30 Years of Cultivating Clients’ Legacies

He’s been serving the community for almost three decades. As retirement approaches, Dave Cook looks to encourage the next generation of professional advisors to invest in their clients’ legacy.

“I have been a financial advisor for almost 30 years,” Dave explained. “I’m in the process of retiring now, so I’m having those appointments where I’m introducing my clients to the advisors I’ve selected to transition my business to.”

For decades as a financial advisor, Dave has carefully curated his clients’ accounts to ensure they are sustainable and profitable. As he matured as an advisor, he also encouraged his clients to consider their legacy. One way he’s helped them build a legacy is through philanthropy, something he’s seen modeled since childhood. 

“I did not grow up in a privileged household or privileged neighborhood. My release as a boy was athletics,” he said. “Even at a young age, I was struck by how people in the community generously supported our teams’ effort throughout those many years.”

He fondly remembers one particular community member, Mr. Ben, who owned two Burger Kings in town. 

“Mr. Ben was a kind and caring man.  He paid for our equipment, our uniforms and we all got to go to his Burger King after the Friday games,” he said, “I hope he realized how impactful and life-changing his generosity was and the compounding effect it had on so many lives.”

Philanthropic community members like Mr. Ben has encouraged Dave to prioritize giving back, which he’s done in a number of ways through his church and through his donor-advised fund with the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. 

When he learned about the Community Foundation’s desire to equip professional advisors with tools to improve their clients’ philanthropy, he was eager to help.

“Back in the late nineties, I was asked to be on a consultation group of professional advisors” Dave said. The group, headed by former Community Foundation Executive Director Joe Estefan, included attorneys, CPA, and financial advisors. “He wanted to hear what we were doing and bounce some ideas off of us.” 

This group later evolved into the Professional Advisors Network (PAN). Through PAN, Dave has connected with advisors inside and outside his field, and a few years ago, he joined the PAN leadership team working to cultivate a strong network of professional advisors.

“Going to the Foundation’s social and educational events allowed you to meet folks from different firms and disciplines,” he said. “I would run into some of the people I knew and meet some people I didn’t know.”

He believes PAN and the Community Foundation play a key part in helping financial advisors serve their clients.

“When you’re a newer financial advisor, you’re focused on creating clients, gathering assets and building strong portfolios.”

However, as advisors gain experience, they begin to look for ways to develop their financial planning skills Dave explains.

“We can learn from organizations like the Community Foundation who bring in experts,” he said. “These people who have been doing this for many years tell us things and I think ‘I never thought about it that way. I never knew to do that.’ And we learn to serve our clients better.”

Through resources and connections advisors find through PAN, they can refine their planning skills. “Where the real leap occurs,” Dave said, “is when we begin to talk to them about creating their legacy.”

“When you start talking to clients about these things, you don’t lose business. They’re ‘stickier’ and see you in a different way. They’re amazed that you’re talking to them about creating a legacy, and they’re excited.”

Dave remembers one client who will benefit from the connections Dave made through the Community Foundation.

“His eyes lit up when I was talking about this whole idea of legacy,” Dave shared. “He asked, ‘So who do I give it to?’ And I said to him, ‘Oh that’s easy! One of the things the Community Foundation does well is to be deeply engaged in so many organizations that do so many good things.’”

By helping clients like this build their legacy and benefit their community, Dave has found his own fulfillment as a financial advisor. 

“We are the vehicle that can do so much for clients with a willingness to give back to their community,” he said, “In this way we fulfill the Foundation’s mission to ‘connect people who care with causes that matter.’”

As professional advisors connect with the Community Foundation through PAN, they are better equipped to help their clients craft a giving plan that benefits their community for years to come. 

“What we do is fulfill the things of the soul and of the heart that really matter,” Dave said, “That’s the kind of stuff we can learn as a PAN member.”