o_19grqq7snim9mn019q11f7ds26a.pdf

Issue 61 JULY 2014 

exclusive interview with 

marcus lemonis; 

cnbc the profit 

The WAGE Always Rises 

Pay Raise Increase 

Trivia Isn’t Trivial 

Tapping Breakthrough Thinking 

7 Negotiating Mistakes 

Evokes Fear, Stress and Anxiety 

Bad BYOD Habits 

Company Sensitive Data Exposed

Built for the road ahead. 

Designed for living. Engineered to last. 

Vertrek Crossover 

w/ Ford’s Kinetic Design 

Eco-Boost Engine 

Hybrid Regenerative Braking 

w/ Auto-Stop-Start Technology

publishers note 

ISSUE 61 | JULY 2014 

Publisher 

Erwin E. Kantor 

Managing Editor 

Michael Gordon 

Editor in Chief 

Helen Moss 

Editorial 

Robert Jordan 

Lisa Walker 

Sean Goldstein 

Rachel Feinstein 

Staff Writers 

L. A. Rivera 

Monica Link 

David Gordon 

Diane Alter 

A. Marie Velthuizen 

Judy Magness 

Maria Esposito 

Felix Badea 

Edwin Camacho 

David Stein 

John Travis Taylor 

Amy M. Armstrong 

Annabelle Preston 

Asst. Art Director 

Marienne Hilahan 

Illustrators 

Shafali R. Anand 

Mike Moss 

Paul Kales 

Marketing / Advertising 

Monica Link 

Sean Rome 

For subscription details, contact: 

editorialdept@thesuitmagazine.com 

For advertising inquiries, contact: 

advertising@thesuitmagazine.com 

Marcus Lemonis, a serial entrepreneur 

and host of the show 

“The Profit” on CNBC, is a true 

survivor in the corporate world. The native-born 

Lebanese business man endured 

the chaos of a civil war in Beirut and eventually 

moved to Miami. 

Lemonis was exposed to the automotive 

industry throughout his upbringing - his 

grandfather owning two of the largest 

Chevrolet dealerships in the United States 

and Lee Iacocca serving as the family 

friend and later mentor to Lemonis. 

On page 12, we conducted an interview 

with “Profit” host Marcus Lemonis, who 

offers struggling small businesses capital 

investment and his expertise in exchange 

for an ownership stake in the company. 

In the latter part of the magazine, we 

interviewed countless wealth advisors 

during these tough economic times. We 

recognize that some of the changes in 2013 

and 2014 require relevance for financial 

planners. Therefore, the financial industry 

continues to push for more realistic 

standards and reforms. It’s imperative, 

many wealth advisors argue, that training 

requirements are meaningful to financial 

planners. 

But some things will never change. 

Stock market volatility, economic uncertainty 

and political tension will prevail in 

the financial planning landscape. 

In order to safeguard stability it is necessary 

to identify, at early stage trends, 

potential risk and vulnerabilities. We 

asked experts in all financial fields that we 

covered in this issue for the best financial 

advice. 

Throughout the issue we share with 

you stories about professionals that take 

a look at the financial landscape within a 

different perspectives. How easy is it to 

get a bank loan or funding for your business? 

What are some creative ways to finance 

growth? 

On page 16, we discuss that trivia isn’t 

trivial in tapping breakthrough thinking 

with Gene Jones, a nationally acclaimed 

game show host and one of America’s 

leading Authorities on unlocking innovation 

through transformational play. 

On page 18, we report about the seven 

most common negotiating mistakes in corporate 

America. 

On page 8, we share with you about 

new wage rates going into effect within 

the city limits of Seattle, Washington, on 

April 2015 with a phase-in period ranging 

from three to seven years depending on 

the category a business falls within. 

On page 19, we discuss how Bad BYOD 

(bring your own device) Habits That Can 

Expose Your Company’s Sensitive Data. 

This system is practiced by many business 

big and small these days, however, if good 

security measures aren’t implemented 

and adhered to your sensitive data can 

be vulnerable. Even with good employee 

compliance and security firewalls, sensitive 

data can still leak out. 

Best, 

Erwin Kantor 

Erwin Kantor, Publisher

CONTENTS 

JULY 2014 

Issue 61 JULY 2014 

Issue 60 April / May 2014 

13 

exclusive interview with 

barbara marcus corcoran; 

lemonis; 

shark cnbc the tank profit host 

Rising Raise the of The WAGE Matriarch 

Mob Minimum Wives: Wage Holding Increase? Families Together 

D-Stocks Trivia Isn’t Belong Trivial in Every Portfolio 

Investors Tapping Breakthrough Flocking To Safety Thinking 

Sell 7 Negotiating in May and Mistakes Go Away 

Wall Evokes Streeters Fear, Stress Eye Stocks and Anxiety 

Pass Bad BYOD the Rooster Habbits Sauce 

Can Company California Sensitive Stand Data the Heat Exposed 

8 

Raise The WAGE 

This new wage rate goes into effect within the city limits of Seattle, 

Washington, on April 2015 with a phase-in period ranging from three 

to seven years depending on the category a business falls within. 

FEATURES 

13 

The Profit’s Marcus Lemonis: 

A Miracle Worker 

Marcus Lemonis, host of the show “The Profit,” on 

CNBC. Mr. Lemonis offers struggling small businesses 

capital investment and his expertise in exchange 

for an ownership stake in the company. 

16 Trivia Isn’t Trivial 

To stay relevant and competitive in today’s ever 

changing business environment, it’s crucial to 

remain on top of your game and a dominant 

player. 

18 

The 7 Most Common 

Negotiating Mistakes 

While even the word “negotiation” can 

evoke fear, stress and anxiety for many, 

the intent is quite simple: to discuss and 

ultimately agree on a deal. 

19 

Bad BYOD Habits That Can 

Expose Your Company 

The BYOD (bring your own device) system 

is practiced by many business big and small 

these days, however, if good security measures 

aren’t implemented and adhered to your sensitive 

data can be vulnerable. 

BUSINESS / FINANCE 

21 

Lease - Don’t Own 

Specializing in sale-leaseback options 

24 Talking Face to Face 

Professionals remain committed to the old-fashioned 

face-to-face conversation 

25 Investing without stressing 

75 percent of stressed-out Americans list money management 

and financial matters as the leading cause of their anxieties. 

26 Meeting With The Wife Too 

Both spouses must be equally involved 

29 Employees Need Education 

Texas-based fiduciary views participant education as critical 

component to plan success 

30 Building Wealth in Specialization 

Number of personal financial advisors 

foretasted to grow 27 percent 

8 

THE SUIT MAGAZINE - JULY 2014


31 Equity Exposure: A Necessity 

Investors remain skittish regarding risk exposure 

to equities. 

32The Complications of employment law 

Employment law complex and constantly changing. 

33 Plan All of Retirement’s Needs 

Retirement planning shouldn’t focus solely on 

where to take that long-awaited vacation. 

34 Danger On The Way Down 

Helping people get to the top by investing wisely 

36 

Investing During Self-Off Pays Dividends 

Market Volatility is no Reason to Shy away from Further 

Investing 

37 

38 Off Campus Housing Preferred Over Dorms 

80% of college students ditched the confines and rules 

40 Trust is the Best Asset 

Financial advisors remain at the head of the list as 

trusted professionals. 

42 Transparency: Potentially Overwhelming 

Increased transparency is the intended result. 

44 Staying the course 

Transitioning to the other side 

46 

Motivated clients always welcome 

Entrepreneurs and small business owners cannot afford 

to keep full-time specialists in financial matters on their 

payroll. 

47 Simple Plans Empower Clients 

(FDIC) – continues to give financial advisors a level 

of comfort 

48 

Communication, Credentials and Partnerships 

In life, it is often said that when one door closes, 

another one opens. 

A disciplined approach Makes Money Last 

Turn on the radio in any American city and you won’t 

need to listen long before you hear ample advice regarding 

financial matters. 

50 Guiding Investor Risk Tolerance After 2008 

Creating a synergistic environment, enhancing, communicating 

and efficiently balancing careers with personal lives. 

51 Cutting Through the Clutter 

Should a uniform fiduciary standard be mandatory for both 

brokers and investment advisors. 

52 Learning FROM Mistakes 

Early Career Lessons Guide Wealth Manager 

54 Promoting World-Changing Innovation 

Shedding light on current U.S. trends in angel investing 

54 Financial Advisors for Middle Americans 

Working with middle income families 

55 Transparency on Both Sides 

Dependable advice in a fluctuating market 

56 Candid Conversations 

As one destination is reached, a new dream begins 

58 

59 Trust for the LONG HAUL 

Helping investors preserve accumulated capital against the 

rate of inflation 

60 

Proving Himself to Clients 

Thoroughly vetting advisors before transactions take place 

Alternative to Traditional Banks for Small Business 

Banking industry unashamedly favoring midsize and large 

companies over small business 

61 

On a Roll: Investment in Start-ups 

2014 a fruitful year for start-ups and IPO’s 

THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.5


62 Revealing Risk Tolerance 

Gauging a client’s willingness or ability to tolerate 

risk is a significant skill for any advisor to master. 

64 One Uniform Standard Does Not Fit All 

(RIAs) – aren’t convinced that uniform standards are 

inherently in the best interest of investors. 

Improving Financial Planning 

67 

Garrett Planning Network 

68 

From Retirement Dreams to Reality 

In the past, people’s dreams of retirement usually 

included trading in that swivel desk chair for a beach 

chair 

69 

Another Lifetime Income Source 

Report recommends Americans convert their cash-balance 

defined benefit pension plans into lifetime income annuities 

70 

Family Office Firms: Advising the Affluent 

Helping families successfully transition their wealth along 

with their values to future generations through our proprietary 

wealth counseling process.


y amy m. armstrong 

Raise The Wage 

This new wage rate goes into effect within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, on April 2015 

with a phase-in period ranging from three to seven years depending on the category a business 

falls within. 

Smaller businesses with 500 or 

fewer employees begin with 

$10 an hour April 1, 2015, 

with increases ranging from 

50 cents to $1.50 an hour each 

following January until the law’s wage 

goal is met. Larger businesses with 500 

or more employees begin on April 1, 

2015 with $11 per hour and yearly January 

increases ranging from $1.50 to 

$2 per hour. 

Yep, that’s right. 

In Seattle, a worker will be paid 

$15 an hour for flipping burgers. $15 

an hour for bagging groceries. $15 an 

hour for waiting tables. $15 an hour 

for answering phones, for carrying 

luggage, for working the cosmetics 

counter and for ringing up items at a 

convenience store. It means that the 

drive-thru attendant at the McDonald’s 

directly across Seattle’s famous 

landmark Space Needle will earn $15 

an hour for possibly not hearing your 

order correctly and forgetting to put 

ketchup in your to-go bag. It means 

that $15 an hour is the lowest wage 

all employers – restaurants and other 

service industries notorious for dependency 

on tips included – must pay employees 

if their operations are located 

within the city limits of Seattle. 

It’s not super shocking. Voters in the 

municipality of SeaTac just south of Seattle 

in which the bulk of its economy 

runs on the operations of Seattle-Tacoma 

International Airport voted in November 

2013 to raise its minimum wage 

for transportation industry workers to 

$15 an hour. Governing bodies in San 

Diego, San Francisco and Chicago are 

each considering making $15 an hour 

the bottom wage in those cities for if 

not all jobs, at least for those connected 

with the service industry. Providence, 

Rhode Island, municipal lawmakers 

are contemplating $15 an hour for hotel 

workers. 

Yet, it is slightly shocking considering 

the fact that the “big city” with the 

closest minimum wage to that number 

is Los Angeles with $10.79 – a sum 

seemingly paltry to its bigger cousin 

at 15 bucks. A look at other Califor- 

Minimum 

Wage$15? 


nia cities reveals still lower minimum 

wages than the new Seattle ordinance 

requires. Workers in San Jose currently 

make a minimum of $10.15 per hour. 

Pay for workers in Richmond, California, 

which is located northeast of the 

San Francisco Bay area on the eastern 

shores of San Pablo Bay, is slated to be 

$12.25 in March 2105 and $13 by 2018. 

Yet comparing Seattle to Richmond is 

unfair from a population standpoint. In 

2012, Seattle had just shy of 635,000 residents. 

Richmond’s count for the same 

time period was just short of 107,000 – 

which incidentally is close to the number 

of Seattle workers, approximately 

100,000, researchers from the Evans 

School of Public Affairs at the University 

of Washington in Seattle identified 

as earning less than $15 an hour. 

The UW researchers – commissioned 

by the Seattle City Council – determined 

that part-time workers (20 hours 

per week) would earn an additional 

$2,912, which is a 30 percent increase, 

if hourly pay was raised to $12.12 per 

hour. At $15 an hour, that same parttime 

worker would see a 61 percent 

increase in their pay as they earned an 

additional $5,907. At $12.12, full-time 

workers would earn $5,600 more. At 

$15 an hour, full-time workers would 

earn $11,360 more. 

That’s a big increase in payroll leaving 

Seattle business owners’ wondering 

just how is this new minimum 

wage going to work out from the fiscal 

“trying to stay in business” perspective? 

According to Forward Seattle, a business 

group representing restaurants, 

retailers and other miscellaneous businesses, 

it won’t. Forward Seattle contends 

$15 an hour will cripple what 

businesses choose to remain within 

city limits as the measure is implemented. 

The group submitted just fewer 

than 20,000 signatures to the Seattle 

City Clerk the first week of July in an 

effort to get a repeal of the municipal 

law on the ballot for the November 

election. As 16,510 valid signatures are 

required for ballot inclusion, it appears 

the issue may go before the general 

voters instead of only the nine members 

of the city council whom unanimously 

passed the measure on June 2, 

2014, after months of discussion by a 

committee of business and labor leaders 

organized by Seattle’s mayor, Ed 

Murray. 

“Right now, the (city) ordinance on 

the table we think is going to be pretty 

damaging to the city from the business 

perspective, and from the workers’ 

perspective,” Angela Cough told the 

Chicago Tribune. 

Cough is co-owner of the Flying 

Apron Gluten Free and Vegan Bakery 

in Seattle’s Fremont district and the 

co-chair of Forward Seattle. She isn’t 

against raising minimum wage, but 

believes $12.50 an hour is more reasonable. 

She told National Public Radio 

based in Seattle that merchants have 

no idea what is going to happen as a 

result of this ordinance mandating $15 

an hour by 2021 with the next bar of 

$17.25 being in place by 2024. 

Seattle’s new minimum wage is also 

significantly higher than the lowest 

hourly wages required in the rest of the 

state. Yet, at $9.32 per hour, Washington 

State has one of the nation’s highest 

state minimum hourly wages with the 

$8 an hour required in Massachusetts 

coming in at a very distant second. 


The new Seattle requirement is ruffling 

feathers and gaining national media attention 

as business owners – especially those of national 

brands – threaten leaving the municipal 

boundaries. For those that stay, the payroll 

changes aren’t pretty. 

On June 22, 2014, The Seattle Times highlighted 

the impact as described by various 

business owners ranging from those in the hotel 

industry, a well-established restaurant and 

a scrap metal yard. The highlights are telling: 

At the Holiday Inn Express in North Seattle, 

there are 102 rooms and 28 employees. The 

hotel was built in November 2001 and it took 

owners Ron Oh, the son of a North Korean refuge, 

four years to make the venture profitable. 

That Oh said may soon come to an end if wage 

increases under the Seattle ordinance are implemented. 

Because his employees do not receive 

health insurance from their employment, 

the new Seattle law requires him to begin paying 

$11 per hour in April 2015. The bulk of his 

employees currently earn $10.25. The 75 cent 

payroll increase will cost him an estimated 

$80,000 per year. When minimum wage increases 

to $15 an hour, Oh estimates his payroll 

expenses to increase by at least $250,000 

per year. That’s a pretty significant dent in the 

$600,000 profit the hotel made in 2013 with an 

annual revenue of $2.9 million. 

He’s one of several local business owners in 

a lawsuit filed on June 11, 2014, in U.S. District 

Court in Seattle spearheaded by the International 

Franchise Association asking the court 

to strike down the municipal ordinance on 

grounds that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional. 

Oh testified to the Seattle City Council that 

the only way he can make $15 an hour work at 

his hotel is to raise room rates and reduce the 

hours his employees work. 

At Glant Pacific Companies located just 

south of downtown Seattle, some employees 

are already making $15 an hour. Owner Ryan 

Glant wonders what will happen when less 

senior, less trained employees begin earning 

$15 an hour minimum wage. Will he have to 

increase pay rates for the more senior, more 

skilled workers at the family-owned scrap 

yard that shreds pounds and pounds of aluminum 

for use in the city’s famous aerospace 

industry? 

The uncertainty of payroll increases has to 

be balanced against the fluctuations in the 

price his firm is paid per pound for the various 

metals processed through the family-owned 

scrap yard, Glant told The Seattle Times. He 

currently has 160 employees on his payroll, 

but they aren’t all working within the Seattle 

city limits. Some are in the nearby 

bedroom communities of Bellevue, 

Bremerton and in Everett, a navy 

town north of Seattle. Will they all 

expect the same pay raise as is mandated 

in the Emerald City, Glant 

questions? 

For one of Seattle’s top chefs, the 

$15 mandatory minimum wage is 

as bad as rotten fish. 

