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Learn how financial advisor Paul Dadlez partners with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation to better support his clients in their giving.

Paul Dadlez, Alerus Lead Financial Advisor and Wealth Advisory Services Director

Over the years the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation has had the opportunity to work with many professional advisors to help their clients carry out their philanthropic goals.

To support their giving, clients can open various charitable funds. The most common fund is a donor advised fund, which offers donors the flexibility to donate many types of assets, as well as the opportunity to recommend grants to several different causes and organizations.

If you are a financial advisor or wealth manager, there is also the option to work with the Foundation and continue to manage your clients’ funds. This option is called an Individually Managed Fund. An Individually Managed Fund allows you to continue managing your clients’ investment portfolios, while establishing ways to grow their assets for charitable giving.

To open an Individually Managed Fund at the Foundation, clients must have a minimum of $250,000 in assets under management and an appointed financial advisor or wealth manager to oversee the management of their donor advised fund.

Advising an Individually Managed Fund

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Paul Dadlez, Lead Financial Advisor and Wealth Advisory Services Director for Alerus, to discuss some of the unique opportunities and benefits to partnering with the Foundation to manage an Individually Managed Fund.

“Some wealth managers and financial advisors have misconceptions about working with foundations to manage their clients’ assets because it sometimes results in relinquishing control of those assets,” said Paul. “A measure of how well advisors serve clients is how well we're able to help them grow their assets. So, while it’s a fortunate event to have the ability to help them be philanthropic, it may also mean less opportunity for the advisor to add value. However, that is not true of all foundations.”

At the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, we offer opportunities for wealth managers and financial advisors to grow their assets under management. In many cases, wealth managers are not only able to manage their client’s individual investable assets, but their charitable assets as well.

“I love the opportunities the Foundation affords to create a happy medium without interrupting relationships,” Paul said. “The Foundation works with your client to help set up a donor advised fund, so that they have the ability to actively be engaged in their philanthropic giving while they're here and be able to pass it on to their kids.”

“ When I’m working with clients to establish their philanthropy goals, it gives me peace of mind to have the Foundation as an expert partner who can help them make the impact they desire.”

Paul Dadlez, Alerus Lead Financial Advisor and Wealth Advisory Services Director

Partnering with the Foundation on an Individually Managed Fund allows both clients and their advisors to have the peace of mind of knowing that their assets are going to places they want them to go without the burden of doing the heavy lifting.

“Our clients look to experts, like the Foundation, to help with distributing funds and putting them to work,” Paul said. “They look to us as financial advisors to help manage prudently and grow those funds to support continued philanthropy. My experience is that the Foundation is an extremely sophisticated organization that has done a lot to broaden the options and really help address concerns and needs that donors have when they want to establish relationships like this.”

Benefits of Partnering with the Foundation

In his role at Alerus, Paul has worked with various foundations and financial institutions throughout the country. He said the value of work and expertise he has received from the Foundation stand out.

“The capabilities of Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation in most cases are a little bit broader than others,” Paul said. “Not all organizations are as engaged or community minded as the Foundation. That level of expertise and community involvement can be quite valuable to both the donor and the advisor. For the donor, they make it easy to create a giving legacy and make an impact on the community. As the client’s representative, I have a partner that I can look to as my board of advisors.”

Over the years Paul has had the opportunity to partner with the Foundation to support many clients. Our commitment to Economic, Social and Governance (ESG) investing has only helped to grow Paul’s trust in us, our work and the care that we provide to his clients, as well as those of his peers.

“I have the highest regard for this organization and the continued impact it has on the community,” said Paul. “When I’m working with clients to establish their philanthropy goals, it gives me peace of mind to have the Foundation as an expert partner who can help them make the impact they desire.”

To learn how we can help you better support your clients, contact one of our gift planners. Also, to see some of the other benefits of partnering with the Foundation, review some of our resources for professional advisors.

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