand service offerings without incurring high costs or requiring extensive training.
- Collaborate on customized strategies for high-net-worth individuals and business owners.
Strategic Advantages of Partnering with The Legacy Group
Partnering with the Legacy Group offers CPAs several distinct advantages:
- Expand Service Offerings with Minimal Effort
One of the most appealing aspects of partnering with the Legacy Group is that CPAs don’t have to build a financial planning practice from scratch. The Legacy Group brings expertise in investment management, retirement planning, and estate planning strategies, allowing CPAs to quickly expand their offerings without the need for extensive training or certification. This enables CPAs to focus on what they do best—tax planning and consulting—while benefiting from the complementary services the Legacy Group provides.
- Enhance Client Retention and Loyalty
When clients come to a CPA firm, they often expect a wide range of services. However, many clients will eventually seek out other advisors for investment management or retirement planning. By offering a more complete set of services through an alliance with the Legacy Group, CPAs can enhance client satisfaction and loyalty. The integrated services foster deeper relationships, increasing the likelihood that clients will stay with the firm for the long term.
- Strengthen Competitive Position
As more clients seek holistic financial solutions, partnering with a reputable financial planning firm like the Legacy Group can give CPAs a competitive edge. By offering both tax planning and financial planning, CPAs can differentiate their services in a crowded marketplace. This positions them as comprehensive financial advisors, which is especially attractive to high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and families seeking well-rounded financial guidance.
How the Alliance Works: A Seamless Integration
The collaboration with The Legacy Group is designed to be seamless and mutually beneficial. Services offered through this alliance include:
- Wealth Management: Tax-efficient portfolio management to align client investments with their financial goals.
- Estate Planning: Sophisticated strategies to protect assets, minimize taxes, and ensure smooth wealth transfer.
- Retirement Planning: Comprehensive planning that addresses income needs, tax implications, and future objectives.
- Legacy and Charitable Giving: Annual exclusion gifts and philanthropic strategies aligned with clients’ values and long-term goals.
- Business Owner Solutions: Tailored strategies including executive benefits, buy-sell arrangements, key man planning, retirement planning and advanced succession planning.
Through this alliance, CPAs can refer clients to the Legacy Group for these specialized services while continuing to manage their clients’ tax and accounting needs. The collaboration ensures that clients receive well-rounded financial advice tailored to their needs.
Addressing Common Concerns
While partnering with The Legacy Group offers clear benefits, CPAs may have concerns that should be addressed:
- Regulatory Compliance: The Legacy Group adheres to industry regulations and provides CPAs with clear referral agreements and disclosures.
- Client Relationship Management: The alliance strengthens the CPA-client relationship by enhancing the value offered without replacing the CPA’s role.
- Training and Education: CPAs do not need to become financial planners but can confidently refer clients by understanding The Legacy Group’s services.
Steps to Partner with The Legacy Group
- Learn About The Legacy Group: Familiarize yourself with the services and solutions offered.
- Initiate a Conversation: Schedule a meeting to discuss alliance logistics and referral processes.
- Communicate to Clients: Highlight the expanded offerings and explain how this alliance enhances their financial planning.
- Begin Referring Clients: Seamlessly integrate The Legacy Group’s services into your practice.
- Evaluate the Alliance: Regularly assess client satisfaction and practice growth to ensure continued success.
Conclusion
Partnering with The Legacy Group empowers CPAs to deliver a holistic financial strategy, enhance client satisfaction, and differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. By leveraging The Legacy Group’s expertise, CPAs can focus on their core services while offering clients a full spectrum of financial solutions.
📩 Ready to enhance your practice? Contact The Legacy Group to explore strategic alliance opportunities and elevate your client offerings today. Visit The Legacy Group’s Estate Planning Page to learn more or contact us at info@legacygroupny.com or call (516) 682-3383.
Securities, investment advisory and financial planning services offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investor Services, LLC. Member SIPC. The Legacy Group is not a subsidiary of MML Investors Services, LLC or its affiliated companies. 1693 Veterans Memorial Hwy, Suite 307S, Hauppauge, NY 11788. 516-682-3383. CRN202801-7997054
About Jeff
Jeff Velastegui is Founder and Personal Estate & Business Advisor at The Legacy Group, a financial planning firm dedicated to helping high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and executives build, preserve, and transfer wealth in the Long Island and Metro New York area. With over 20 years of experience in fee-based financial planning, Jeff is known for his “service-first” approach, offering personalized estate planning, business succession strategies, and wealth management. His proprietary 3-Dimensional Planning process brings together financial, legal, and accounting perspectives to help create cohesive and future-ready client plans.
Jeff’s mission is to “reach people in time to make a difference,” a passion sparked by helping his mother avoid an unsuitable financial product when he was young. This experience inspired him to guide others toward informed decisions and financial confidence. After beginning his career at Thrivent Financial and later Sagemark Consulting, Jeff joined the Center for Wealth Preservation in 2007, where he honed his collaborative planning philosophy. He founded The Legacy Group to help clients live a life of greater confidence, choice, and financial freedom through strategic planning and unparalleled advice.
Jeff obtained a business management and finance degree from the City University of NY and is licensed to sell insurance and securities in multiple states, enabling him to offer a comprehensive range of financial strategies. Living in Centerport, New York, with his wife, Pam, and their two children, Nicolas and Isabella, Jeff is an active member of his community, serving on nonprofit boards and mentoring young adults through his Sonrisa Foundation. Outside of work, he enjoys skiing, snowboarding, and spending time outdoors with his family. To learn more about Jeff, connect with him on LinkedIn.
