Financial Advisor Success Ep 188: Leading With Directly-Held Real Estate Advice To Differentiate Traditional Wealth Management with Rich Arzaga
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Aug 4, 2020 
Rich Arzaga, founder of Cornerstone Wealth Management, specializes in directly held commercial real estate and holds both CFP and CCIM designations. He discusses how his unique approach integrates APOD analyses into financial planning to help clients better understand their investments. Rich explains the value of charging fixed fees for property analysis and shares insights on emotional client connections and why real estate has become a key differentiator for his firm. He also reflects on the challenges and lessons learned from the 2008 financial crash.
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Founding From Personal Need
- Rich Arzaga became the advisor he wanted when he couldn't find one who gave real estate advice beyond data entry.
- He saw directly held real estate as a large, underserved slice of clients' wealth that advisors ignored.
Charge Upfront For Property Analysis
- Charge a fixed upfront planning fee that includes real estate pro forma work rather than try to extract ongoing AUM from property advice.
- Add modest flat surcharges per property (e.g., ~$500) to cover extra analysis time.
Use APODs For Property Cash Flow
- Use an APOD (Annual Property Operating Data) to pro forma each property and include tax-sensitive items like interest and cost recovery.
- Use APOD outputs to produce IRR and before/after-tax performance for client decisions.