Tom Douglas owns and operates 

a variety of the city’s best eating establishments 

including Serious Pie 

Westlake in a neighborhood bordering 

Lake Union. His cookbook 

Seattle Kitchen was named Best 

American Cookbook in 2001 by the 

James Beard Foundation and Kitchen 

Aid. He’s appeared on the Food 

Network’s Iron Chef America cooking 

show competition. 

When he writes an open letter to 

the Seattle community regarding 

how municipal regulations will affect 

local eateries as he did when 

the city council was debating the 

measure this past spring, people 

put down their forks and pay attention. 

He’s a supporter of increasing 

minimum wages – he’s long been 

known for paying kitchen workers 

in his restaurants wages well above 

the competition. Yet he criticized a 

payroll hike to $15 an hour across 

the board as a $5 million price hike 

or approximately 20 percent on 

menu prices for diners. 

“It’s not hard to imagine them 

staying home instead,” Douglas 

said of diners. 

One group that may well benefit 

from the increased minimum wage 

is city workers. The UW study 

found that 55 percent of workers 

within Seattle that currently earn 

less than $15 an hour are on the city 

payroll. 

For now, the wage situation in Seattle 

plays against the national debate 

to increase the current $7.25 to 

$10.10. Some watching the situation 

in Seattle say the courts and voters 

may gauge whether or not $15 an 

hour is too much based on what 

happens in Congress. 


STILL PUZZLED 

... by your supply chain solution? 

Streamlining supply chains throughout the automotive, retail, 

pharmaceutical, pulp & paper, logistic, and food industries. 

www.meadewillis.com 

Contact Meade Willis today for a free consultation regarding your e-commerce, 

EDI, supply-chain requirements: (866) 369-1146 | www.meadewillis.com

eported by judy magness 

THE 

PROFIT 

Marcus Lemonis: 

A Miracle Worker 

Profit host, Marcus Lemonis grew up knowing 

that his parents adopted him when he was 

9-months old. Leo and Sophia Lemonis, a Greek 

couple living in Miami, Florida were open and 

honest with their son. They explained to him 

that he was born in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, 

in the midst of civil unrest and foreign incursions 

in 1973. His parents told him endlessly 

that he was a blessing in their lives—a gift 

to them. And, as he grew up surrounded by 

their love and warmth, and with the understanding 

of the conditions they rescued 

him from as an infant, he felt it was he 

who had received the greatest gift. 

Perhaps, understanding Lemonis’ upbringing 

offers personal insight into the 

businessman America has recently come 

to know through the acclaimed reality series, 

“The Profit,” airing on CNBC. In it, 

Lemonis swoops in to save struggling businesses 

and invests his own time and money 

to do it. Following his parents’ example, Lemonis 

is candid with business owners about the viability 

of their troubled businesses. Holding nothing 

back, he tells them how they got there, and where 

they are headed if they stay on the same course. 

Avid viewers of the show can recite the self-created 

guiding principle Lemonis uses to evaluate of every 

business—People, process, and product. 

Lemonis wasn’t anointed as “The Profit” because 

his charm and good looks made him stand out at a 

casting call. He stood out to CNBC executives because 

he is chairman and CEO of Camping World, 

the country’s largest RV and outdoor retailer—and 

Good Sam, the largest RV owners’ organization in 

the world. And, he stood out because he is considered 

an entrepreneurial trailblazer with investments 

in over 100 other businesses. He stood out because 

he had his own TV show idea similar to the premise 

of The Profit. And, he stood out because he was 

willing to go on television and use his own money 


to finance struggling businesses on a reality show. 

Lemonis and CNBC President, Mark Hoffman met for 

the first time in New York City. Thirty minutes at 30 Rock 

was all that was needed. The network identified a need: satiating 

mainstream America’s appetite to learn how small 

businesses become successful. They saw it as a niche market 

for programming, and had ideas for an entrepreneurial 

reality show similar to Lemonis’ concept. “I didn’t have to 

sell them on me or what I was trying to do, it was a really 

good fit, and I think it has worked for them,” said Lemonis. 

According to the ratings, it has indeed worked for CNBC. 

Season two of “The Profit” finished airing in April of this 

year giving the network its best quarter in over a decade 

among the coveted demographic, adults 25-54 years-old. 

Season three is scheduled to start in October. 

The joint venture has worked for Lemonis, too, beyond 

the notoriety that comes with the show. Camping World, 

which has 100 RV dealerships around the country, now 

has an auto division. Lemonis bought two auto businesses, 

one in each season of The Profit. 1-800-Car-Cash and 

AutoMatch USA— which claims it “will change the way 

people find their next pre-owned car”—are two new businesses 

that were born out of the show and are growing and 

thriving. “We will continue to grow our RV business and 

continue to grow our products and services…and we will 

replicate our model on the RV side on the auto side,” said 

Lemonis extolling it as Camping World’s latest and greatest 

initiative. 

Lemonis combined Camping World with Good Sam Enterprises 

in 2010, and currently leads some 7,000 employees 

with reported sales of close to $3 billion in 2013. He is credited 

with changing the face of the RV industry as he bought 

more than 100 RV companies from dealerships across the 

country turning them into Camping World RV Supercenters. 

Candid about what he feels are his character flaws, Lemonis 

continues to work on being more relatable, a better 

listener, and more understanding as to why people feel the 

way they do. Some viewers of “The Profit” may disagree 

with Lemonis’ self-assessment finding the reality show star 

to be charismatic and thoughtful. And, apparently, 

some Camping World employees 

find him easy to talk to. Three minutes into 

the telephone interview with “The Suit,” 

Lemonis asked if he could have a moment 

because someone stepped in his office with 

a problem. He returned to our interview 

some ten minutes later and apologized. 

“Sorry,” he said, “I play counselor once in 

a while.” It turns out a tearful employee 

went to Lemonis for advice about a problem 

she was having with her boyfriend. 

“It’s easy to walk in my office, I don’t have 

a secretary or some big doorway,” he said, 

adding that at just 40-years-old, his youth 

makes him approachable. 

When asked if he hears a lot about money 

problems and personal financial issues 

from employees, Lemonis responded 

quickly. “No, I don’t,” he said. “I pay people 

really well…and we have a system in 

place where if you have hardship you can 

get a loan, and it’s not embarrassing and 

it’s not made public.” 

At this point, Lemonis shows his own 

vulnerability. “You know what’s funny, 

though? This is a really honest moment for 

me,” he said with sheepish chuckle as he 

is about to reveal something about himself. 

“I am really great at solving business problems, 

and I’m really great at solving other 

people’s problems, but I’m not that great at 

dealing with my own problems.” 

“Over the years, people have had this 

belief that I have this wild level of confidence, 

this wild level of security, and this 

wild level of success,” Lemonis says. “But 

in the end, I find myself more insecure 

sometimes than I’ve ever been. So, I always 


want people to know that it’s ok to be 

insecure, that it’s ok to be scared, that 

it’s ok to be depressed once in a while, 

it’s ok to feel sorry for yourself. But it 

doesn’t change the fact that you still 

have to do your thing.” 

Lemonis continued on. “Society has 

created this veil that you have to be superman 

and superwoman. The number 

one thing that the show has done 

for me is it has freed me of having to 

worry about what people think about 

me. It’s freed me from having to do 

something or say something different 

than what I really feel.” 

Being a problem solver is a requirement 

if you want to be an effective 

leader according to Lemonis, and “The 

Profit” is all about problem-solving. 

“You have to be empathetic and sympathetic 

to people, and you have to be 

humble enough to think it’s important 

to do that,” Lemonis said. He tries 

to understand the history of a situation, 

people’s perspectives—and their 

pride. “You also have to be willing to 

put yourself out there and be vulnerable. 

Too often, people try and create 

this persona that’s larger than life 

without any frailties. I have found that 

the more vulnerable I can make myself 

to people, the more open and critical I 

can be of myself, then the easier it is for 

people to take criticism of their style, 

or product, or whatever it may be.” 

It was through Lemonis’ own struggles 

that he evolved into his leadership 

style of today, and he reflects back to a 

time that was difficult, if not financially 

devastating for him and for millions of 

Americans. 

“Two-thousand eight and 2009 were 

the hardest thing that ever happened 

to me,” admitted Lemonis referring to 

the epic fail of the U.S. economy. “It 

takes something very cataclysmic to 

bring you back to earth.” 

Just a few years prior, Lemonis was 

caught up in what he now considers 

to be lavish spending—not all that uncommon 

for a single man in his thirties 

experiencing sizable wealth through 

his own accomplishments. 

“As quick as you can make it, is as 

quick as you can lose it.” Lemonis said 

as a personal testimony. “So I have a 

different perspective today, and I also 

learned about myself. I learned about 

what my priorities should be and how 

to focus on the right stuff, and not to let 

my thinking get out of whack.” 

So how does Lemonis bring the 

fruits of his own experience to aid and 

assist—better yet, save other businesses? 

Here’s how. 

“When I meet with these small businesses 

that are on death’s doorstep…I 

tell them three things,” Lemonis explained: 

‘One: You’re on death’s doorstep. 

Two: You are about to get life-saving 

surgery, but I can’t give you any anesthesia, 

so it’s gonna really hurt. 

Three: It’s a painful process. But 

if you trust me through this you will 

come out on the other side a lot better.’” 

Marcus Lemonis said he performed 

“self-surgery” on himself in 2008-09. 

“I learned a skill…that gives me the 

ability today to look somebody in the 

face and say, ‘You have no choice but 

to change.’” 


y diane e. alter 

TRIVIA 

ISN’T 

TRIVIAL 

in 

Tapping 

Breakthrough Thinking 

To stay relevant and competitive 

in today’s ever-changing business 

environment, it’s crucial to 

remain on top of your business game. 

Staying ahead of rivals can often 

be achieved through brainstorming, 

out-of-the-box thinking and asking insightful 

questions. Successful business 

leaders tend to have mastered the art 

of inquiry, asking strategic questions 

no one else has raised, and consequently, 

they find powerful answers. 

“The rewards realized from developing 

even one breakthrough idea can 

be immense.” Gene Jones, a nationally 

acclaimed game show host and one 

of America’s leading authorities on 

unlocking innovation through transformational 

play, told The Suit. “The 

most successful companies are ones 

that work smarter, not necessarily 

harder.” 

“It’s not just company leaders that 

are vital to breakthrough thinking. 

Every employee is a potential key resource. 

Who knows what game-changing 

ideas each may possess that could 

lead to lucrative opportunities. Organizations 

can unlock these ideas and 

encourage breakthrough thinking in 

a surprisingly simple way: By playing 

specially formatted games of trivia.” 

“Trivia is more than just a fun way 

to test random knowledge. It’s been 

proven to unlock the potential of the 

human mind, improve mental performance 

and enhance creativity.”, said 

Jones. “Studies show that engaging in 

trivia improves cognition, fosters fluid 

intelligence, reduces stress, improves 

memory, and fosters communication. 

Additionally, trivia games can 

heighten mood and release ‘feel good’ 

hormones. The brain needs to be constantly 

exercised and challenged to 

work at an optimal level. Basically: 

Trivia is important because it exercises 

the mind”. 

“Companies, employees, students 

and others can utilize targeted trivia 

games to problem solve, inspire innovation, 

and become more productive,” 

Jones explained. “Trivia, when 

presented in a strategically designed 

game show format for corporate training, 

can seamlessly develop the power 

of cognitive thinking to improve 

mental dexterity and efficiency among 

staffers.” 

More distinct advantages of engag- 


ing in trivia games include expedited 

problem solving and effective teambuilding, 

leading to what Jones calls 

‘adaptive corporate culture development’ 

that increases creativity and productivity 

in all phases of business operation. 

Jones knows about trivia. He has 

dedicated his career to the sophistication 

of the game show format following 

his work with The Guinness Book of 

World Records, where he served as Associate 

Editor and World Record Judge 

from 1983-1990. Jones is also an accomplished 

businessman who served as 

CEO of his own theatrical production 

company for more than 20 years. 

While hosting some 2,500 live game 

shows, Jones became an astute observer 

of his audiences, noticing that each audience 

seemed to grow smarter as each 

show progressed. This inspired Jones 

to conduct an extensive study of his 

unique process to eventually create an 

effective method of corporate training 

and educational advancement. Jones 

now applies his years of experience as a 

game show host to help businesses and 

organizations achieve breakthrough 

thinking with his program called Triviation®. 

“Trivia games can expand decision 

making capabilities and accelerate 

progress by helping individuals 

think more expansively,” Jones added. 

“When properly directed, such breakthrough 

thinking yields extreme competitive 

advantages that drive organizations 

ahead of the curve…and keep 

them there.” 

Research shows that brainstorming 

can be an effective way to generate 

cutting-edge ideas and then 

determine which one will be the best, 

according to a white paper from the 

Creativity Research Unit and the 

Creativity Problem Solving Group. 

Brainstorming sessions are most effective 

when conducted in an environment 

that promotes freedom of 

thought and expression. Jones points 

out that when participants are freed 

from everyday stress and fear of embarrassment, 

they find it much easier 

to stretch their minds’ reach, build on 

each others’ bright ideas and harvest 

more creative solutions. An effective 

brainstorming session requires a 

skillful leader, preferably an outside 

specialist, to guide the session and 

encourage participants while directing 

them towards the desired goal(s). 

That’s why mindful games, such as 

trivia, are so well suited for meetings 

and training sessions. 

Jones strongly emphasizes that the 

format of a trivia game show presentation 

is the key to maximizing positive 

results. In describing the ideal 

format, Jones points out the goal of 

the game is to get participants to 

think ‘asymmetrically’, a process 

which leads the brain to forge new 

connections between stored information 

and newly introduced facts. 

Jones purposely structures all his 

presentations to facilitate asymmetric 

thinking patterns. Once this 

state of mind is achieved, the game has 

served its purpose and the specific corporate 

challenges at hand are tackled. 

This higher level of brain function enables 

individuals and groups to achieve 

superior results in discussing and enacting 

all phases of business activity. According 

to Edudemic, one of the world’s 

largest education websites, the result is 

speedier working and more imaginative 

minds galvanized to proceed on an inspired 

level. 

While the golf course might be the 

place for CEO networking and closing 

deals, it’s also advisable that business 

leaders consider engaging their personnel 

with some strategically directed 

games of trivia to ‘drive ahead, get out 

of the rough, and hopefully score a holein-one!’. 


The 7 Most Common 

Negotiating Mistakes 

Wh ile 

even the word “negotiation” 

can evoke 

fear, stress and anxiety 

for many, the 

intent is quite simple: to discuss and 

ultimately agree on a deal. Whether 

it’s a multimillion dollar contract or 

just deciding where to meet for lunch, 

life is rife with negotiations. And, 

the negotiation process is a lot like 

a chess game where strategy reigns 

supreme—one thoughtfully considered 

move at a time. Make a careless, 

short-sighted, ill-conceived move and 

suffer the perilous consequences. 

“Even when faced with the most daunting 

of deals, regarding the act of negotiation 

as a ‘game’ may alleviate the 

apprehension and give you the confidence 

to make power plays that will ultimately 

facilitate your desired result,” 

notes veteran negotiation and contracts 

expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernan- 

dez, 

author of 

“Think Like 

a Negotiator” 

(www. 

ThinkLikeANegotiator.com). 

“Unlike 

strategy games like 

chess, however, the most effective 

deals are a win-win proposition 

for all parties rather than a winner-loser 

result.” 

To help individuals maximize their 

bargaining prowess in business and 

in life, below Eldonna cites the 7 most 

common mistakes that are made 

during a negotiation: 

1. Lacking confidence 

Many people think they need to show 

a certain kind of confidence, like being 

loud, bold or brazen, to successfully 

negotiate a deal. Others think that a lot 

of experience is required to be a good 

negotiator. Most of the time it merely 

takes tenacity and good old preparation 

to ensure you are aptly equipped 

to assert mutually desirable terms, anticipate 

objections, and discern what 

are motivators or “hot buttons” will 

resonate with your opponent. Projecting 

confidence also means having 

heart, which is endearing to others 

whether or not you 

have years of negotiation experience. 

This can also result in the opposition 

having a less defensive stance, 

making them more amenable to your 

stipulations. Without projecting a notable 

level of confidence, and backing 

that up with solid, well-researched information, 

failure will surely prevail. 

2. Thinking something is non-negotiable 

When you think like a negotiator, everything 

is negotiable! It’s a mindset 

you have to operate from in order to 

become not just a good negotiator, but 

a great one. When you decide that the 

terms for anything can be changed 

in your favor, a world of opportunity 

presents. Of course, as with most 

things in life, there will be rules to 

adhere to with each deal on the table, 

which are needed to evade chaos and 

keep discussions on track. However, 

even rules are negotiable! They can 

be modified if you simply propose an 

ethical, viable and mutually beneficial 

alternative solution. Powerful negotiators 

are rule breakers! 

3. Not building relationships first 

This is probably one of the biggest 

mistakes individuals make in regards 

to negotiation and in business in general. 

Perhaps you have attended the 

standard “networking” event where 


you give dozens of cards out without 

having a real conversation with anyone. 

It’s time to slow down and start 

making real connections with people—particularly 

those you might be 

involved in a deal with later on. Find 

out something about them and their 

lives. Get personal. Much useful information 

can be gleaned during casual 

conversation, including what they value 

in life, what motivates them, what 

annoys them, their ethics, etc. Find 

out something about them, personally, 

and not just their business. You might 

be surprised how well you can leverage 

what you learn through a genuine 

conversation with someone. 

4. Not asking for what you want 

There is one key truth in negotiations: 

you must ask for what you want. 

