Elizabeth Pope

American Way January 15, 2006

By Elizabeth Pope

After a long business trip the last thing Kare Anderson wants to tackle is a mountain of bills and receipts.
          So, like a growing number of busy professionals, Anderson out sources pesky tasks like bill paying, checkbook balancing and record-keeping to a daily money manager.
         “I could do it myself, but I’m gone a lot,” says Anderson, 54, CEO of Sausalito, CA-based Say it Better Center, who flies six times a month to speaking engagements.
          Daily money managers, or DMMs, manage income and expenses, keep paper and electronic records, file medical and insurance claims, and organize documents for tax preparation, loan applications and other transactions. DMMS don’t advise on tax, investment or legal matters unless licensed to do so, but they do work closely with professionals in those areas.         
         This new financial specialty appeared about 10 years ago, focusing on frail elders unable to keep up with daily finances. But increasingly these days time-pressed younger clients -- small business owners, non-profits, and the self-employed -- are putting their finances (and their trust) in the hands of a money manager too.
         “My professional clients like Kare view this as a service to hire, like having a housekeeper,” says Kathryn Maxwell, of Maxwell Money Management in Novato, CA. Maxwell, who prefers the term personal business manager, says her clientele is mostly singles or two-income families with demanding careers and travel schedules. Some have multiple homes and household help, and they need help with payroll and tracking property taxes. “People say, ‘What about online banking?’ But even with online banking, you still have to track the details, and that can be a burden if you’re flying all the time to Hong Kong on business.”
(Editors: e-mail Elizabeth for the rest of this story and to ask about reprints.)