Private Wealth Asset Management, an independent registered investment advisor (RIA) in Omaha, Neb., has appointed Leslie Miller as partner and senior portfolio manager, the company said.
Miller, an industry veteran specializing in gerentology, has more than three decades of experience managing investment portfolios for wealthy families and institutions, most recently as senior portfolio manager with US Bank Private Wealth Management, where she managed about $250 million in assets under advisement (AUA). Kim Cappellano, founding partner and director of philanthropic services at Private Wealth, said that Miller would play a key role in expanding the firm’s client services.
“Leslie brings an important specialty that you won’t find at other wealth management firms and we’re pleased to offer this additional subject matter expertise to our clients,” she said in a news release announcing the appointment. “We are even more happy to help Leslie’s practice by surrounding her with a full team of other specialists so she can help families manage all their financial affairs. She will provide the necessary support and resources for people who are at a vulnerable stage in life and remain dedicated to helping our clients protect their assets and family relations.”
According to her social media profile, Miller got her start at Wachovia as a portfolio manager/equity research analyst, and later served as portfolio manager for Bank of America and US Trust before joining Merrill Lynch in 2011 as a financial advisor. Two years later, Wells Fargo appointed Miller to the position of senior vice president/senior investment strategist, before US Bank hired her in 2017.
Miller received her M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University and her bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and is pursuing her master’s certificate in gerontology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“It’s important to represent a company where I am free to bring the best investment solutions regardless of which bank or institution they came from, and that focuses on the best interests of the people we serve to meet their needs and goals,” she said. “I have personally experienced how things can go wrong when clients don’t have representation working on their behalf and I am passionate about making sure this doesn’t happen to others.”
In an email, Miller said that her parents were both diagnosed with dementia, and that their designated power of attorney (POA) did not see that they received the appropriate care. In seeking to protect her parents’ health and estate, she found herself embroiled in a legal tug-of-war with family members that cost them all a family relationship, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“My parents were told they did not need a trust,” she said in the email. “One painful result was that when mom passed, people would contact me endlessly to tell me they wanted to purchase her home. The phone calls, texts, emails, and letters never seemed to stop. Her will was public information, and so were the names of her beneficiaries.
Financial Advisor asked Miller how her expertise in gerentology has enabled her to better serve her clients.
“We tend to plan for death, not disability or diminished mental capacity,” she said. “The trend in the elder care industry (in which many different types of providers are involved) is toward for-profit organizations as it is a most lucrative business. Most people do not understand the fiduciary (legal) responsibilities of POAs, guardians, and executors. We make it a point to review the client’s entire financial situation, including wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and POA appointments. The financial services industry is just beginning to be educated on the liability involved with incapacitated clients.”
She said that people were living longer and portfolios needed to be balanced for an increase in expenses, while maintaining protection for the elderly client. And because many family members were not all located in one central area, there was frequently both a lack of unity within the family or one person had all of the “control” because they live in closest proximity to one or both parents.
“Many people think the answer is to appoint a family member or friend to be POA for healthcare and/or finances,” she said. “My experience is that it is critical professionals in the wealth management business understand the client’s goals and wishes, understand the family dynamics, and the vulnerable position many elderly clients find themselves in. Estates are at severe risk whenever finances are not watched closely; legal battles are taking place; and when expensive, unnecessary care is “forced” upon a person.”
Miller joins Private Wealth’s Omaha office, which services Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs and surrounding Nebraskan communities.
Overseeing more than $1B in assets under advisement (AUA), Private Wealth Asset Managementhas attracted 16 former investment and planning specialists from private banks around the country in just its first 13 months of operation, and opened offices in Omaha; Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa; San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Midland, and Fort Worth, Tex.
