I have been with Schmidt Family Office since 2000 and they have helped me and my wife address all areas of financial and estate planning since that time. Although I have had other advisors before Schmidt Family Office, once I started working with Marvin and his team, I was so pleased with their work, that I have remained with them until the present day and expect to remain with them for well into the future.
Marvin and his entire team provide consistent excellent client service. When you call or visit the office you are greeted in an exceptionally friendly and personal manner and are asked about how things are going with you and your family. Appointments start on time and are extremely thorough in terms of the breadth of the topics covered relative to financial and estate planning. The team has intimate knowledge of our entire financial affairs and is constantly reviewing the whole range of our personal property and investment needs and is thoroughly acquainted with taxation matters so that our investments give us the very best return from a capital appreciation point of view but also in terms of taxation treatment.
Before Schmidt Family Office invests your assets they take you through an exhaustive but important process in which you articulate what goals you want to achieve in life and in terms of your personal aspirations with respect to your finances and your estate. They look at your insurance needs, all your current financial holdings, your income, liabilities, your future obligations and eventually how you wish your estate to be managed in the event of your death. They are especially interested in helping the client come to terms with the amount of income they wish to achieve in retirement and they generate options for how that can be attained which are then explored. Schmidt Family Office uses a software program to run income models which is very helpful to the client in determining how close they will be to their goals when they want to retire. The advisors devote a great deal of time during your office visits to make sure that they have covered all aspects of your financial plan. Schmidt Family Office sets aside time every year for my wife and I to review our financial plan with him so that it is up to date in terms of our aspirations but also in terms of taxation and other factors which have influence over our finances.
One thing that impresses me most about Schmidt Family Office is the extent to which they will bring in experts from other fields to help you with your overall financial and estate plan. They have connected my wife and me to an excellent estate lawyer, an excellent realtor, and an international tax lawyer who has experience in setting up foreign trusts. The team works well with my accountant and together they found an excellent way to help me purchase a condominium overseas as an investment property. I have called Schmidt Family Office on scores of occasions over the years with requests from transferring funds overseas when I was purchasing a condominium in the Caribbean to questions I might have about investments and investment returns. All members of Schmidt Family Office offer excellent and precise service. Given the great volume of activity I have had with Marvin and his team, I have yet to find them to make a single mistake relative to any of the transactions they have undertaken for me. The team responds in a very timely manner, take me seriously when I have a question and ensure that I receive the information and the services I need in an efficient, effective and friendly manner.
Schmidt Family Office has been very clear with me and other clients about the fees they charge for service. They have taken extensive time to ensure that clients like me and other clients have been afforded the opportunity to see the basis for their fees and they also compare how fees are assessed in other financial settings. I have never once felt in my long term relationship with Marvin and Schmidt Family Office that I was paying too many fees or that they were calculated in anything but a fair manner. Schmidt Family Office takes a great deal of time providing information to you about how they invest your money. They also provide a great deal of information about how they think the market is working and identify coming trends that may affect one’s investment decisions. They have worked diligently to ensure I have had access to excellent financial investment vehicles, including access to a private equity firm. In addition, since the recession of 2008, they have been the steady voice of reason during turbulent economic times. This has helped to reassure my wife and I when we have become worried about the impact the recession and subsequent market turmoil has had on our portfolios.
In closing, I cannot think of a major financial decision that I would make without involving Schmidt Family Office or seeking their advice and input before proceeding. I consider Schmidt Family Office a vital part of my long term financial health and I am looking forward to continued support from them for long into the future.