Sounds simple enough, but in practice 

it can often be daunting. People 

naturally fear rejection or were taught 

not to be “greedy” as children, so we 

instinctually refrain from asking for 

thing in life. However, in business, rejection 

is never personal—it’s merely 

a reflection that you did not present a 

viable argument substantiating why 

you should get what you want. It’s 

the offer that is being rejected, not you, 

so keep emotions in check and re-calibrate 

your approach. “No” often just 

reflects a need for more information, 

and take heart in knowing that people 

say no an average of 3 times before 

they say “yes.” It is important to 

understand that if you don’t ask you 

don’t get and the only way to master 

the art of rejection is to get rejected 

and keep asking. When negotiating, 

make it a priority to ask for exactly 

what you want. Most of the time you 

will either receive what you want or 

an acceptable alternative. 

5. Talking too much 

Talking too much is a sure-fire way to 

kill a deal. Have you ever been offered 

a product or service, and the salesperson 

kept talking until he or she talked 

you right out of the purchase? If they 

would have simply asked for the sale 

and stopped talking, their chance for 

success would have increased significantly. 

Never underestimate the 

power of silence. There’s an old adage 

that says “he or she who speaks next 

loses.” When discussing a deal, if you 

simply stop talking and get comfortable 

with the awkwardness of silence, 

your ability to win your argument, sell 

the product, or a get concession in the 

negotiation increases significantly. 

6. Not documenting 

The importance of getting the final 

agreement in writing cannot be 

stressed enough. Even better, consult 

with a contracts attorney to review 

contractual documents or any that 

require a signature. The purpose of 

a written agreement or contract is to 

provide protection for both sides and 

alleviate any ambiguity of terms. A 

myriad of problems can occur when 

the terms of a deal are not put in writing 

because what you “think” the other 

party said and what they “think” 

you said can be two different things. 

Documenting the agreement eliminates 

such “perception” problems and protects 

the interests of all parties involved. 

7. Signing without reading 

Before you sign on the dotted line, it’s 

imperative you read what you are signing—no 

matter how large of a packet it 

entails. Modern life is fast-paced and 

people are usually engaged in multiple 

things at once, making it difficult 

to focus and causing some to sign legal 

documents without reading them first. 

The result can be nothing short of disastrous. 

Make sure you read any agreement 

or contract in full, to ensure you 

are not confirming terms you will regret 

and cannot undo, which can cause copious 

problems for your future. 

Whether you are a seasoned negotiator 

or avoid wheeling and dealing with people 

altogether, you will vastly improve 

your results and be motivated to “get 

in the game” by knowing how to avoid 

these prime pitfalls. Whether seeking 

to gain advantages in your business or 

personal life, the art of “thinking like 

a negotiator” will profoundly impact 

your ability to actualize your desired 

outcome. 

Veteran negotiation and contracts 

expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, 

author of “Think Like a Negotiator,” 

has over 30 years of experience 

crafting killer deals both stateside 

and internationally, many in excess 

of $100 million. She’s currently the 

CEO of Dynamic Vision International—a 

specialized consulting and 

training firm that helps individuals 

hone negotiation skills—as well as a 

nationally regarded keynote speaker, 

session leader and panelist on the 

Art of Negotiation. Eldonna may be 

reached online at 

www.ThinkLikeANegotiator.com. 


BAD BYOD HABITS THAT CAN EXPOSE 

YOUR COMPANY’S SENSITIVE DATA 

The BYOD (bring your own device) 

system is practiced by many business 

big and small these days, however, 

if good security measures aren’t implemented 

and adhered to your sensitive 

data can be vulnerable. Even with good 

employee compliance and security firewalls, 

sensitive data can still leak out. 

There are three areas to managing and 

maintaining a BYOD plan: 

Governance and Compliance 

In a survey conducted by Becker’s Hospital 

Review, of 421 organizations, 68 

percent used a BYOD plan. However, less 

than 40 percent of that group implemented 

a mobile data management system. 

Furthermore, 45 percent of the organizations 

involved in BYOD plans reported 

incidents of lost mobile devices containing 

sensitive work information. Without 

proper security procedures and compliance 

rules, you leave your business exposed 

to leak sensitive data. 

Some common security risks occur 

when: 

• Staff members let non-staff people 

borrow their devices. Leapfrog reports 

that 46 percent of Americans allow 

non-company people to borrow their 

mobile devices. Make sure staff members 

understand that a piece of the company is 

on their devices and should be protected 

as such. 

• Staff store their work email passwords 

on their mobile devices—35 percent 

of Americans have admitted to doing 

this. A good idea is to have them write 

down their passwords in a notepad or in 

a folder that stays at their office desk and 

perhaps somewhere secure in their home. 

• Auto-lock features are not activated 

on staff BYOD devices. IT should hold a 

brief workshop with the staff to go over 

where these auto-lock features are on 

each mobile device, which would also be 

a great time for IT and administration to 

go over compliance polices and network 

sharing information. 

BYOD Policies and Mobile Device 

Management 

One bad situation that can occur when 

a business has a lax BYOD plan is that a 

fired employee could leave with sensitive 

data on their mobile device. All BYOD 

companies should have a policy where 

you are allowed to wipe all BYOD devices 

when an employee is terminated, 

and should include penalties for any violation. 

It’s also a good idea to list how 

many and the types of devices an employee 

can use so your IT department 

knows just how many types of devices its 

dealing with. 

Mobile Device Management (MDM) 

is ideal for dealing with security risks 

because it allows employers to remotely 

lock or wipe devices. This could be beneficial 

if a terminated employee fails to 

wipe the device or if anyone loses their 

phone. 

Be sure that you and your administrators 

know the rules and regulations about 

working on BYODs during non-work 

hours. Under some state laws, work on 

BYODs after work hours could constitute 

as overtime. Refrain from sending emails 

and texts and calling employees until the 

next business day. 

IT Security 

Perhaps the most important step in a 

BYOD plan is having your IT department 

set up a solid security plan to prevent 

infiltration of your business’ network. 

Some common vulnerable items include: 

• Public Wi-Fi Hotspots: Public access 

to hotspots are not secured, thus leaving 

hackers the ability to infiltrate a private 

system. If an employee allows his or her 

mobile device to be stolen, these hackers 

can wreak havoc for that staff member 

and your company’s entire software network. 

• Usernames and passwords: One 

bad habit staff members have is making 

a username and password that are the 

same for all their data storage platforms. 

If that one password is compromised, 

so too is the entire system. Change up 

the passwords by using your favorite 

sports players and their jersey 

numbers, pet names 

or your favorite 

books. Remember 

to keep this secure information written 

down at your office desk or in a folder at 

home, not in your mobile devices. 

• Man in the Middle hacks: Spoofing 

and phishing are two common ways 

hackers try to break into a system. Any 

email or solicitation that asks for money, 

personal financial information or social 

media account password information 

should be deemed highly suspicious and 

reported to your IT department. These 

scams can be under both familiar names 

and unfamiliar names, such as the Internal 

Revenue Service, so be extra careful in 

what emails you trust. If something looks 

and sounds fishy, then it probably is. 

• Malware: Simply put, if your business 

is using a BYOD plan, then the chances of 

your network getting attacked by viruses 

jumps significantly, considering how 

much downloading your staff members 

will be doing. If your IT isn’t installing 

anti-virus software—BYOD plan or not— 

then shame on you. This is sensitive information 

protection 101. The Bitdefender 

Antivirus Plus earned a perfect review 

in one survey of anti-malware software, 

getting recognition for its tools to safely 

do online banking and shopping. 

• Cloud Use: When a company uses a 

cloud system to store its data, it must find 

a way to keep staff from uploading sensitive 

information in apps and file-sharing 

sites like Dropbox. As secure as these 

sites and apps seem, IT must be sure to 

have a firewall on any backdoor access 

hackers could get into. 


strength 

in 

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO FINANCIAL PLANNING 

balance 

“The Capital Legacy, LLC” is a team of dedicated professionals in the Financial, 

Retirement, Tax and Estate planning field. Our team provides integrated 

services by applying various disciplines such as managed investments, 

financial and retirement planning as well as benefit plans toward meeting our 

clients lifelong wealth accumulation and preservation objectives. We also coordinate 

with other specialists including accountants, attorneys and pension 

actuaries.* 

*Outside providers of professional services are neither affiliated with nor endorsed 

by Capital Legacy, LLC or LPL Financial. 

www.capitallegacypa.com 

WEALTH PLANNING * INSURANCE * EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 

780 Newtown-Yardley Rd, Newtown Office Park Suite 310, Newtown, PA 18940

y david stein 

>>> 

Lease – Don’t Own 

An Arizona firm specializes in sale-leaseback options as the nation’s economy continues 

its steady but slow and tepid recovery from the Great Recession of 2008 

and 2009, and many business and franchise owners are in the delicate position 

of wanting to expand operations – which generally implies the acquisition of real 

estate. Such owners are still extremely cognizant that cash flows move far too 

quickly from black to red when major outlays like real estate occur. The commitment 

to property purchases can liken itself to a stifled cash flow as monetary assets 

become locked down in brick and mortar. 

It’s a catch-22 that in many cases 

is resolved through the use of a 

sale-leaseback transaction, explains 

Christopher H. Volk, president and 

CEO of STORE Capital, based in Scottsdale, 

Arizona. 

“The companies we serve are all real 

estate intensive,” Volk said. “They 

have to have a business location where 

their clients come to access their services. 

Yet, to increase their profitability 

and maintain cash flow, they often 

times are better off not owning their 

locations.” 

This is where Volk’s firm enters the 

picture. 

STORE is an acronym for “Single 

Tenant Operational Real Estate.” The 

firm’s purpose is to become the landlord 

of choice for a wide variety of real 

estate intensive business entities such 

as specialty medical operations, fitness 

centers, theatres, restaurants and 

for-profit education centers, which 

Volk indicated these service industries 

represent approximately 70 percent of 

the firm’s clientele. Retail clientele like 

“furniture and sporting goods stores 

make up 20 percent of STORE’s portfolio,” 

he detailed, “with the remaining 

ten percent being industrial facilities 

dedicated to either manufacturing or 

distribution.” STORE specializes in 

purchasing real estate assets and then 

leasing those back – in most cases to 

the former owner who wishes to continue 

conducting business at that site. 

“We lower their cost of capital and 

this makes them – their cash flow, their 

profitability, their ability to expand 

operations – better without the real estate 

overhead,” Volk explains. 

While his firm is essentially a glorified 

version of a landlord, he does not 

view his work as such. Volk sees and 

seeks a partnership with the firm’s clients, 

from whom real estate has been 

purchased and leased back. Their success 

is his success. He said that his goal 

is to meet the physical facility needs 

of STORE’s clients so effectively, that 

these business owners come back to 

his firm with repeat business when 

new facilities are called for in 

their business plans. 

“We want to serve them 

over and over again,” Volk 

said, recognizing that his 

approach most likely varies 

from other executives 

in the sale-leaseback field. 

“Historically, most players 

in this industry think of 

themselves solely as sources 

of real estate capital because 

they tend to focus a lot of 

their effort on the individual 

real estate locations. But we 

at STORE are not looking just 

to buy an asset from a client. 

We want to provide a solution 

to them, adding a lot 

of value and helping them 

create wealth instead 

of just doing a transaction.” 

“It’s almost as if the 

real estate itself is incidental 

to the business,” he mused. Certainly 

it is an important component, 

but the basis of Volk’s day-to-day interaction 

with clients is aimed at building 

relationships that leave business 

owners with an understanding of how 

his firm’s work can cut their operating 

costs and provide attractive financing 

options when traditional banks often 

cannot. 

Such is the case in today’s post-Great 

Recession era of increasingly regulated 

lending. “The perhaps unintended 

effect of the fed- 


eral Dodd Frank Act, aimed at curbing abuses within the office handling transactions stemming from 43 states – will 

nation’s lending system, has been an impairment of the hit one billion by the end of 2014. 

traditional banking system that in years past provided the Volk sees the marketplace from which STORE draws its 

operating capital needed by business owners,” Volk noted. clients as still being full of opportunity. He said the nation 

He recognizes that some sort of corrective action was necessary. 

He also quickly points out that between Dodd Frank lion in annual revenue that fit the profile of a STORE client. 

has over 81,000 companies, each doing more than $25 mil- 

– a regulation enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau – and the Basel III Accords, which are global, funding solutions for business owners via the various firms 

With 30-plus years of experience identifying and providing 

voluntary standards the U.S. government has pledged adherence 

to, banks are simply hog-tied when it comes to ad- 

that there are many more deals to ink. 

he’s worked for and owned himself, Volk has a certainty 

vancing capital on real estate. 

Crediting a team of associates who have worked with him 

Volk believes that the nation’s economy is more fragile for many years at other firms he’s owned, Volk said, “Our 

today than it was in 2007 when the housing bubble burst, greatest success has really been our consistency. Being in 

setting up the 2008 stock market crash in which the average 

stock fell 36 percent. 

management teams that can start up multiple New York 

this business for 30 years, I can say there are not that many 

“Frankly that is why we started 

the business in 2011,” Volk money from investors over a period this long. We have done 

Stock Exchange companies and have the credibility to raise 

explains. “We saw that the market 

was underserved. The fact that we have raised any money from, have performed well 

it because we have never lost money for any shareholder 

that we have grown as rapidly for our customers and have made a lot of our customers 

as we have and addressed the very successful in terms of their profits.” 

market the way we have underscores 

how much need there is 

for the services we provide.” 

He isn’t kidding or bragging. 

Instead, Volk is just stating 

simple facts documented by 

STORE’s balance sheet. 

In two and a half years of 

business, STORE now has over 

$2 billion in assets in its portfolio 

of real estate currently under 

sale leaseback agreements. In 

2013, the firm did about $840 

million in transactional business 

8501 East Princess Drive, Suite 190 

and closed nearly $600 million 

Scottsdale, Arizona 85255 

in investments through the first 

Phone: (480) 256-1100 Fax: (480) 256-1101 

half of 2014. Volk thinks the firm 

– which employs 47 people in one 

www.storecapital.com 


y felix badea 

Talking 

Face to Face 

Social media – with its Tweets, LinkedIn groups and the 

never-ending accumulation of “likes” and comments 

on Facebook pages – continues to entice those financial 

advisors seeking to mine it for client contact. Yet some 

industry professionals remain committed to the old-fashioned 

face-to-face conversation to stay in the groove with 

increasingly technologically savvy investors who want to 

stand their financial ground in a continuously volatile market. 

Steve Hoover is one of those advisors who is fully aware 

that clients need his undivided attention, reassurance, 

guidance and even a little entertainment now and again, to 

create and maintain the caring, committed community that 

defines his practice – The Retirement Pilot – based in Overland 

Park, Kansas. 

As a ticket holder to a local dinner theatre, Hoover 

thought he’d offer current and prospective clients a package: 

Attend dinner theatre along with a presentation in an 

adjacent meeting room about The Retirement Pilot. 

“It worked very well in terms of the number of people 

who attended,” he explained. “We used to do dinner only 

presentations. But a lot of my professional brethren are doing 

the same thing and attendance began to dwindle. So we 

thought the dinner theatre might be an interesting spot. It 

was very successful.” 

“People really love that sort of thing,” he said. “I can 

make sure my clients are comfortable bringing friends with 

them and we can get introduced in a non-threatening, no 

pressure environment.” 

With a wealth of financial advisors to choose from, 

Hoover knows that a sense of relationship is key. 

Once on board, clients can tap into his 18 years of 

financial planning experience. Hoover began with 

a small advisory group handling business succession 

and retirement planning, plus estate tax 

reduction and investments for owners of closely 

held companies. Focusing strictly on retirement 

income planning, today he seeks coach-able clients 

who want direct interaction with him. 

This mode of operation is part of why he believes 

Kansas City Magazine has named him as 

a Five Star “Best in Client Satisfaction Financial 

Advisor” every year since 2007. 

“The one main thing that I attribute this 

to is the way I work with my clients – when 

they call, they talk to me. I am accessible 

and able to answer their questions,” Hoover said. “All too 

often, the advisor is the rainmaker gathering people, who 

then get shuffled to an assistant. Not with me. People want 

to talk to the person their money is being entrusted with. 

I make sure I am accessible – and I make sure people are 

taken care of and that they have access to me going forward 

in our business relationship.” 

www.retirementpilotkc.com 


y david stein 

INVESTING 

WITHOUT STRESSING 

Liam Timmons, 

President and Founder 

A 

recent American Psychology Association 

poll indicates that 75 percent of 

stressed-out Americans list money management 

and financial matters as the leading 

cause of their anxieties. Between work, family 

obligations and associated commuting and 

travel, adequate time just can’t be carved out to 

thoroughly manage and monitor the financial 

aspects of their lives. 

This doesn’t surprise Liam Timmons. 

It is part of why he started his own investment 

advisory practice. He is the founder and 

president of Timmons Wealth Management located 

in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The bulk of 

his clientele are established professionals and 

entrepreneurs who have achieved a high level 

of success early in life and are typically undergoing 

or preparing for significant life changes 

such as marriage, birth of children, job changes 

and retirement. 

“My clients typically face significant time constraints 

and lack the knowledge and focused financial 

education necessary to properly address 

a wide range of complex investment and financial 

planning needs,” Timmons explains. “They 

need an experienced hand to guide them toward 

achieving their long term financial goals.” 

