About Us
Who We Are
Confluence Capital Advisors is the only Multi-Family Office that
focuses on Divorce Financial Planning.
As a Multi-Family Office, Confluence provides sophisticated investment and financial service offerings. Our analytical skills were honed from many years of intellectual rigor, from managing the financials and investments at the Single Family Office for one of Europe’s most successful families to advising and managing assets for the world’s largest hedge funds, mutual funds, pension plans, etc.
We take an educational and partnership approach with our clients, drawing on experience in the classroom, teaching advanced college-level courses and seminars that go beyond stocks and bonds, covering diverse topics that include real estate, private equity, and hedge funds.
Confluence specializes in planning in and around divorce, trained as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) and as a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®). Our approach combines good listening skills and a calm and even-keeled demeanor, always with your life satisfaction in mind.
We strive to deliver creative solutions and strategies to optimize your financial situation through the application of education and support, whether or not you are in the process of divorce. Confluence is built on the principles of honesty, integrity, and objective decision-making.
Certifications & Affiliations
“A family office is the organization a family creates, often after the sale of a family business or another realization of significant liquidity, to support the financial needs of a specific family.” (Family Office Exchange) Unique features of these organizations include the ability to offer specialized expertise, high levels of service, and solutions that are customized – extending beyond what is traditionally known as wealth management. A “multi-family office” provides the same solutions, but to more than one family.
Confluence has not established a minimum required account size. We note, however, the families we have partnered with have grown to understand the value of alternative investments as a diversified piece of their portfolios. Most alternative investments require that clients meet certain minimums of income OR have obtained net worth of $1 million (excluding their primary residence), and in some cases more.
That is an essential question, but one that is difficult for us to answer for you. We know that we are credible, but we would never tell you how to feel. We hope that the points below will help to get you started in the right direction.
- Find more about me on LinkedIn.
- We have provided an article to use as a guide while interviewing any financial advisor.
- Maintaining a culture of full transparency is important to us. All of our clients’ liquid securities are held with an independent third-party custodian, Charles Schwab Corporation. - We are also open to working with your custodian of choice.
- In addition to internet searches, a targeted search tool is provided to look for blemishes on the background of any advisor. This is provided by FINRA, the non-governmental regulator for the securities industry.
Our founder, Brett Cicinelli, has obtained the CFA designation.
According to investopedia.com, the CFA designation is regarded by most to be “the key certification for investment professionals,” especially in the areas of research and portfolio management. The designation requires passing three “rigorous,” six-hour exams over several years, and forty-eight months of "acceptable professional work experience."
Our founder, Brett Cicinelli, has obtained the CFP® designation.
The four “Es” to qualify for the designation include: education, examination, experience, and ethics. The examination covers such areas as financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning and retirement. Regarding financial advisor designations, The Wall Street Journal's Jason Zweig notes: "Among the best are CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®), CPA® (Certified Public Accountant®) and CFP®, which all require rigorous study, continuing education and adherence to high ethical standards. Many other financial certifications are marketing tools masquerading as fancy diplomas on an adviser’s wall."
Our founder, Brett Cicinelli, has obtained the CDFA® designation.
A CDFA® professional is a financial professional skilled at analyzing data and providing expertise on the financial issues of divorce. The role of the CDFA® professional is to assist the client and his or her attorney to understand how the decisions he or she makes today will impact the client’s financial future. A CDFA® can take on many roles in the divorce process, including: financial expertise and strategy, data collection and analysis, and expert presenter and litigation support.
The MAFF program is the foundation for a credentialed professional to provide financial investigative and forensic accounting support in all stages of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, arbitration, and collaborative law.
Learn More HERE: https://www.nacva.com/maffinfosheet
Confluence operates as an RIA® - a Registered Investment Advisor®. An RIA® operates independently of any broker-dealer, custodian, or bank. Two of the more distinguishing features of an RIA®, include: 1) client assets are held by an independent custodian, which creates a system of checks and balances (Charles Schwab Company is our preferred custodian, but we can work with your custodian of choice); and 2) the obligation to operate as a fiduciary (defined above).
