Allan Henriques

Allan Henriques is a self-described "recovering attorney" who today runs Smart Investor, a Rocklin, California-based wealth management firm with more than $100 million under management. The firm, which caters to entrepreneurs and small-business people, attends to the total financial health of busy clients who typically don't have the time or inclination to coordinate their financial affairs.

Henriques says that many entrepreneurs are focused not just on their businesses but on building a secure future for their families—and as a business owner and grandfather to 14 children, he should know. "I understand the entrepreneurial mindset," he explains. "I know what is necessary and how resources need to be aligned."

While Henriques' path to wealth management began on the legal side in the 1970s—he received his juris doctorate from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and later built his own law practice— he eventually found finance more satisfying. He gradually unwound his legal practice and committed himself to financial advisory work full time in the mid-1990s.

The move from law to wealth management was the right step, says Henriques. Wealth management is particularly satisfying to Henriques because of the close relationships he can develop with clients. Unlike the more transactional legal field, in which professionals are hired to solve one particular problem, wealth management allows for deeper, ongoing relationships that address the full range of investors' goals. "Building the firm has been greatly satisfying to me. The one-on-one planning that wealth management offers is what I enjoy most—working with individuals determined to build a good future for themselves and their loved ones and helping them get there."

Henriques has built his wealth management business methodically. He is an independent registered investment advisor and through Smart Investor provides investment, retirement and financial planning advisory services. He recently gained the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation. The designation, he explains, provides a systematic, formalized process to ensure that clients' interests are put first—something he is particularly concerned about emphasizing, given his background as an attorney and because of an increased level of wariness on the part of investors in the wake of the market meltdown. "Advisors are going to have to emphasize transparency more going forward, and they will want to be seen as going above and beyond the regulatory minimum," he says. "The AIF is recognized as the global standard of fiduciary excellence."

Henriques continues to leverage his legal skills in the wealth management field while also offering a comprehensive suite of investment- and planning-focused solutions. One area of focus that comes from his legal background is charitable trust administration.Henriques' knowledge of the area has resulted in a variety of individual and institutional clients, including a West Coast university. "We do all their charitable trust administration. We are able to provide them with a very cost-efficient process that is tailored to meet the specific needs of the donor as well as [of] the university," he says. "Regardless of who the client is, we support their most important values with their wealth— aligning what they truly wish to accomplish with the resources they have accumulated."

While Henriques has numerous professional relationships, it was his contact with advisor coaching firm CEG Worldwide that led him to true wealth management. "That was the final piece of our puzzle," Henriques explains. "Their emphasis on supporting clients' values with their resources is a breakthrough in the financial advisory paradigm. Additionally the idea that you act as your clients' personal CFO helps provide a holistic approach to finance that people need in a challenging environment."

Acting as a personal CFO, says Henriques, essentially amounts to learning what is most important to each client and helping them clearly articulate those goals. Then, Henriques and the Smart Investor team develop a strategy for clients to best reach those goals, whether paying for a child's education, funding a comfortable retirement or setting aside a portion of their savings to fund a business venture. "It also means periodically reviewing and monitoring [those goals] to make sure they're still on track," he says.

The Smart Investor team also must make sure to fully align clients' values and goals with such things as their risk tolerance and time horizon. Henriques points out that in today's market, investors must make sure their money is working hard for them and that they're not taking on more risk than necessary. "Managing wealth is about so much more than the bottom line," he says. "As we have seen, the bottom line can fluctuate, so we need to concentrate on ways that ensure resources are always working hard to provide the best possible value."

Henriques adds that "business cycles come and go, but what always remains as clients' most important objective is to do what is best to fulfill their own values and the needs of the people they care about most. I'm gratified that our business gives us the opportunity to help so many good people, and I look forward to what the next decade will bring."

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