To do so, Timmons Wealth Management designs 

and implements investment portfolios 

to achieve strong absolute returns over a full 

market cycle, clearly aligning each client’s long 

term financial goals with investment strategies 

that shun short-term thinking in favor of longer 

term opportunities. 

So, is the quest for alpha in investing dead? 

“No, not necessarily,” Timmons responded. 

“I think it would be a bit presumptuous to 

assume that investment advisors have given up 

on adding alpha,” he said, while emphasizing 

an important caveat. “Clients still want to see 

good performance, but my firm’s focus is less 

on matching or exceeding broad market indices 

over the short term and more focused on achieving 

strong absolute returns over the long term 

enabling clients to achieve their most important 

financial goals.” 

Customizing each portfolio to match the client’s 

specific needs and risk tolerance is Timmons’ 

approach to growing and safeguarding 

the assets clients have entrusted to his firm. 

The first step in every new advisory relationship 

is a detailed interview process. “This includes 

an in depth discussion of where clients 

stand financially, assessing and quantifying financial 

goals and establishing appropriate savings 

strategies long before any investments are 

made,” Timmons explains. 

For each client, he provides a written record 

of the client’s current financial situation, a statement 

of their goals, an explanation of expected 

investment returns, an assessment of their risk 

tolerance and a proposed investment strategy in 

the form of an Investment Policy Statement. 

“We believe full transparency in our interview 

and Investment Policy Statement process 

helps to avoid surprises down the road, which 

enables our clients to stick to their investment 

strategies during good times and through the 

inevitable market downturns,” Timmons said. 

Timmons Wealth Management 

8 North Main Street, Suite 403 

Attleboro, MA 02703 

(774) 331-2172 

www.TWealthManagement.com 


Meeting With The Wife Too 

Both spouses must be equally involved 

Donald E. Bentley, Advisor 

LUTCF, IAR, CRPC, CTS 

2704 Old Rosebud Ln. 

Suite 180 

Lexington, KY 40509 

Phone: (859) 309-0349 

More spouses who are not 

the primary breadwinners 

– mainly wives – are now 

doing just as much retirement planning 

as the spouse who brings home 

the lion’s share of the family bacon. 

A fall 2013 University of Missouri 

School of Social Work study documented 

the planning process of married 

couples, 45 and older, as they 

began pondering what their retirement 

years would be like. Researchers 

discovered that even when husbands 

have greater earning power 

than their wives, the wives still take 

equal part in planning the couple’s 

retirement. 

This notion – that the input of today’s 

wife is just as valuable as that 

of her husband – is part of the reason 

one financial planning group won’t 

hold a second meeting without her 

present. 

Donald E. Bentley, a partner of the 

based in Lexington, Kentucky, knows 

the longevity statistics for men and 

women. He knows that most wives 

outlive their husbands, and he has 

seen the ramifications when a widow 

does not have a single clue as to 

the state of the finances her deceased 

husband has left behind. 

“One of the things we require for 

our second meeting – the one in 

which we begin planning – is that 

both the male and female of the relationship 

must be present,” Bentley 

explained. “Moving forward from 

that point in time, all meetings have 

to include both parties. We know 

that at some point later in time, all 

that money may end up becoming 

only hers. So, what we do from the 

beginning is we make sure that not 

only he – but also she, – understands 

what they have, where it is kept, how 


it is invested, what its purpose is 

and how it functions to provide 

for their financial needs.” 

Bentley said that he often 

hears some version of this statement 

from husbands, “I am not 

concerned while I am here, but 

if something happens to me, 

who does she turn to who has 

the experience, the background 

and the education to help her?” 

“It’s an excellent question,” 

Bentley said, and he has an answer. 

Turn to people such as 

himself, with more than 18 years 

of experience and industry certifications 

to prove his credentials 

and his partner, G. Kevin Metzler, 

chief advisor and president 

of Family Wealth Group, with 

more than 35 years of financial 

and retirement planning under 

his belt. 

After the financial debacle of 

2008 and 2009, aptly dubbed the 

Great Recession, Bentley and 

Metzler put together a firm brochure 

insightfully titled, “Who 

Can I Trust?” The brochure 

details various methods and 

agencies prospective clients can 

search to do background checks 

on the financial advisors they 

are vetting. Readers are directed 

to the federal Securities and Exchange 

Commission, the Better 

Business Bureau, the National 

Ethics Bureau and Dunn and 

Bradstreet to seek information 

regarding financial advisors. 

“Anyone can tell themselves 

and their clients, ‘Hey, trust 

me,’” Bentley said. “But trust 

takes time to build. Clients 

should start by making sure 

their chosen advisor has the appropriate 

background. Unfortunately, 

the rules are just not 

set in place that one has to have 

this background, this education 

and that certification to be able 

to call themselves a financial 

advisor. Someone can just walk 

off the street, put up a sign on 

a building and call themselves a 

financial advisor.” 

This alarming trend is part of 

why he supports the establishment 

of a uniform national fiduciary 

standard governing the 

work of all types of financial advisors, 

whether they be compensated 

via a commission model 

or a fee-based only model. 

Bentley believes a nationwide 

standard would force a clear 

definition of what standards a 

financial advisor must meet. He 

thinks this would drastically increase 

the client’s ability to understand 

what qualifies someone 

to claim to be a professional 

financial advisor. 

Bentley and Metzler run their 

firm as what he describes as a 

“true fiduciary” in which the 

standard is a management process 

dedicated to overseeing the 

client’s accounts with their best 

interests only – and not that of 

the firm – as the guiding principle. 

They provide the gamut of financial 

planning services – income, 

tax, estate and Social Security 

– under their one roof, 

creating a complete suite of 

services for their clients. In his 

opinion, clients have too much 

at stake for both partners not to 

*Investment Advisory Services offered through Global Financial Private Capital, LLC, an 

SEC Registered Investment Advisor. 

www.thefamilywealthgroup.com 

be fully involved in all aspects 

of their financial lives employing 

their full fiduciary standard 

in all decisions.“Money makes 

people do crazy things,” he said. 

That unfortunate fact is part 

of why he and Metzler seek investment 

growth between five 

and seven percent for their clients 

while still in the accumulation 

phase. It’s a steady, realistic 

goal that does not dramatically 

increase risk. 

Post 2008 and 2009’s Great 

Recession, Bentley said that it 

took many of the now-retiring 

baby boomers five years to recover 

from the losses sustained. 

“They haven’t forgotten that experience, 

either,” he said. They 

are worried; his over 700 different 

clients are far more cautious 

than in previous decades. 

“It used to be you were able to 

just throw a dart at a board and 

the investment it hit would yield 

an average of ten or 15 percent 

or even more,” he recalls, adding 

the sour truth that perhaps 

such easy success spoiled investors 

for the realities of coming 

bear markets. “I think investors 

are beginning to see that their 

expectations of the market were 

a bit skewed due to all the good 

times we had and that now it is 

time to switch to a capital preservation 

mode instead of a capital 

appreciation mindset.” 


STILL PUZZLED 

... by your supply chain solution? 

Streamlining supply chains throughout the automotive, retail, 

pharmaceutical, pulp & paper, logistic, and food industries. 

www.meadewillis.com 

Contact Meade Willis today for a free consultation regarding your e-commerce, 

EDI, supply-chain requirements: (866) 369-1146 | www.meadewillis.com

y felix badea 

Employees 

Need 

Education 

Texas-based fiduciary 

and trustee of employer-sponsored 

defined 

contribution plans views 

participant education 

as critical component to 

plan success 

Jeff Atwell, Senior Vice President Trust Division 

of American National Bank of Texas 

Participate in an employer-sponsored 

defined contribution plan 

for retirement savings and you 

are twice as likely to feel confident 

that your accumulated savings will 

be adequate to fund your retirement. 

According to a March 2014 press release 

detailing results from the annual 

Retirement Confidence Survey by the 

Employee Benefit Research Institute 

in Washington, D.C., 24 percent of 

surveyed employees participating in 

a DCP feel prepared for retirement as 

compared to only nine percent of survey 

respondents whose employers do 

not offer plans. The EBRI survey – now 

in its 24th year – is the nation’s longest 

running survey tracking employee retirement 

confidence. 

Those statistics don’t surprise Jeff 

Atwell, senior vice president in the 

Trust Division of American National 

Bank of Texas with its trust office in 

Fort Worth, Texas. In his 40 years in the 

financial services industry, Atwell has 

designed or administered more than 

2,000 retirement plans. He admits his 

earlier career years paid greater attention 

to the needs of employer’s providing 

retirement plans. That has certainly 

changed. As the retirement savings 

paradigm has shifted from defined 

benefit plans to plans in which participants 

play a larger role in determining 

the amount of savings, Atwell’s focus 

turned toward educating the plan participants. 

“The participant has the responsibility 

to make sure that they properly 

manage their investment choices based 

on their risk tolerance and time horizon,” 

Atwell said. “They need to use 

the tools and resources that are made 

available to them through the platform 

and advisor services of the plan chosen 

by the employer.” 

Unfortunately, many employees 

don’t have the financial investment 

knowledge base to evaluate the myriad 

of choices. That is a primary reason 

why Atwell prefers to design and 

govern plans for employers committed 

to allowing financial advisors to meet 

regularly with employees to provide 

assistance at the workplace. He is concerned 

that far too many of today’s 

workers are woefully underfunded in 

their retirement savings. 

“It is getting more difficult to have 

adequate savings for retirement because 

of the longevity risk that people 

have because we are fortunate to live 

in a country that has a really good 

health care system,” he said, adding 

that fluctuations in the investment 

market only add to the challenge if 

participants of defined contribution 

plans don’t follow sound, prudent financial 

advice. He’s talking about not 

panicking during market downturns 

such as occurred in 2008 and 2009. 

“Those participants that understood 

that was a period of time when good 

decisions needed to be followed and 

to not make emotional decisions stood 

the course, were positioned correctly 

and have actually fared much better 

since then than participants who made 

emotional decisions in regards to their 

investment and made poor decisions.” 

Learn more about Atwell and the Trust 

Division of the American National 

Bank of Texas online at www.anbtx. 

com/Wealth-Management/Trust-Professionals/JeffAtwell 


y judy magness 

Building Wealth in Specialization 

Between 2012 and 2022, the 

number of personal financial 

advisors is forecasted to grow 

27 percent, a rate much higher than 

other occupations according to the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Baby 

boomers reaching retirement and increasing 

longevity of Americans are 

driving demand. Consequently, competition 

in the already competitive 

field of financial planning will continue 

to grow. 

Current trends reveal that some advisory 

firms are providing specialized 

expertise to particular market segments 

to draw clients and grow their 

practice. Chau Lai, CFP®, ChFC®, a 

financial advisor with Pacific Advisors, 

is a leader in this approach having 

started her practice this way well 

over a decade ago. Lai works primarily 

with physicians, dentists, and business 

owners helping them to address 

personal finances and business issues 

including succession, executive compensation, 

taxation, and estate planning. 

In practice for 17 years, Lai started 

at age 21 fresh out of the University 

of California at San Diego with two 

things: a degree in economics and a 

yearning to help people be more prudent 

with their finances. She had no 

clients, so she gained exposure by 

teaching financial courses for women 

at a local community college. The 

following year, she was offered the 

opportunity to manage the UCLA 

School of Dentistry disability program—a 

job others turned down 

because they felt there was no real 

money to be made with students. But 

Lai saw it as an opportunity to build 

lasting relationships with individuals 

as they entered professional life and 

started their own families. 

Now Lai has a niche-driven family 

practice that includes her husband 

and her sister, who are also CFP’s, 

and they are supported by full time 

employees. Pacific Advisors serves 

over 900 families helping them create 

a secure future. 

“Chasing past performance, stock 

picking, track record investing, and 

trying to time the market is ultimately 

ineffective and costly to the client. 

Clients are taking more risk than they 

need to and incurring more trading 

costs and management fees,” said 

Lai explaining that Pacific Advisors 

works to grow assets over time in a 

strategic, methodical, and conservative 

way. “You don’t need to take 

more risk to grow your wealth. You 

need to take a holistic approach and 

understand that every financial decision 

that you make has a ripple effect 

on all other decisions.” 

Lai asserts that it takes a team to 

effectively build and protect a client’s 

wealth. “At Pacific Advisors, we 

address not just the areas we are licensed 

and compensated to address, 

we also have to know how to coordinate 

effectively with the client’s estate 

planning attorney, business attorney, 

their CPA, and all the other advisors 

that are in their life,” she said. 

Born in Vietnam, Lai came to 

America as a refugee with her parents 

when she was 4-years-old. They 

didn’t speak English and had no money. 

“My parents were able to build 

businesses and build a good life for 

themselves,” said Lai. It appears she 

has followed in her parents footsteps. 

www.pacificadvisors.com/chau_lai 


Equity Exposure: A Necessity 

By Diane E. Alter 

A 

notable number of investors 

still remain skittish regarding 

risk exposure to equities. 

Despite some record highs in 2013, 

the stock market remains volatile – 

as shown by a Standard & Poor’s 500 

Index decline in the middle of this 

past February, down slightly more 

than six percent from its January 

2014 peak. 

“These market fluctuations are 

worth watching,” says Stacy Bush, president of Bush Wealth 

Management, LLC, based in Valdosta, Georgia. But they aren’t 

cause for panic or hesitancy to remain in or, especially, 

to get back in the market. “This is particularly the case if a 

retirement income that even slightly resembles one’s working 

days income is a goal,” Bush noted. 

“So many people do not want exposure to equities today,” 

Bush said. This hesitancy is based on the great losses 

sustained during the 2008 and 2009 Great Recession, when 

average stocks fell nearly 36 percent during the first year 

alone. “But to grow accumulated wealth to mitigate inflation, 

taxes and longevity, investors have to have exposure to 

equities in their portfolios for the money to last long enough 

to fund what are now increasingly longer retirements.” 

He knows all too well the experience of being without 

cash flow. Growing up on a peanut farm in Georgia, Bush 

watched helplessly as his parents were forced into bankruptcy 

in 1986, after struggling for several years to overcome 

the effects of the harsh droughts in 1977 and 1979. 

That experience set him on a career path in financial services 

based on a desire to help other families avoid going through 

the same thing. After a few years working as a missionary 

in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, he returned home 

to start his own firm. Even then, things weren’t too flush. 

He recalls – with perhaps a bit of fondness he doesn’t wish 

to repeat – the times his wife made him peanut butter and 

jelly sandwiches while they lunched in the parking lot of a 

grocery store, because he was working out of his vehicle and 

they couldn’t afford to eat at a restaurant. 

“It was challenging at first,” he recalls. “Extremely 

gloomy.” 

Persistence paid off, and since then Bush has built a 

steady business providing financial advice to agricultural 

enterprises, widowed and divorced women and educators. 

These social groups are his primary focus as they are often 

under-served by other financial advisors. 

He is hopeful that the current national discussion regarding 

the establishment of a uniform fiduciary standard isn’t 

simply just talk. 

“I certainly hope so,” he said in regard to whether regulations 

governing all types of financial advisors under one 

standard may be enacted. “It baffles my mind that someone 

would potentially not act in the client’s best interest. Thus 

the concept of a fiduciary standard is very important.” 

www.bushwealthmanagement.com


The Complications of 

EMPLOYMENT LAW 

Employment law is complex and constantly 

changing. It’s essential companies stay 

compliant with myriad regulations to avoid 

penalties and other repercussions. 

Consider, for example, the “banthe-box” 

movement, which 

seeks to create a fairer playing 

field for people with a criminal past 

who are applying for jobs. According 

to the National Employment Law 

Project (NELP), 12 states have adopted 

legislation to remove the checkbox 

on job application forms asking an 

applicant about any prior convictions. 

Delaware and Nebraska are the latest 

states to embrace this policy, while 

California (which signed on in 2013) is 

slated to begin enforcing the ordinance 

this July. 

Attorney Melinda Garcia, 

shareholder at the employment law 

firm of Garcia & Gurney in Pleasanton, 

CA, asserts that ban-the-box laws 

will have minimal impact, although 

employer hiring costs could increase 

because the process may take a little 

longer. In contrast, “banning the box” 

would be an advantage for applicants 

with a one-time DUI on their records 

from years ago. Garcia calls this a stale 

offense. “Practically speaking, I don’t 

think it will make much of a difference 

in hiring practices,” she said. “But it 

will make people applying for the job 

feel better.” 

Movements like this represent 

only one aspect of employment law. 

Legal issues surrounding employer 

healthcare plans are emerging as 

companies incorporate the mandates 

of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or 

“Obamacare.” Garcia foresees that 

some employers will use staffing 

companies or professional employer 

organizations (PEO) to outsource staff 

so that they stay under 50 employees, 

making them exempt from certain 

THE SUIT MAGAZINE - JULY 2014 

ACA requirements. But she also 

predicts that the government will 

quash this strategic move. “Reading 

the tea leaves, I think that there will 

be some legislation to punish those 

employers and make such a practice 

illegal. But then the government will 

have the problem of proving pretense,” 

she said. 

The misuse of independent 

contractors is another hot topic in 

employment law. “A company using 

independent contractors who is not 

working with the counsel and guidance 

of an attorney on a regular basis may 

find itself in trouble,” said Garcia. 

“The penalties for misclassifying 

independent contractors are huge, not 

only state and federal penalties, but 

also the taxes and interest. There could 

also be criminal penalties.” She advises 

clients to work with their accountants 

and legal counsel to best determine 

whether someone should be classified 

as an independent contractor or as an 

employee. 