We strive to deliver creative solutions and strategies to optimize your financial situation through the application of education and support. These strategies and support are particularly important when one spouse has less financial understanding and confidence than the other. Divorce financial planning helps divorcing clients arrive at a settlement that is fully understood by all. We provide clients and their lawyers with a clear view of how the decisions they make today impact a client's financial future.
Topics explored include:
Budgeting;
Spousal and child support;
Personal vs. marital property;
Valuing and dividing property, including retirement assets and pensions;
Splitting the house;
Tax problems and solutions;
Risk assessment (insurance);
Expert witness testimony; and
Tax laws and financial issues affecting divorce.
Always keeping an eye toward the future, we are able to seamlessly transition you to post-divorce financial services, including asset movement, title transfers, traditional financial planning, and investment management. Experienced in both divorce and family offices, we are able to skillfully navigate this complex process and put you on the road to financial independence.
Our purpose is to provide education and support to bring clarity to your divorce so that you can move forward confidently.
We are flexible in the divorce process, taking on many different roles in our work with clients and lawyers. As a critical member of that team, at any point in the process we may play any one or all of the following roles, depending on when we get involved in the divorce process:
Strategist/Litigation Support: Before the case is even filed, we can be used as a strategist in the litigation process. The lawyer needs to know what the financial implications are for different divorce settlements. Once we prepare this analysis, it will give the attorney the ammunition needed to negotiate the most advantageous settlement for the client.
Financial Expert: We are called on to review and give input on investment data, retirement plans, benefit programs, business records, tax returns, and all other financial data.
Data Collector/Budget Preparer: A key supporting role we may play for the client and his/her lawyer is to help them collect data to prepare the financial affidavit and pre and post divorce budgets.
Client Expectations Manager: This is probably one of the most important roles that Confluence plays in the process. We provide a realistic expectation of the future, drawing upon our extensive financial planning background.
Evidence Presenter: In meetings with the client; the client and his/her attorney; the client, spouse and the lawyers; mediation sessions; arbitration hearings or the trial, the CDFA professional is often asked to present evidence to show the financial impact of different settlement options or information related to financial, tax, investment or retirement plan issues.
There are many roles that Confluence may play in assisting our clients and their attorneys in achieving the most advantageous settlement by applying our strong working knowledge of the financial issues related to divorce. Our role, as a CDFA® professional, is to assist the lawyer with financial issues related to the divorce – not to replace the lawyer.
There are many designations for a financial expert, including Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®). We are both CFP's® and CDFA's®.
Financial Planner
The role of the financial planner (CFP®), is to help people achieve their financial goals regardless of whether they are divorcing or happily married. After determining the client’s goals, the next step is to take an inventory of current assets and liabilities. Then the planner looks at what needs to be done to achieve these goals.
These goals can be from one year to 50 years in the future. To look that far into the future, certain assumptions need to be made. Assumptions include income, expenses, inflation rates, interest rates, and rates of return on investments. The assumptions need to be reviewed on a regular basis. If during the review process the planner determines that the client is not on track, the planner will then make recommendations as to what changes need to be made to get back on track. In other words, the financial planner looks at financial results in the future, based on certain assumptions made today, to see if the client is on track to meet their stated goals and objectives.
Accountant
Conversely, an accountant typically looks at the details of the scenario as it is today and makes no future projections. In a divorce, they are hired to calculate the tax effect of dividing property and the effect of spousal and child support for one or two years. They typically do not project further into the future. They may also be retained to perform an audit of account activity or to perform forensic accounting functions to help find “hidden assets”.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
To best meet the needs of divorcing clients, you need a blend of these two ideologies; the CDFA designation was created to fill this need. The role of the CDFA professional is to assist the client and his/her attorney to understand how the financial decisions he/she makes today will impact the client’s financial future based on certain assumptions.
