Your clients with appreciated securities are sitting on a tax problem and a legacy opportunity. Most advisors only address one.

Why This Matters Before Year-End

Right now, clients are evaluating their tax exposure. They’re also thinking about what they’ll leave behind. The advisors who connect these two conversations don’t just retain clients, they become the architect of family legacies that span generations.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Benjamin James had clients with $2 million in appreciated securities who wanted to involve their family in giving decisions. His recommendation? A donor-advised fund (DAF).

The outcome: Eight grandchildren—from elementary schoolers to college grads—now research charities and present funding proposals every Thanksgiving. The family distributes $50,000 annually, the clients eliminated capital gains taxes on the contribution, and James became the advisor who thinks beyond portfolios. Read the full story.

That’s a relationship that lasts 50 years, not five.

What’s Stopping Most Advisors

I talk to advisors every day who know their clients care about giving. But three obstacles keep this conversation from happening:

1. You’re waiting for them to bring it up. They assume you only handle investments.
   
   
2. You think DAFs only accept cash and publicly traded stock. Your clients’ wealth is more complex than that.
   
   
3. You’re not sure how to start the conversation. Especially when year-end is already packed with tax-loss harvesting and rebalancing.

The Strategic Advantage

A DAF does more than defer taxes. It positions you as the advisor who helps families align wealth with values—the differentiator that drives referrals and retention.

Renaissance Charitable accepts business interests, alternatives, and concentrated positions that other DAF sponsors won’t touch—and you maintain investment control throughout the process. Your clients get the tax deduction now, avoid capital gains, and create a giving vehicle that involves the next generation.

Translation: You solve immediate tax problems while building the family legacy your clients actually want.

Start the Conversation This Week

Year-end isn’t just about minimizing taxes. It’s about maximizing what your clients leave behind.

Here’s what I recommend saying to families holding appreciated assets: “You’ve done incredible work to build this wealth. Have you thought about ways you and your family might use it to support causes that matter to all of you?”

That question opens the door to strategic philanthropy, multi-generational planning, and the kind of relationship competitors can’t replicate.

Want to talk through how this works with your clients? My team and I work with advisors on these conversations every day. In a 20-minute call with one of our regional charitable strategists, we’ll:

• Identify which clients are ready for this conversation
• Understand assets that Renaissance Charitable accept
• Get specific talking points to use with families right now

Connect With Your Regional Strategist

The advisors who win multi-generational relationships aren’t waiting for clients to ask about charitable giving. They’re proactively connecting legacy planning, tax strategy, and philanthropy into one conversation.

That’s the conversation most advisors aren’t having. Make it yours.