Garcia & Gurney remains steadfast 

in keeping its clients compliant with 

regulatory changes in employment 

law, business litigation and intellectual 

property protection. The firm is also 

invested in helping clients grow their 

businesses. Just recently, they designed 

legal service packages, offered at a flat 

fee instead of an hourly rate, to address 

both compliance issues and company 

growth for qualified clients. 

www.garciagurney.com

Plan All of Retirement’s Needs 

by felix badea 

Retirement planning shouldn’t 

focus solely on where to take 

that long-awaited vacation. 

That’s just some of the advice 

from a Boynton Beach, Florida, investment 

advisor representative 

working right in the middle of one 

of the state’s chosen destinations for 

retirees living out their Golden Years 

beachcombing, golfing, lunching, 

sunbathing and volunteering. Along 

with retirement’s opportunities come a few serious planning 

issues one must accommodate to make its dreams a reality, 

indicates Kevin DeMayo of Wealth Group, Inc. 

“My goal is to educate my clients on all the aspects of retirement 

planning,” he said. “Unfortunately, most people 

that do retire spend more time planning their vacation than 

they do actually planning the financial aspects of retirement. 

They truly have to have a full picture if they are going to get 

to have the retirement they want.” 

That includes learning much more about Social Security 

than is printed on the quarterly statements issued by the 

agency. It includes learning strategies to maximize the lifetime 

value of these benefits, he said. It includes a wake-up 

call regarding the potential cost of health care as one grows 

older. It includes an honest assessment of whether the thusfar 

accumulated assets will be enough to maintain a chosen 

lifestyle and if not, an identifying of what can be changed 

without regret or bitterness. 

Providing this level of planning is the reason DeMayo began 

his own firm. His 

1983 start in financial 

services was as a stock 

broker. At the time, he 

recalls, he loved the job; 

couldn’t wait to get back 

to work on Monday 

mornings, he said. But 

as he matured and his 

knowledge increased, 

he realized he could 

provide much better 

service to clients if he offered them a long-term investment 

approach rather than just the chase of returns trading stocks. 

In 2000, he went independent. 

His firm has a reasonable minimum. His test of a client is 

one based on personality: He takes on clients he likes whom 

he thinks will trust his advice. 

“If I don’t think we can have a relationship based on trust, 

then I know it won’t work between us,” he said. “What really 

happens with my clients is that they are not buying a 

product; they are not buying a brokerage firm. They are buying 

me. DeMayo takes a “client centered” approach allowing 

him to understand people on a deep level. His style allows 

him to understand the challenges and dreams that is unique 

to each person he meets. 

Wealth Group, Inc., 2240 Woolbright 

Road, Suite 324, Boynton Beach, FL 33426 

www.wealthgroupinc.com

y david stein 

DANGER 

On The Way Down 

According to an “NBC World News” report, significantly more mountain 

climbers – including the well-trained Sherpa guides who accompany them – 

die on the descent from the peak of Mount Everest than do on the ascent to 

conquer the most-sought after mountain experience on planet Earth. 

It’s a fact that applies to financial 

mountain climbing as well, according 

to Les Howard, a partner with 

Legacy Financial Partners in Brookings, 

South Dakota and an owner via the 

Ameriprise Financial franchise network. 

“In fact, the mountain climbing analogy 

is one that Ameriprise representatives 

frequently utilize in training advisers 

and informing clients of potential pitfalls 

when the drawdown period of retirement 

planning begins,” Howard explains. 

Mountain climbing experts will tell you 

that climbers are more aware and exercise 

greater caution on the way up in 

anticipation of accomplishing their goal. 

As they descend the mountain, they are 

tired and as they pass through various 

climatic zones with varying levels of oxygen 

and barometric pressure, their brains 

can swell, causing lack of coordination. 

“I’ve been the guy who helps people 

get to the top of the mountain by investing 

wisely,” Howard said, noting that 

now many of his clients have reached 

their mountain top goals with retirement 

from their working years and are ready 

to head down to lush valleys filled with 

flowing streams. Yet, determining the 

pace at which they should descend (or 

spend down their funds) is as challenging 

as avoiding those deadly crevices 

that swallow far too many climbers. It is 

part of why he chose to align his longtime 

practice with Ameriprise Financial. 

“Ameriprise is known as a planning firm. 

They are very strong in this area and it 

had a lot to do with me joining them so 

that I could build my skills in this area to 

assist my clients.” 

Howard has worked in financial planning 

services since 1987, after hanging 

up his work gloves as a rancher/farmer in 

northeast South Dakota. A downturn in 

the economy nearly wiped him out financially, 

so he went to college, and at age 

31, Howard earned a bachelor’s degree in 

economics. 

Between that and his current position 

representing the services of Ameriprise, 

Howard worked for the Investment Centers 

of America at a bank in Aberdeen, 

South Dakota, and then on to state government, 

marketing a supplemental retirement 

plan for state workers in the 

Mount Rushmore State. That job put 

him in front of many of the state’s key 

decision-makers, who noticed his capabilities. 

He was offered a position in the 

governor’s budget office as an analyst 

and four years later, he was promoted to 

division director. 

In 1994, via an association with Prudential, 

he returned to banking and financial 

services, opening his own firm called 

Howard and Associates, in Pierre, the 

state’s capital. In October 2005, Howard 

returned to Brookings where he went to 

college at South Dakota State University. 

A series of name changes to the firm 


from which he conducted business 

began. He was the broker 

and manager of Trust Advisors, 

affiliated with First Bank and 

Trust. Then Howard represented 

AG Edwards and Sons, which 

became Wachovia Securities 

only to later be gobbled up by 

Wells Fargo Advisors. In 2012, 

he joined up with Ameriprise. 

“I’ve been really good for the 

sign companies in town,” he 

jokes. 

Throughout these transitions, 

which he admits could be challenging, 

Howard has brought 

some admirably loyal clients 

along with him for the journey. 

After the transition from Wells 

Fargo to Ameriprise was completed, 

he had to double-check 

the numbers presented to him. 

Howard found that 104 percent 

of the assets under management 

from Wells Fargo had transferred 

to his new affiliation with 

Ameriprise. 

“I have pretty reliable and 

picky clients,” he said. 

It might have a little something 

to do with the way he conducts 

business, too. Howard has no 

minimum requirements. He’ll 

help someone who can only 

begin with $25 a month find a 

no-load fund. And he dedicates 

time each week to talk with students 

at South Dakota State regarding 

financial planning. 

“The smaller clients I took on 

15 years ago are my large clients 

now,” Howard observed. “We 

grow with them. My philosophy 

has always been that we will try 

to help anybody who wants to 

help themselves.” 

Yet in a place where rodeo is 

the state sport, Howard isn’t 

helping any of his clients to 

climb atop a bucking financial 

bronco. 

He’s using Ameriprise’s proprietary 

“Confident Retirement 

Plan” system – similar to the industry’s 

commonly referenced 

“bucket system” – to help clients 

secure a comfortable retirement 

income stream. 

“We key in on answering 

whether they have a consistent 

income flow that will cover their 

essentials such as food, clothing, 

shelter, taxes, a mortgage and 

insurance when they retire,” he 

said. “We want a guaranteed 

income source going into their 

bank accounts every month.” 

Past that, the various “buckets” 

of investment funds are 

allocated to asset classes based 

on when the client will need to 

We shape financial solutions for a lifetime ® 

spend returns. “Buckets situated 

further into retirement can be 

invested with greater, but controlled 

risk,” Howard noted. 

“That is not the money we are 

going to need to live on for the 

next five to ten years. We can be 

more aggressive with that and 

hope it will get the high historic 

returns we have gotten in the 

past,” Howard said. “As we are 

helping people retire now who 

will be living in retirement for 

more years than they actually 

worked, we cannot put all of it 

in what one might consider a 

‘safe’ position, because in doing 

so you are just going to go backwards 

with it due to taxes, inflation 

and longevity.” 

Back Row (from left): Brad Ness CFP ® , Connie Kupec Client Service Manager, 

Robyn Jensen MSFP, CFP ® 

Front Row: Les Howard Financial Advisor 

309 4th Street 

Brookings, SD 57006 

605-692-5501 

les.howard@ampf.com 

www.ameripriseadvisors.com/les.howard 


Brave Investing During a Sell-Off Pays Dividends 

Market Volatility is no Reason to Shy away from Further Investing 

It’s no secret that, when Warren Buffett 

talks, people listen. Everyone 

wants to know what investments 

he’s getting into – and what he’s dumping. 

Buffett is perhaps the modern day 

version of E.F. Hutton, whose famous 

1970s and 1980s television commercial 

made that version of the catch phrase 

infamous. 

Caleb Overton, CMT of Biltmore 

Wealth Management, LLC, based in 

Santa Barbara, California, has no reservation 

admitting that he always pays 

close attention to what Buffett is saying 

and recommending. 

“I follow the advice of Warren Buffet,” 

Overton said. “Some of the best advice 

Buffett has provided is to read as much 

as possible every day and that over the 

years, the accumulated knowledge 

will pay you great dividends.” 

In heeding that advice, Overton has 

secured a significant library of various 

financial investment research publications 

from a variety of sources, and 

he’s reading them every day – just as 

Buffett suggests. 

“From the information I am gleaning, I 

have been able to navigate the markets 

much better and have become an even 

greater asset to my clients,” he noted. 

For the first nine years in the financial 

services business, he started out by 

selling a mixture of financial products 

and providing advice on a fee-only basis. 

Overton hung out his own shingle, 

called Biltmore Wealth Management, 

two years ago. He made the full transition 

to a Registered Investment Advisor 

(RIA) away from commission income 

and his firm is now 100-percent 

compensated via the fee-only model. 

Most of his clients range in age from 40 

to 70 years old, and are either self-employed 

or are owners of small businesses. 

His firm’s account minimum is 

$100,000. Many of his clients share the 

same interests as he does outside of financial 

services. Overton believes that 

being able to discuss similar hobbies 

and interests gives him a trust-building 

platform from which to conduct 

business. 

He’s also a big believer in matching a 

client’s investment strategy to their financial 

goals like a comfortably-fitting 

glove. That’s why he designs a variety 

of portfolios – from conservative to 

moderate to aggressive – based on the 

individual risk tolerance of each client. 

Starting his financial career in 2003, 

Overton had a half decade of his own 

entrepreneurial experience before the 

Great Recession struck in 2008. He vividly 

remembers the fear his clients experienced 

during that time. 

“Clients were afraid to make any decisions,” 

he recalls. “They became paralyzed. 

They did not want to make a 

wrong decision so they sat back and 

did nothing .” 

“That,” Overton said, “Was not a profitable 

plan.” He decided to give financial 

seminars, to encourage clients to 

remain invested in the market and to 

take an even bolder step by not only 

considering, but by adding to their investments. 

“They needed to embrace the situation, 

as it provided great opportunity 

to buy into some great companies at 

very cheap prices,” Overton explained. 

“Times of extreme volatility within the 

market do present challenges to an advisor 

to keep calm and calm his clients 

as well– and teach them that yes, this 

is not comfortable. But you can get 

better returns over time if you remain 

invested for the long haul and take advantage 

when these situations present 

themselves. It is one of the hardest concepts 

to execute, but when the market 

has a seven to ten percent sell-off, that 

is the time to step in, be brave and buy 

a great stock at a discount during that 

volatility.” 

735 State St., Suite 207 

Santa Barbara, CA 93101 

Phone: 805-770-3777 

www.biltmorewealth.com 


Communication, Credentials and Partnerships 

In life, it is often said that when one 

door closes, another one opens. The 

same can hold true in business. Just 

ask Rich Tegge, AIF®, who supervised 

a Smith Barney satellite office until it 

abruptly closed in the turmoil of 2008. 

It was then he decided to open his own 

independent financial advisory firm. 

Today, as President of Wealth Strategy 

Group based in Marquette, Michigan, 

he said it is the best career decision 

he’s ever made in the financial business. 

Instead of trying to be all things to all people, Wealth 

Strategy Group is focused on meeting the unique needs of 

business owners. The firm’s overall investment approach is 

conservative rather than trying to chase returns. “People are 

much more risk averse than they used to be,” said Tegge. 

“They are looking for alternate solutions and are open to asset 

class opportunities that they didn’t consider in the past.” 

Offering personalized retirement planning, wealth management 

and investment strategies, Wealth Strategy Group 

has a strong foundation for earning client trust: They partner 

with a well-respected broker/dealer, Commonwealth Financial 

Network®; client assets are custodied with National 

Financial Services, a division of Fidelity Investments; and 

Tegge is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF) designee 

which means he has taken an oath enforcing a code of 

conduct that he lives by. 

“We tell our clients it’s a journey, and there are things that 

will arise to cause 

you to reroute and 

make significant 

changes in your 

portfolio, or maybe 

just tweaks,” said 

Tegge explaining 

the importance of 

ongoing and open 

communication with clients. “Life events happen such as 

the loss of a spouse, a disability, or loss of work that can 

impact the plan that we have developed—that’s why we are 

always modifying the plan.” 

Wealth Strategy Group’s commitment to client communication 

is bolstered with through social media. 

“It is a great platform to educate and have ongoing communication 

with clients in a manner that is comfortable to 

them,” Tegge explained. “Maybe it is eight or nine o’clock 

at night when someone has time to log on and review information 

that we have posted that may be of interest to them.” 

Wealth Strategy Group is located at 300 South Front 

Street, Suite C, Marquette, MI 49855. (906) 228-3696. Securities 

and advisory services offered through Commonwealth 

Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered 

Investment Adviser. 

300 South Front Street, Suite C 

Marquette, MI 49855 

www.wsginvest.com


Off Campus Housing Preferred Over Dorms 

According to a 2013 survey entitled, “Gauging Student Living Preferences,” 80 percent of college 

students have ditched the confines and rules of dorm life and opted instead for the space and 

freedom afforded by off campus housing. Over 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students were 

interviewed by J Turner Research, and the results were published in “Multifamily Executive” 

magazine. 

Perhaps this lends insight as to why Carl Syslo, CEO, 

CFO, and general partner of Health & Wealth of 

Dutchess County, LLC, recently told “The Suit:” 

“We have a demand that outstrips our supply right now.” 

The company owns and manages single family homes to 

provide alternative housing to college students attending 

Coastal Carolina University located in Conway, South Carolina. 

The properties are within a mile walking distance of 

the campus. Current plans are to expand into other geographic 

markets. Since demand drives their growth strategy, 

Florida is first on their list. 

Based in Fishkill, New York, Health & Wealth started in 

2004 an as investment club. Syslo was one of the four original 

members and they decided to invest their financial resources 

in the stock market. By 2007, members grew weary 

of the risk that accompanied the market’s ups and downs; 

the goal of the investors was to preserve capital. When the 

son of one of the members was accepted into a Southern 

college, he told the group he was unsuccessful and frustrated 

in his search for off campus housing. That’s when 

the light bulb went off. “We found that there was an excellent 

opportunity, and excellent pricing, to buy single family 

homes and rent them to college students,” explained 

Syslo. “Once we decided that is what we wanted to 

do, we built our business model around that college 

market.” 

“We provide a safe, clean, and comfortable 

environment—we want 

our tenants to be happy” said 

Syslo who explained that 

Health & Wealth consistently 

invests in the upkeep of 

their properties. Tenants have 

access to a website where they can report 

maintenance issues and they are usually 

addressed within 24 hours. “Our costs 

are competitive with the college dorm life 

and the most important thing is we listen 

to our customers—whatever they request, 

we try to accommodate.” Since students are 

generally in the 18-21 age range, Health & 

Wealth highly encourages that the student’s 

parents are involved throughout the entire 

rental process. “Let’s face it, parents are the ones who are 

paying in 99 percent of the cases,” said Syslo, adding that 

students can rent on a per room basis with a12-month lease. 

Currently, Health & Wealth has 19 member investors 

with plans to cap membership at 25. There are no full time 

employees. All members work within their own respective 

professions and bring various skills and knowledge that 

contribute to the growth and success of the organization. 

47 Wedgewood Rd 

Fishkill, NY 12524 

Telephone: 845-764-1556 

www.hwrental.com 


y felix badea 

TRUST IS THE 

BEST ASSET 

Despite smears from the Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford scandals, financial advisors remain 

at the head of the list of most trusted professionals. A recent John Hancock Trust Survey out 

of its Boston location, puts financial advisors ahead of primary care doctors and accountants. 

This was as reported by online survey respondents, with at least $200,000 in investable assets, 

regarding which service providers they view as most trustworthy. 

Building trust with clients is the name of the game for 

Ernie Nivens, president of Nivens Wealth Strategies 

in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s a concept his prior 

professional life engrained in him. 

“For 20 years before I came into this (financial services) industry, 

I was a United Methodist minister all around South 

Carolina. I have been in the financial services industry for 

25 years now – and the common trait in both of those arenas 

is trust,” Nivens explains. “People want somebody they can 

trust. This is especially true in a volatile environment such 

as we are in now.” 

Listening to client concerns is as important in Nivens’ 

work as is selecting asset classes in which to invest. His approach 

is to treat clients – not as a commodity to process – 

but to focus instead on how he can provide service for their 

financial needs, caring for them as people balancing life’s 

challenges with their own hopes and dreams. 

Nivens does not require clients to have a minimum 

amount of assets that can be invested. Rather, his qualification 

as a certified personality tester allows him to determine 

if he and the potential client could build the type of working 

relationship together, through which Nivens’ investment 

advice would be followed. 