A CDFA professional is someone who comes from a financial planning, accounting, or legal background and goes through an intensive training program to become skilled at analyzing and providing expertise on the financial issues of divorce.
The CDFA professional:
- Becomes part of the divorce team and provides litigation support for the lawyer and client on financial issues such as:
The short-term and long-term effects of dividing property;
The tax issues;
Analyzing pension and retirement plans;
Calculating the present value of a pension;
Determining the cost basis and capital gains on the sale of the marital home;
Determining if the client can afford the marital home, and if not, what he/she can afford;
Evaluating the insurance needs of the client, and determining if the client qualifies for COBRA;
Determining earning capabilities; and
Establishing assumptions for projecting inflation and rates of return.
- Brings an innovative and creative approach to settling cases.
- Provides the client and lawyer with data that shows the financial effect of any given divorce settlement.
- Appears as an expert witness in court or in mediation or arbitration proceedings.
- Is knowledgeable about specific tax laws that apply to divorcing couples.
- Has knowledge about the legal issues in divorce.
- Is trained to interview clients to:
Collect financial and expense data;
Help them identify their future financial goals;
Develop a budget;
Set retirement objectives;
Determine how much risk they are willing to take with their investments;
Identify what kind of lifestyle they want; and
Determine what kind of education they want for their children.
Post divorce, Confluence is able to seamlessly transition you to traditional financial planning, including asset movement, titling, and investment management.
Source: Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
The MAFF program is the foundation for a credentialed professional to provide financial investigative and forensic accounting support in all stages of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, arbitration, and collaborative law.
Learn More HERE: https://www.nacva.com/maffinfosheet
Many find it surprising, but there are actually seven different options for divorce in California. Wherever you are located, you have choices. The options range from quick and inexpensive to drawn out, costly, and potentially destructive. We’ve highlighted options to help you figure out what is the best solution for your situation. Confluence is here to serve you in any of these settings.
Do-it-Yourself (DIY)
In this situation, an amicable couple is able to sit down and work out the details together: splitting of assets, payments, schedules for children, etc. No lawyers are required. In some locations you also have the choice to fill in the paperwork yourself or hire professionals that are neither lawyers nor paralegals to do it for you.
Mediation
The mediator serves as a neutral third party to facilitate a private negotiation. As a neutral party, the mediator guides you through the process, but does not offer any legal advice, maintaining objectivity. However, mediators are helpful in that they are able to present options for you to choose. Confluence is able to work neutrally for both parties or for a single spouse.
Collaborative Divorce
Both sides are represented by their own team of professionals to assist them through the process, meeting all of their needs. In addition to each side having an attorney, they may also benefit from other professionals present in the negotiations, such as a neutral financial expert (used by both spouses), coaches, and even mental health professionals. This option is also done in a private setting.
Arbitration
Arbitration is closer to litigation than the first three options listed above which tend to be less contentious. Here, both sides present their cases to a third party that independently comes to a decision which is legally binding. Those entering arbitration do so with the expectation that it is quicker and less costly than litigation.
Private Family Law Judge
The parties pay a highly experienced former family law attorney or former judge for his/her time. This is another private option, done in a more comfortable environment, out of the public court system. An advantage is speed, as the judge is able to dedicate focused time to your case. Although it is costly, you can potentially save money here if you expect your case would be tied up for an extended period in the public courts. This option is available in some states, like California.
Bargaining in the Shadow of Litigation
The divorce proceeds with opposing lawyers, and lots of back and forth, but is ultimately settled without going to court. This option can be quite costly, and often falls to couples who may be unaware of all their options.
Litigation
The vast majority of couples resolve their divorces without going to court. However, a small amount go to court, which tends to be very costly and time consuming. Here, one spouse is sued by the other and a judge decides the outcome. The desired result is rarely obtained through litigation.