“I choose my clients based on possible relationship quality,” 

he said. “A simple way of explaining this is, when I 

meet someone, I ask myself, ‘Is this someone I would enjoy 

having dinner with?’ If so, then they become my client. 

If not, then I refer them to 

someone else.” 

“An effective advisor/client 

working relationship is 

critical in today’s market,” 

Nivens said. He notes that 

the Dow Jones is at record 

highs, leading him to believe 

demographers who 

are warning that the second 

part of the Great Recession, 

which should have taken 

place in 2008, Nivens said, 

“Is still on its way – to cause 

an even larger market correction 

than previously experienced.” 

“This is the time that people ought to be looking for floors 

for safety. I strongly encourage them to seek safety and be 

very selective regarding how they invest their money,” Nivens 

said, adding that professional advice can often mitigate 

at least some risk. “As Will Rogers said, ‘I’m not as concerned 

about the return on my money as I am the return of 

my money.’ Only half of the Great Recession occurred. The 

second half of it is still coming.” 

Ensuring that return of money for his clients – especially 

the ones entering their retirement years and beginning the 

account drawdown period – is constantly on his mind. It is 


part of why he attained a certification 

in accredited estate planning as well as 

testing to become an approved National 

Social Security Advisor. 

In doing so, he learned more about 

the role women play in long-term asset 

management. “Statistically speaking, 

most husbands die before their wives 

do,” he said. “Many did not manage 

the family finances during their marriages. 

Many need significant guidance, 

reassurance and education.” 

His training also reinforced a concept 

he’s held for quite some time: That 

unfortunately it isn’t all that uncommon 

to find folks headed into retirement 

without all three legs properly 

attached to that financial three-legged 

stool often referenced by academics 

and professionals in the financial services 

field. 

“Generally speaking, there are three 

areas of assets to help in retirement: 

Social security, pensions or 401K assets 

and personal assets,” Nivens explains. 

“Rarely do I find any person who is 

strong in each of these three areas. If 

you consider that there are three legs 

to a stool but most people have only 

two legs on that stool, then it does not 

make for very comfortable seating.” 

Reinforcing each leg of the stool and 

equalizing each leg’s financial supportive 

abilities requires planning, 

perseverance, a lot of communication 

and a long-term view. He spends a 

great deal of time on client education 

via newsletters, quarterly meetings 

and blogging. 

Despite being himself a member of 

an older generation, Nivens embraces 

social media for his business. Yet, his 

take on social media quickly reveals 

an old-fashioned common sense approach. 

“My Daddy taught me how to fish 

and when we went fishing, he never 

used just one hook. He always had 

multiple poles, and a rod and reel, and 

a trout line. He had multiple hooks 

in the water and we always ate well,” 

Nivens said. “Likewise, what he taught 

me about being successful in the water 

– I apply that same approach now to 

having a strong mix of social media.” 

Power leads to corruption, and absolute 

power corrupts absolutely! This 

adage is true for countries, corporations, 

and even small companies. It is 

true in the North, East, West and even 

in the South. 

Blind Ambition in the Modern South 

C. Ernie Nivens knows the real South, 

the Modern South. His 20 plus years 

as a Methodist Minister and 24 years 

as a Professionally Advanced Personal 

Wealth Strategist has given him a 

unique look into the hearts and dreams 

of Southern people, rich and poor. 

If murder is performed by individuals 

or by cultural, national greed it is 

still bloddy murder! In Southern Fried 

Hope you will meet both murderers 

face to face. 

Southern Fried Hope is for people 

who like mysteries, southern literature, 

and indigenized characters. 

This is the South that you have never 

met. This is the South that national 

leaders fear! 

Eston, an indigenized Negro character, 

reveals the truth about his ancestors. 

Greedy ambition by a Southern Bubba 

leads to self-destruction. 

Published by: 

Evangel Publisher, LLC 

1348 Ebenezer Road, Suite 103 

Rock Hill, SC 29732 

ISBN: 978-0-9887467-0-1 

Southern Fried Hope Excerpt 

In one move, Robbie grabbed the 

warm handle of his cast iron frying 

pan and like a tennis racket. He 

swings it around, and strikes Brian 

squarely on the side of his head, right 

at the temple. THWAHNG! 

Brian goes down like a cut tree, collapses 

on the floor. 

Mrs. Shealy rising, screams, "What 

are you doing? What have you done? 

What are you doing? You've hurt my 

son!" 

Mrs. Shealy steps toward Brian. 

Robbie winds up, swings the cast 

iron pan and hits Ms. Shealy upside 

the head as well. THWAHNG! She 

falls on top of her son. 

In a second, her breathing stops. 

Robbie takes several deep breaths, 

checks Brian for a pulse. 

"No, he's as dead as road-kill opossum." 

He checks Ms. Shealy's pulse. "Oh, 

bless her dear heart. At least she went 

home with Brian. They're home together. 

She's gone." 

Robbie reaches into the pantry, sees 

a box of black trash bags, and fluffs 

one open, puts several more bags in 

it. He then sticks the frying pan in it, 

wraps it up, puts it under his coat, 

holding the handle with his hand. 

He shields the pan under his arm 

so it cannot be seen under his coat. 

He grabs two fried chicken legs and 

pockets them. 



Transparency: 

Potentially Overwhelming 

As the legislated mandates of 

Dodd-Frank and the voluntary 

requirements of the Basel III agreement 

take hold in the nation’s financial 

services sector, increased transparency 

is the intended result. Under 

the Title IX provisions of Dodd-Frank, 

a stricter series of investor protection 

requirements were created. While 

financial advisors welcome investor 

protection, some do question whether 

the tsunami of paperwork and electronic 

communication now required 

for compliance with these updated 

regulations is truly in the best interest 

of the investing consumer. 

Doug Howes is one of those financial 

advisors considering the implications. 

He is the CEO of the independent 

financial services firm Sapphire 


Andover, Massachusetts. 

“In our experience the outcome of 

these regulations has created a new 

issue,” Howes notes. He agrees that 

clients should be fully informed regarding 

their personal money choices. 

It’s important – and full disclosure 

is something the team at Sapphire 

Wealth has been doing since the inception 

of the firm in 2005. However, 

he has a few concerns regarding the 

latest developments in this area from 

a regulatory standpoint. 

“On the surface, you would think 

it is a positive. However, in order 

to adhere to the current regulations 

for transparency, it requires considerably 

more disclosure. This has led 

to significantly more information being 

delivered to the clients’ mail and 

in-boxes. Our clients have expressed 

to us how this can be overwhelming. 

I am not 100 percent convinced that 

transparency as it looks today – and 

I agree that transparency is necessary 

– but as it looks today, is not doing 

more harm than good.” 

He says this because his greatest 

concern is that the sheer volume of 

paperwork and email being sent to 

clients could cause already information-saturated 

clients to overlook the 

one vital document that truly does require 

their attention. 

This is one of the reasons he remains 

in constant contact with the clients 

of the firm. Initially, his goal was 

to build a firm based on exceptional 

client relationships. It was something 

his grandfather – a man who spent 

his career in the service industry – 

had always advised him to do. 

“He told me to be friends with my 

clients, and to ALWAYS do and recommend 

what is in their best interest 

and not my own,” Howes recalls. 

From the onset of Sapphire Wealth, 

Howes’ philosophy has been to synergize 

the high quality research skills 

he learned while working with Putnam 

Investments and MetLife with 

strict adherence to compliance, all 

the while remaining committed to 

fostering earnest relationships with 


With the utmost of 

integrity, we take great 

pride in assisting our 

clients in achieving their 

financial dreams by 

crafting comprehensive, 

personalized, and welldefined 

plans that are 

tailored to their precise 

needs and wants. 

their clients. In the early years of 

the business, transactions were 

commission based. As the relationships 

developed, he came to 

realize clients were seeking more 

than a transaction. They wanted 

a partnership, they wanted their 

own personal CFO. For regulatory 

reasons the relationship had to 

be redefined as an advisory relationship 

or fee for service versus 

the old commission for product 

design. After additional research 

regarding the working of feebased 

models, Howes quickly 

found out that his inklings regarding 

his client’s wants were 

verifiable on a national, state and 

local level. 

“It validated our own thinking, 

and so from there we began the 

process of transitioning our approach 

from a commission-based 

relationship to a fee-based relationship,” 

Howes said. 

In 2013, Sapphire Wealth successfully 

increased its client base 

by 13.86 percent, with nearly 85 

percent of those new clients being 

referrals from existing clients. 

Howes attributes much of the 

firm’s success to the team’s upfront 

and earnest approach to 

people. It starts with the initial 

interview process in which both 

he and the potential new clients 

are given the opportunity to interview 

and evaluate one another. 

“It’s our Discovery Process,” he 

explains. “It is rather simple. Do our 

services align with the goals they are 

trying to achieve? Can we meet their expectations? 

Do our personalities work 

well together?” 

“The fit has to be right to weather 

storms like the modern day Great Recession,” 

Howes said, noting that the 

bulk of investors have not forgotten the 

trying times of 2008 and 2009. He 

explained that the residual effect 

was that investors revisited the 

true meaning of risk. Many have 

moved to more risk-based strategies 

for the management of their 

portfolios. 

After thorough review, Howes 

incorporated a more evidence based 

philosophy grounded in academic research 

into his analysis and has been 

introducing, when appropriate, many 

of his clients to the services of third 

party money managers like the San 

Jose, California based company Loring 

Ward. 

With his focus on preserving the 

financial dreams and goals of his clients, 

Howes refers to the structure of 

his firm as a three legged stool. 

The firm itself is the first leg – the 

leg that builds the relationship with 

the client, recommends and implements 

strategies. The second leg is 

the broker/dealer with whom the 

transactions occur. But more importantly, 

Howes explains, the second leg 

also serves as an independent compliance 

counsel. 

“We could do it ourselves, but there 

is a bias there,” he said in regard to 

self-regulating the compliance procedures 

of his firm. “We don’t think it 

makes much sense to have an internal 

compliance team when outside counsel 

is available and has proven to be 

effective.” 

The third leg is the custodian contracted 

by the firm. The custodian is 

independent of the firm and the broker/dealer, 

adding yet another layer 

of support for their clients. 

This concept of the three-legged 

stool helps Howes sleep well at night. 

He knows that even if the unthinkable 

should happen to him, his client’s will 

not be left without support. Howes’ 

focus on his clients’ best interest runs 

so deep that he has even established 

an agreement with another local 

wealth advising firm to step into his 

role in the event of his untimely death 

or disability. 

Doing this also allows him to do 

what he does best – focus on his clients 

and how to best serve them. 

One advantage to Howes’ model 

is that it lends itself well to allowing 

Howes the necessary time to thoroughly 

research and analyze wealth 

management strategies. Those retired 

clients who were with the firm during 

2008 and 2009 learned first-hand the 

importance of this research. Howes 

has long believed in the model of 

segmenting a client’s assets once they 

achieve retirement. By doing so Howes 

strives to create lasting streams of 

retirement income while focusing on 

minimizing risk. He tells us that one 

of his greatest industry successes occurred 

when the market collapsed. 

This event exposed the true benefit 

of the retirement income model he 

calls “asset segmentation” or “the 

buckets”. During that period, with 

the use of client appropriate income 

annuities, none of those retired clients 

experienced adjustments to their 

monthly incomes. 

“Like most investors we experienced 

losses in the overall portfolio 

of these clients, but the great victory 

was that they felt no impact on their 

incomes.” 

That is a success, indeed. 

www.SapphireWealthLLC.com 

The pathway to your family's financial Security 

One Tech Dive Suite 210 Andover, MA 01810 800.385.7640 


STAYING THE COURSE 

It took Austin Lewis a few 

years to seriously consider 

an offer to leave his work as 

an attorney to become a personal 

wealth advisor – but he’s glad 

he did it. 

“I went over to the other 

side,” Lewis said. “I enjoyed 

being a lawyer for many years, 

but serving clients in this role 

is even more rewarding. I think my legal background provides 

an interesting perspective and distinguishes me from 

a lot of other advisors.” 

Now as the founder and president of his own firm, Lewis 

Wealth Management, in Littleton, Colorado, Lewis said he 

seeks clients who are willing to openly share their goals and 

aspirations, and even more willing to partner with him in 

working to achieve those goals. 

“The true value of an advisor is not the incremental investment 

return that you get for your clients, although that 

is important,” Lewis said. “The true value of an advisor is 

the quality of advice given to clients in all areas of their financial 

lives and in helping them avoid the devastating financial 

mistakes that people tend to make. By playing good 

defense, you can really help them achieve their long-term 

objectives.” 

Lewis points to the market drop during the early days of 

the Great Recession as an example. Many investors hit the 

panic button, fled 

the markets and 

never came back. 

Advising clients 

during this time 

was a challenge 

and they were in need of good advice. Lewis said that his 

clients stayed the course and came out ahead. Having a 

properly designed investment portfolio with some measure 

of downside protection certainly helped. 

“I had some really difficult conversations with clients 

during that time. In my role as an attorney, I was used to 

working with clients during the most stressful periods of 

their lives. That skill set really helped,” Lewis said. 

“The clients who remained disciplined were rewarded in 

the long run and they are still on track to meet their longterm 

goals. It was very gratifying to help clients during this 

time and see them come out on top.” 

26 W. Dry Creek Circle, Suite 510 

Littleton, CO 80120 

www.lewiswm.com 


MOTIVATED CLIENTS ALWAYS WELCOME 

Entrepreneurs and small business 

owners often simply cannot afford 

to keep full-time specialists in financial 

matters on their payroll. Yet, the 

success of firms often depends on making 

informed decisions in these areas. 

For small companies in the Southern 

Tier of New York along the state’s border 

with Pennsylvania, an Endicott, New 

York-based firm meets that need. 

“This business has been the culmination of life experiences 

for me,” explains Cindy Rounds, owner and president of 

Wealth by Design Financial. “I had family members who 

were entrepreneurs. And on the other side, I had family 

members who worked for corporations. So I saw the differences 

between – and challenges of – being self-employed 

versus working for a big company very early in my life.” 

When her father died at age 43, she witnessed the distress 

her mother experienced. Rounds says it was the “big 

reason” that pulled her into the financial services business 

and she continues to be especially supportive of women’s 

unique financial issues. 

In addition to providing services for small businesses, 

Rounds also helps individuals and families, and understands 

the complicated, often unexpected transitions they 

face. After working in human resources, handling defined 

benefit pension and retirement plans for the health industry, 

and then with an insurance firm specializing in retirement 

plans, Rounds gained first-hand knowledge of how 

confused most people are regarding their benefits and planning 

for their golden years. 

A couple of years later, she formed her own firm to address 

this big problem as well. “I saw that very few people 

– no matter their financial status – were aware of what they 

had for retirement packages until the day they walked in 

my door and said, ‘I want to retire, what am I going to get 

every month?’” Rounds recalls. 

“I felt there was much 

more consumer education 

to be done and so I pursued my 

licenses.” 

Rounds’ focus today is to prepare 

savings plans that clients can 

stick to, by taking their current expenses 

and expenditures into account, and then seeking 

some simple ways to help them cut costs and fatten their 

retirement accounts. She likes to give clients a three-month 

trial period to evaluate the plan’s effectiveness. 

“If they feel that they can’t do it, then we need to change 

it, so that it produces an outcome that is not only favorable 

toward their savings, but also something they can live 

with,” Rounds said. “I look for people who are motivated 

and committed to the process. If the person in front of me is 

ready to take on the challenge – ready to do the work and 

get some education, I am happy to take them on.” 

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC 

423 East Main Street, Suite 3 

Endicott, New York 13760 

Office Phone: (607) 239-6033 

www.wealthbydesignfinancial.com 



Simple Plans Empower Clients 

At the year marker since the SEC made sweeping changes in the daily operations of broker-dealers, 

these additional responsibilities – including the requirement that money markets at brokerage firms 

be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – continue to give financial advisors 

a level of comfort many have not experienced since before the Great Recession. 

Christine Byrne, CEO of 

Back Cove Financial in 

Falmouth, Maine, affiliated 

with Commonwealth Financial 

Network, is one of those 

advisors feeling slightly 

more secure about the operations 

of the market. 

“One thing reassuring me 

is that now the money markets 

at most brokerage firms 

are FDIC insured,” she said. 

“The collapse of Lehman 

Brothers shook up a lot of 

firms. They were suddenly 

saying, ‘we need to protect 

our clients’ cash to their expectations.” 

And Byrne likes what she 

sees, as investors go back to 

basics and harbor more realistic 

expectations towards 

long-term performance. As 

the market continues to stabilize, 

strong corporate balance 

sheets and global economic 

opportunities gives 

her additional confidence to 

ease the concerns of her clients. 

To Byrne, her clients aren’t 

just the people she happens 

to do business with. 

Each one is a relationship 

she carefully tends, just as a 

gardener tends new plants, 

maintaining close communications 

with each one as they 

give the relationship time 

to take root and ultimately 

bloom. 

These healthy relationships 

produce results, in the 

form of referrals that Byrne 

can use to grow the firm. 

“One hundred percent of 

my clients are from referrals. 

Over the course of my career 

I have (also) bought some 

practices from gentlemen 

here who have retired.” 

Her goal is to create a welcoming 

atmosphere in her 

office that encourages clients 

to “just stop by” even when 

they don’t have quarterly or 

annual investment or insurance 

review appointments. 

“I want clients to know this 

is a warm, open place – and 

I want them never to hesitate 

calling when things happen 

in their lives,” she said. 

Her approach to managing 

client’s investments is simple. 

Byrne does not load clients 

down with cumbersome 

financial jargon and reams 

of long-winded investment 

strategy explanations 

destined to get filed 

in a cabinet without 

the client ever reading 

past page two. 

“The plans I put together 

for clients are 

pretty short and concise, 

with bullet points 

rather than pages and 

pages of things they 

may not want to follow,” 

she said. “I tell 

them, okay, take this 

– this is your action 

plan.” 

After spending 

eight years working in Massachusetts 

with Commonwealth 

Financial Network, 

Byrne has been working in 

Maine’s largest metro area 

since 2001. She has her MBA 

from Boston College, and 

holds the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority (FIN- 

RA) securities registrations 

numbers 7, 24, 63 and 65, as 

well as being a chartered retirement 

plans specialist and 

holds insurance licenses for 

Maine and Massachusetts. 

www.backcovefinancial.com 



A DISCIPLINED APPROACH 

Makes Money Last 

Turn on the radio in any American city and you won’t need to listen long before you 

hear ample advice regarding financial matters. The portability of radio makes it a natural 

means for financial advisors to connect with commuting listeners during the weekday 

morning and evening rush hours. 

But if you happen to find yourself 

in the greater Atlanta area at 11 

a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday 

morning, you might consider tuning 

in to “News Talk” at 1160 on the AM 

dial. 

That’s when you will hear Kenny J. 

Baer, senior wealth manager and partner 

with Baer Wealth Management 

who along with his co-host Patrick K. 

Maffett, an investment strategist with 

the firm, discuss whatever financial 

matters callers want to talk about on 

their show, “The Money Gurus.” 

For Baer, the show is an efficient and 

convenient format for getting in touch 

with those outside of his current client 

base. It is also one way of taking the 

financial temperature and pulse of the 

community. 

Frequently, what he hears 

is cause for great alarm to a financial 

services professional. 

“The most pressing need I 

regularly hear, is that callers 

just have a lack of savings, 

with not enough retirement 

assets to live from,” Baer explains. 

“They do not really 

have an understanding of 

how inflation is going to factor 

into the performance of 

their portfolios.” 

He recognizes how challenging 

it is for the average person to 

sort through all of the financial news 

that comes blasting at them from the 

Internet, as well as via radio, television, 

newspapers and magazines. 

“They hear all this noise from the 

media, which can only be further confusing,” 

he said. “Many just don’t have 

any idea of what it all means. Then 


they don’t want to think about it– and 

hope it all works out.” 

Baer well knows how that kind of 

plan is not a plan at all. He and Maffett 

encourage callers to seek professional 

assistance for piecing together 

a framework, crafted from 

their existing financial assets such as 

employer-sponsored retirement, social 

security benefits as well as other 

non-retirement assets. Realizing the 

weekly show isn’t enough to guide 

someone through financial planning, 

Baer feels it is at least a start – an outreach 

– that can better inform people 

of their needs and hopefully prompt 

them to contact an advisor. 

“Every person needs a picture of 

how their money – how their assets – 

should be distributed throughout their 

lifetime to ensure they have income 

that lasts,” Baer insisted. 

That need is more relevant today as 

the American lifespan increases. In the 

past, many Americans were fortunate 

if they enjoyed a mere ten years of retirement. 

“Today,” he said, “as many 

Americans live to be 90 or more years 

of age, a 25 to 30 year retirement is no 

longer uncommon.” 

Baer checks regularly to see if a client’s 

nest egg is big enough by running 

inflation calculators. These can illustrate 

what the purchasing power of 

today’s money will be tomorrow. He 

also talks to clients about the typical 

life cycle of retirement. 

“In their first years of retirement, 

most clients tend to spend perhaps 

even more money than they used to 

when working, because they travel 

a lot,” he notes. “Then in the middle 

years of retirement, they settle down. 

They aren’t spending as much then. 

But during the end years of retirement, 

much more tends to get spent because 

of health-related issues. So, we make 

sure we are building a spending plan 

around those needs, constantly monitoring 

and talking – and seeing how 

that plan is evolving.” 

As one example, Baer references 

an extremely healthy client currently 

living in Florida who has been retired 

since 1987. Careful planning has 

allowed the client to achieve this independence. 

Another client, now 15 

years into retirement, is in the same 

boat, but with more than enough money 

to last, according to Baer. “(This client) 

plays golf four days a week and 

tennis three times a week,” he said.The 

same was the case with a client with 

whom his father – and founder of Baer 

Wealth Management, William E. Baer 

– worked for 30 plus years. Kenny 

Baer says “I have worked with them 

now for the past ten years and they 

are living their retirement years quite 

comfortably.” 

Achieving this takes a disciplined 

approach to investing. 

“Oftentimes, clients can get caught 

up in all the statistics out there,” Baer 

said. “They ask questions such as, 

‘How did my portfolio do?’ or ‘How 

am I performing in the current market?’ 

And what we do is to play the 

role of keeping them in a disciplined 

approach that will get them to their 

ultimate goal. We manage their money 

to that goal and not necessarily with 

the goal of beating the market.” 

Baer keeps the bulk of client assets – 

close to 99 percent of what the firm has 

under management – in mutual funds 

and exchange-traded funds. Only 

rarely, and after very careful scrutiny, 

does he recommend that a client invest 

in limited partnerships. 

“Every person needs a picture of how their 

money – how their assets – should be distributed 

throughout their lifetime to ensure they have 

income that lasts,” - Kenny Baer 

“We have to gain a full understanding 

of what the principals of any limited 

partnership we consider are doing,” 

Baer said. “We do full background 

checks. We expect them to hand over 

all of their personal information for 

verification. And we make sure that 

the principals have the same amount 

of investment in the limited partnership 

as they are recommending that 

our client take on.” 

“Looking at the success of our clients 

– those are the greatest successes 

of my career.” 

101 Village Parkway, Bldg 1, Suite 200 

Marietta, GA 30067 

www.baerwealth.com 



Guiding Investor 

Risk Tolerance After 2008 

Solomon Chemo, CFP® 

Managing Partner 

Phone: 718-351-1161 

3117 Richmond Road, Suite 2 

Staten Island, NY 10306 

www.richmondgroupwa.com 

Our mission is to deliver and execute the most comprehensive strategy for our 

clients, to create a synergistic team environment, to have each member continue 

to enhance his or her abilities and role within the group, to effectively 

communicate our abilities to the community, and to efficiently balance our 

careers with our personal lives. 

As he thought back to the financial 

crisis that emerged as 

George W. Bush ended his second 

presidential term in 2008, 

Solomon Chemo, Managing Partner of The 

Richmond Group Wealth Advisors, LLC, 

said, “No one thought we would be in that 

situation. It was a time of uncertainty for 

everyone. We did everything we could to 

manage our clients’ portfolios and their 

plans while not knowing what tomorrow 

would bring. But, we assured them that 

we were going to get them through it.” 

His dedication was bolstered by words his 

father had once told him: “Anybody can 

perform well when things are going well, 

but it takes a true leader to perform when 

things are going bad.” 

“ 

So you're seriously 

thinking about 

retirement... 

As symptoms of the failing 

economy set in, financial 

advisors and clients 

alike began to experience 

the potent side effects of 

investment risk. What 

seemed to be a superficial 

economic wound would 

turn into a critical injury 

– and the country wondered 

when the bleeding 

would stop. Chemo, a 

Certified Financial Planner®, 

observes that while 

the pain has eased somewhat, 

the after-effects of 

2008 remain, leaving clients 

still very sensitive to 

capital losses. 

Today, some people are 

hedging risk altogether – 

but that, too, comes at a price. Some fear they 

may outlive their money due to healthcare 

costs, inflation, low interest rates, high market 

volatility and an unstable global economy. 

This is a challenge for financial advisors 

and while Chemo doesn’t recommend that 

people throw caution to the wind, he does 

emphasize longevity statistics. “If we look 

at mortality risk compared to investment 

risk, it puts things in a different perspective. 

Some clients aren’t taking enough risk which 

they need to in order to meet their goals for 

the long-term,” Chemo explained. 

Chemo does have a way of looking into 

the future. The Richmond Group is part of 

the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, 

and able to use the Envision® process – a sophisticated 

statistical model that helps them 

determine the probability of clients outliving 

their money. “This allows us to come back 

to the present day and put a plan together 

to do what needs to be done to reach a client’s 

goals. It is an ongoing process, and if a 

client’s life situation changes, we revisit the 

plan,” said Chemo. 

Based on Staten Island, The Richmond 

Group Wealth Advisors, LLC., provides individuals 

and institutions comprehensive investment 

services, retirement programs and 

a broad range of services specifically tailored 

to the needs of executives, businesses and retirees. 

The firm takes great care in customizing 

financial strategies tailored to help each 

client achieve their immediate and long term 

goals. This team of professionals believe that 

each clients’ relationship begins with integrity. 

The foundation of their practice is their 

commitment in helping their clients to ensure 

that their future is secure. Consistently 

working on the clients’ service experience, 

The Richmond Group is guided, yet again, 

by the words of Chemo’s father, “Always put 

the clients’ interests above everything else.” 



CUTTING 

Through 

the 

Clutter 

While Securities and 

Exchange Commission 

Chairman, Mary Jo 

White is urging her fellow SEC 

Commissioners to decide whether 

a uniform fiduciary standard 

should be mandatory for both 

brokers and investment advisors, 

Steve Luparello, director of the 

SEC's Division of Trading and 

Markets, presented a dose of reality 

when speaking on the topic at 

FINRA’s annual conference. “Being 

on the agenda for 2014 and 

getting it done for 2014 are two 

completely different things," he 

said, according to the Wall Street 

Journal. 

David Hamra, Principal of Gordian 

Advisors based in Tucson, 

Arizona, would like to 

see brokers held to the same legal fiduciary 

standard as his independent 

financial planning and investment 

advisory firm is, but like Luparello, 

he is skeptical that it will happen. 

“We take our fiduciary obligation 

very seriously. Regardless of how 

many safeguards are in place, the 

real backstop is a genuine, sincere interest 

in making sure things are done 

properly,” said Hamra – explaining 

that his firm doesn’t take any short 

cuts, cut any corners, or take any liberties 

with their clients’ resources. 

“Frankly, what makes me the most 

uncomfortable is if a client says, ‘I 

understand what you’re doing and I 

don’t even look at my mail from the 

third-party custodian.’ We always 

take a step back and explain to that 

client how much we appreciate their 

trust, but that they need to be diligent 

regardless.” 

Gordian Advisors derives its name 

from the Greek legend of the Gordian 

Knot. It seems a cart was tied outside 

the temple by Gordius, in gratitude 

for being made ruler of the city, and 

all who attempted to untie it were 

unsuccessful. Along came Alexander 

the Great – and with one quick slash 

of his sword he sliced right through 

the mighty knot, which fell to pieces 

and was rendered powerless. Thinking 

outside the box earned Alexander 

the title of King of Asia. 

“Likewise, Gordian Advisors is 

committed to cutting through the 

clutter and confusion of today’s investment 

environment and focusing 

on straightforward techniques to 

help clients reach their goals,” said 

Hamra. Working primarily with individuals 

and small businesses in 

areas of investment management, 

retirement and estate planning, the 

firm also provides financial counsel 

for funding college, income management 

and navigating divorce. 

“We think clients are most concerned 

about whether their finances 

are helping them meet their goals. 

Obviously, the portfolio is the fundamental 

part of that,” said Hamra who 

explains that chasing Alpha is not a 

top priority. “We don’t de-emphasize 

the portfolio, but we make it clear 

that the portfolio is the byproduct of 

all the other financial issues in their 

lives – and because of that, a conservative 

investment approach fits very 

well.” 

*David Hamra, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL 

PLANNER and a Certified Divorce Financial 

Analyst, has published a series of articles 

on investment and personal financial management. 

Gordian Advisors 

2482 E. River Road 

Tucson, Arizona 85718-6522 

Phone: 520-615-2779 

www.gordianadvisors.com 



LEARNING FROM 

MISTAKES 

EARLY CAREER 

LESSONS GUIDE 

WEALTH MANAGER 

Eric Nelson, Co-founder and CEO 

www.servowealth.com 

A recent “Yahoo! Finance” article detailing how to select 

a financial advisor, focused several sections on the importance 

of finding an advisor who does the homework 

necessary to ensure that client assets are properly invested 

into asset classes that match their risk tolerance 

and growth requirements for future income. 

It’s a lesson Eric Nelson, a Chartered Financial 

Analyst (CFA) and co-founder and CEO 

of Servō Wealth Management, LLC, based in 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, learned long before 

he and his wife, Paige established their 

own wealth management firm in 2012. 

Nelson shares a humbling experience from 

the early years of his career, because it demonstrates 

just how much his approach to managing 

client assets has changed. After leaving 

college 15 years ago – with a degree in economics 

from Hobart College in Geneva, New 

York on the edge of the Finger Lakes region in 

hand – Nelson had little knowledge or experience 

in investing. 

“I did not understand the inner workings of 

the stock market or asset allocation techniques 

that well,” Nelson said of his early career 

working at a full commission brokerage firm, 

and later in the investment group of a large 

regional bank where he and Paige met. “I really 

wasn’t even that well versed with mutual 

funds.” 

Nelson was employed at Paine Webber in 

a sales-based investment culture, when his 

parents approached him in early 2000 with a 

small Roth account and a bank CD that had 

matured. They wanted him to make an investment 

decision for them. Admitting that 

he took the easy way out back then, he simply 

went down the hall to query older, more 

experienced brokers as to what he should 

recommend. Two out of three of those whose 

opinions he solicited named the same fund, 

and after being told of its stellar performance 

during the previous year, Nelson figured he 

had a winner. 

He was wrong. 

As he watched that investment decline 

nearly 75 percent during the next three years, 

Nelson’s relationship with Mom and Dad also 

became a bit rocky. 

“Instead of spending the time and doing the 

research necessary to figure out what would 

be a good investment for an account like this, 

I just walked down the hall,” he laments. “I 

should have asked, ‘How should I invest 

money for an older couple in their early 60s 

who are a bit more conservative?’ I didn’t go 

through that thought process. I did not spend 

the time educating myself on what the best 

recommendation would have been in that 

specific situation.” 

It took time, but Nelson’s relationship with 


APPROACH 

DISCOVERY 

We spend whatever time 

necessary learning what is 

unique about your financial 

situation, experience, 

goals and resources. A 

brief introduction to our 

Asset Class approach to 

managing portfolios is 

also covered. 

PLANNING 

his parents repaired itself and he actively 

sought a much different approach to 

advising clients. Knowing that he had 

burned his own flesh and blood, Nelson 

decided that if he was going to remain in 

the business of providing financial advice, 

he couldn’t make a repeat performance. 

He had to learn methodologies based on 

well-regarded investment theory and evidence, 

not those that were sales driven. 

“That was the catalyst for me,” Nelson 

recalls. “I learned from the experience 

that I cannot just depend on what some 

brokerage firm is telling me to do. To this 

day, when I am presented with a situation 

where a new prospect has a scenario 

that I may not be familiar with, I am not 

going to just throw out some off-the-cuff 

solution. I am going to spend a good bit 

of time reading up on what the evidence 

says is the best thing to do in that situation.” 

By 2002, the former star Hobart basketball 

player and his wife, Paige, moved to 

her Oklahoma City hometown, going to 

work for Charles Schwab – the same firm 

that today provides custodial services for 

MANAGEMENT 

Servo clients. While at Schwab, Nelson 

attained the prestigious Chartered Financial 

Analyst designation. Five years after 

first joining Schwab, he moved over to a 

registered investment advisory also in 

Oklahoma City. Within a year, friends 

had convinced him to move to San Francisco, 

California, where Nelson spent 

three years with Equius Partners. 

With each move, Nelson was gaining 

valuable experience, additional investment 

expertise and a bigger, loyal band of 

clients who followed him, while keeping 

Schwab as their custodian. 

“The advice did not change and the 

custodian did not change, just Eric’s employer 

changed, is how client’s viewed 

the moves,” Nelson said. 

When it became increasingly clear that 

perhaps the couple could begin their own 

firm, Nelson finally had the experience 

and confidence to take the plunge in 2012 

with 10 clients and $20 million in assets 

under management. “It’s the bare minimum 

necessary to pay the bills and keep 

a firm running,” he admits, also noting 

that, “it was pretty skinny there just a couple 

of years ago.” Now, in 2014, the firm 

has 25 clients from across the continental 

United States, with more than $52 million 

in assets under management. 

Nelson keeps building the firm through 

referrals from existing clients and by continually 

blogging, creating an awareness 

of the Servo brand, with an emphasis on 

educating prospects and current clients 

regarding the importance of evidence and 

goals-based, long-term investing. While 

the firm has more than doubled in its first 

two years, it still has room to grow, with a 

goal of 125 to 150 long-term clients. 

“I look at our job as swimming upstream 

against the financial media who 

are constantly inundating investors with 

short-term oriented market timing noise 

and nuisance – and not what they should 

be looking at,” Nelson emphasized. “The 

one thing I can promise people when 

they come on board with me, is that I 

have been doing this for almost two decades 

and can help clients from making 

the same mistakes that I have made in the 

past – giving them a leg up.” 


Promoting World-Changing Innovation 

By Judy Magness 

The 2013 Halo Report published by the Angel Resource 

Institute sheds light on current U.S. trends in angel 

investing: “Healthcare, mobile, and internet start-ups 

claim nearly 80% of angel group dollars.” California leads 

the field, followed by the Great Lakes area in share of deals 

by region. 

Angel investing is just one funding source used by Birmingham 

Consulting Group Inc., a Michigan-based firm 

specializing in corporate profitability and management 

consulting. In addition, they use traditional sources such as 

banks and IPO facilitators. 

“We try to help entrepreneurs and inventors, who may 

not have a lot of business expertise, to get funding and get 

their businesses organized,” explained Charles Townsend, 

CPA and president of the firm. “We try to get involved in 

things that are really important to the world.” 

A rundown of current projects shows how Birmingham 

Consulting Group is doing just that. One client’s invention 

addresses what Townsend calls one of the most fundamental 

problems facing our world – the lack of potable water. 

The client holds a patent on an improved waste-water treatment 

system that can cut operating costs of a treatment 

plant by up to 30 percent. Other innovative projects represented 

by the firm include: 

• A process to 

convert from 2-D to 

3-D television viewing 

without wearing 

special glasses. 

• Heating school buses without using the current 

method of lighting a fire underneath them. 

• A mammogram device, currently in FDA testing, 

that is far more accurate, much less intrusive and less expensive 

than existing devices. 

• An electric short haul truck costing less than a gasoline 

truck of the same capacity. 

• A nanotube covering that extends the life of fighter 

jet canopies by protecting them from UV rays. 

Birmingham Consulting Group also specializes in estate 

planning and in unusual investment options such as unregistered 

business investments, currency holdings, physical 

asset allocation and real estate options. 

330 E. Maple #287 

Birmingham, MI 48009 

ph: 248-563-5368 

www.bcg84.com 

Financial Advisors for Middle Americans 

When Patricia Raskob, and worth. Over a period of time under the sors have an active presence on social 

her business partner, Patricia 

Kambourian, Financial launched Leaders 

Arizona to reach their financial goals and Facebook, and Twitter. “We find we are 

guidance of the firm, they have gone media including LinkedIn, Google+, 

Promotion 

Raskob Kambourian Financial Advisors, 

LTD., in 1986, they wanted to “We classify ourselves as life plan- 

found us on the web. It has made a dif- 

objectives. 

getting people in their 30’s who have 

work with middle income 

Comprehensive 

families and ners,” said 

Financial 

Raskob. “We look 

Planners 

at not just 

Address 

ference and has drawn some younger 

did not set a minimum portfolio All size— the Things the assets That that we Make manage, Life but what Enjoyable clients,” shared Raskob. Yet, referrals 

but they did set minimum fees. This makes life worth living, and the kinds still rank number one. “Our best referrals 

come from our happy clients.” 

Raskob Kambourian Financial Advisors, Ltd. 

was a gutsy move then, and it is just as of things you want to accomplish before 

investing heavily you in local leave charities. this The Better world, Business Bureau and awarded who the firm the you 2011 

gutsy today. 

she said, adding that the firm serves 

espite unprecedented 

market 

alist multi-generations could possibly offer.” of 38 families. 

expertise no single gener- 

Currently, solid financial planning 

Dvolatility, one 

for Middle America is hard group to of come investors is by. 

Not As Just Financial the only fee-only comprehensive 

More often than not, financial unusually advisory 

confident 

Planning financial – Life advisory entity registered 

about their life plans. 

Planning 

firms welcome people with In 1986 a minimum 

these individuals 

and families began 

Southern Arizona’s only 

with Raskob Kambourian the SEC is in Tucson and Southern 

of $250,000 in manageable assets—this 

Arizona, Raskob Kambourian Financial 

planning Advisors financial is also well-known for 

working with Tucson, 

“fee only” comprehensive 

leaves average Americans Arizona-based to fend Raskob for 

life 

Kambourian Financial 

advisory entity registered 

themselves. 

Advisors, Ltd. As Patricia 

with their SEC assistance and the to non-profit organizations. 

such company in 

Both Raskob and Kambourian F. Raskob, CFP and are 

first 

her team helped them 

the state. The firm takes 

Certified Financial Planners®, navigate through booms, and 

a holistic approach that 

expansions and crises, the The Raskob Kambourian staff is committed to making southern Arizona a better place by coordinates every aspect 

they hold additional prestigious credentials. 

They have numerous the uncertainty caused suc- 

by want which were founded to benefit and directed by staff when members. you are gone. We life, including trust and 

level of trust grew. Even “Good Neighbor” Torch Award for its support of philanthropic organizations, several of of a client’s financial 

the 9/11 attacks elicited 

custodial services as the 

cess stories about helping only the two phone average calls from concerned protect futures Raskob Kambourian’s by doing collegial business the savings area’s only National Advisors Trust 

Joe—and they don’t mind investors. them Today, young 85 percent of and the firm’s planning model is a rarity that in the clients financial services need, but we 

referral base is from satisfied clients who industry. Raskob calls her team the “Best 

either. The firm has worked recommend with Raskob college 

students who recently graduated 

goals in the present.” 

Kambourian also to help of them Best Minds” fulfill in the field their – eight life dreams 

friends, children and grandchildren. veterans with professional designations 

“When you make financial plans like Certified Financial Planner, Enrolled 

and came to them with a based negative on your own net personal dreams, Raskob Agent, Kambourian Accredited Tax Advisor, Financial Certified Advi- 

www.rkfin.com 


desires and risk capacity rather than 

focus on beating the indices, you are 

more likely to achieve your goals,” 

explains Raskob. “We spend more 

time talking to clients about what in life 

matters most to them today, their five 

Senior Advisor, Chartered Mutual Fund 

professional and Trust Representative. 

They are all supported with industryleading 

research resources. 

“We work together as a team for the 

benefit of every client,” explains Raskob. 

member. With no minimum portfolio 

size required, the firm also offers service 

packages on a retainer basis, making 

expert advice competitively priced for 

clients with smaller amounts to invest. 

“Clients increasingly ask us to help 

them organize their personal and 

business concerns, including decision 

support for making major purchases like 

cars, homes and travel,” says Raskob. 

“Our goal is to help them fully enjoy their 

lives now while appropriately planning

Transparency 

ON BOTH SIDES 

According to a recent survey, 

only 40 percent of investors 

indicated that their financial advisor(s) 

clearly explained how they 

are compensated. In this same 

survey – the Envestnet Fiduciary 

Standards Study – 52 percent of 

investors did not believe that all 

financial advisors were bound to 

a standard requiring them to act 

in the client’s best interest. In the 

post-Great Recession era, these 

findings are exceedingly troublesome. 

Brad Sherman, president of 

Sherman Wealth Management, 

serving clients in the greater 

Washington, D.C. metro area, has 

built his practice around improving 

those statistics. 

Sherman is a big believer in full 

disclosure and complete transparency 

for his clients regarding his 

fees and how he works with their 

accounts. He’s also a big believer 

in total transparency from the client. 

“For the relationship to fully 

benefit the client, there has to be 

transparency on both sides of it,” 

Sherman said. “I have to provide 

a completely transparent structure 

so everyone knows what 

they are paying for what they are 

receiving – so that there are not 

any surprises to the client. On the 

other hand, the client has to fully 

disclose to me what their financial 

situation and goals are so I can 

make appropriate recommendations 

for them.” 

He doesn’t have a firm minimum 

for his clients and in reality, 

most of his clients wouldn’t 

fit into the advisor marketplace 

niche requiring a quarter of a million 

to start. The bulk of his clients 

are his peers – people ranging in 

age from 25 to 40ish – who are 

starting careers, marriages and 

families. They are at the beginning 

of the accumulation phase of 

savings plans and many are buying 

their first homes. 

“They are comfortable with me 

and with taking my advice, because 

I either have been just recently 

in the same situation or am 

still doing the same things they 

are,” Sherman said. 

He started Sherman Wealth 

Management in January 2013 after 

spending 12 years working in 

financial services for other firms. 

He also had just completed his 

master’s degree in quantitative finance 

from American University, 

and it seemed like the appropriate 

time to hang out his own shingle. 

Since then, Sherman has taken 

on 50 clients and and wishes to 

develop relationships with additional 

clients seeking affordable, 

tax-efficient and customized advice. 

Sherman said that his decision 

to become a registered representative 

with Lincoln Financial Securities 

Corporation Member SIPC 

gives him the flexibility to craft 

portfolios specifically matching 

the individual needs and goals of 

each client. 

“Not all clients are the same,” 

he said. “That is why we customize 

every solution. Some of the 

bigger companies get into trouble 

by putting people into cookie 

cutter molds that may not be right 

for them. By representing Lincoln 

Financial in a fee-based model, 

there is no pressure on me to sell 

something that is not suitable for 

any of my clients.” 

LFS-949357-061714 

by felix badea 

www.shermanwealth.com 

Dependable advice 

in a fluctuating market 



CANDID 

CONVERSATIONS 

Talking about and planning for the “what-ifs” is key for 

this Certified Financial Planner TM , practicing in a 

desert oasis filled with retirees. 

There’s an important and notable, yet very easy-to-miss 

trend taking shape within retiree communities. Professionals 

engaged in advising the baby boomer generation on how to 

plan for and proceed into retirement, indicate that women 

are taking much more active roles in this process than in previous 

generations. 

Just ask Jill L. Ditter, CFP®. Her practice – JD Wealth Management, 

LLC, based in Palm Desert, California – is smack 

dab in the middle of it all. Ditter’s practice puts her finger 

squarely on the pulse of what is happening among the baby 

boomers. As a group of relatively healthy Americans, the 

Social Security Administration estimates that boomers are 

hanging up their working clothes at nearly 10,000 per day. 

Palm Desert is one of this group’s favorite destinations for 

actively living out the golden years before “old age” and 

health-related challenges set in. It also is one location where a 

significant paradigm shift is occurring. 

“The biggest shift that I have seen from the time I was getting 

started in this business in 1983 to now, is that in the early 

1980’s, I had a lot of husbands coming in and saying to me, 

‘Please do not tell my wife that I have these accounts.’ They 

didn’t want their wives to know the details of the family 

finances,” Ditter recalls. “Today, I experience men to 

be, not only willing to work with female advisors 

like myself, but to request that the advisors assist 

them to engage their wife and/or children. 

Male investors today are much more open and sharing about 

the family finances. They are pro-actively teaching the wife 

and kids – and talking to them about how to take over the 

keys to the family’s financial portfolio.” 

This is a change Ditter welcomes, not only from a social 

standpoint, but also because it lines up with some alarming 

statistics. The 2011 Financial Experience & Behaviors Among 

Women survey by Prudential Research indicates that 86 

percent of women do not know how to invest or choose a 

financial product. Less than two in every ten women 

indicate they feel “very pre- 

pared” 

to make wise financial decisions. 

More than half say 

they “need some help” and 

at least one-third say they 

“need a lot of help.” 

Couple this with the 

well-documented fact that 

most women outlive their 

spouses. The Federal Administration 

on Aging states 

that seven out of every ten 

baby boomer women most 

likely will outlive their husbands 

by as much as 15 

years, leading Ditter 

to stress the need 

for open and frank 

conversations 

Jill L. Ditter, CFP® 

JD Wealth Management, LLC 

72960 Fred Waring Dr. STE #1 

Palm Desert, CA 92260 

760-773-1000 Office 

CA. Insurance Lic# 0796239 

jill@jillditter.com Email 

www.jillditter.com Website 


As one destination is reached, a new dream begins... 

Is your retirement plan keeping up with your vision? 

regarding the potential fall-out when a 

husband dies. 

“I share with my investors what it 

is like for the beneficiaries when the 

“financial steward” of the family is 

gone.” Ditter related. “It can be a real 

eye-opener,” she admits. “The more we 

can have those conversations up front, 

the better the family can go through 

that experience when it inevitably 

happens.” 

It’s one of the reasons Ditter 

established her own practice in May 

2013, after a 30-year corporate career 

advising clients during several volatile 

periods, including the 1987 Black 

Monday, the savings and loan crisis 

from 1986 to 1995, the Persian Gulf 

War, the collapsing Tech Bubble of 

1999 through 2001 and its resulting 

Dot-Com Bust, as well as the recent 

Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. 

Ditter’s final position was an 

eight-year stint as Vice President, 

Senior Account Executive of Fidelity 

Investments Private Client Group in 

Palm Desert. While providing planning 

and guidance for 423 households with 

more than one billion in assets, Ditter 

had a first-hand look at the concerns of 

high net worth investors – and a front 

row seat on how major nationwide and 

global financial events can impact that 

wealth. 

“I finally listened to my own inner 

wisdom and said good-bye to working 

for the big brand,” 

she said. “I saw 

the gaps in 

how big firms, 

in general, are 

serving and 

delivering to 

investors and 

decided that I 

could build my own 

practice just by filling in those gaps. So 

I started my own practice.” 

One of those gaps that Ditter clearly 

perceived was the aforementioned 

lengthy series of conversations 

regarding death and its effect on family 

wealth that she – as a financial advisor 

– wants to have with her clients. 

“I believe that you cannot do that 

if you are at a big firm that will only 

provide guidance on their product 

solutions as opposed to advice,” she 

said. “When the advisor is required to 

meet a substantial amount of metrics 

each day, it may make it difficult for 

the advisor to have those quality 

conversations.” 

Ditter, a person who is big on 

communication, is enjoying the 

national discussion on establishing a 

uniform fiduciary standard to govern 

all types of financial advisors. 

“It really is an interesting time 

right now,” she said, adding with a 

laugh that she’d have to defer to legal 

experts, regulators and a crystal ball 

to determine if such a standard will 

ever come to pass. Yet Ditter feels the 

dialogue is valuable. “It stems from 

concerns about how the investor is 

served. The investors I come into 

contact with are largely unaware of 

what this all means for them. I think 

investors do need more disclosure 

from their advisors about whether that 

advisor is merely giving guidance as a 

representative of a product provider 

or a registered representative of a 

broker dealer or being advised by an 

investment advisor representative– 

and what these differing roles mean. 

A candid conversation about how the 

representative is compensated should 

be clear and transparent.” 

Yet, Ditter believes that these 

conversations may not be discussed 

with clarity to the consumer. Instead, 

she believes many investors view 

whoever provided a proposal and 

recommended a product to be 

their “trusted” financial advisor 

looking out for their best interests – 

which in many instances may not the 

case. 

“We need to deal with this matter 

within our industry,” Ditter states, 

adding she isn’t convinced a blanket 

standard is the answer. “If my vote 

counts, don’t put everything in one box. 

Instead, focus on preventing abuses in 

the industry in a way that enforces the 

disclosure we already know we should 

be making in this business.” 

Jill Ditter is a Registered Representative 

with and securities offered through 

LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. 

Investment Advice offered through 

Gallacher Capital Management, LLC 

a Registered Investment Advisor. JD 

Wealth Management and Gallacher 

Capital Management are separate 

entities from LPL Financial. Custodial 

Services offered through either LPL 

Financial or Fidelity Investments.’ 


y david stein 

Proving Himself to Clients 

A Midwestern financial advisor believes clients 

should thoroughly vet an advisor before any transactions take place 

At Foguth Financial Group we'll help 

you create a plan just right for you. You 

can enjoy peace of mind knowing you 

have a financial plan that provides you 

with confidence that all of your financial 

resources are working together toward 

your long-term financial goals. 

213 East Grand River 

Howell, MI 48843 

Phone: (517) 618-7207 

Fax: (866) 845-4149 

www.foguthfinancial.com 


In a trend popping up in financial 

workshops across the nation, 

presenters aren’t simply introducing 

themselves at the beginning 

of their segment. Many are now volunteering 

a laundry list of credentials 

vetting themselves for those in 

attendance as transparency post The 

Great Recession has taken the lead 

in the financial services industry. 

It’s a significant paradigm shift 

from 2010 when a survey by the 

self-regulated Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority noted that 

only 15 percent of investors report 

having verified the background and 

credentials of their chosen financial 

professional. Four years later, 

in today’s stagnantly risk sensitive 

financial world, more and more investors 

aren’t just asking for proof 

of an advisor’s background – they 

are demanding it long before any 

transactions taken place. 

That is just fine with Michael Foguth, 

president of Foguth Financial 

Group based in Howell, Michigan. 

“Investors should consult with 

the various rating systems that are 

available out there. These rating 

systems provide them with as much 

material and data as they can possibly 

want regarding a financial advisor,” 

Foguth said. “As an advisor, 

that is the kind of client you want: A 

client that is willing to put the work 

in to do the research.” 

He started in the financial services 

industry during the market 

corrections of the early 2000s. He’s 

watched the dramatic up and down 

swings of the past decade plus; he 

witnessed the traumatic effects this 

rollercoaster ride has on personal financial 

plans. 

It hit extremely close to home for 

him. 

“It was with my grandmother that 

I began to see the effect the negative 

economy had on her retirement and 

her lifestyle,” he recalls. He quickly 

discovered that her current advisor 

was not proactive in taking 

protective measures. He also came 

to the realization that the problems 

within the financial services industry 

weren’t due to client behavior 

but instead were attributable to the 

complacent behavior of financial advisors. 

He embarked on “a lot of selfstudy” 

as he describes it, and then 

began a nationwide training program 

teaching advisors how to put 

their clients first. A few years later, 

he and his wife started a family and 

the constant travel transitioned into 

a full-time brick and mortar office at 

which he began customizing financial 

plans for his clients. 

Now more than a decade into 

having built his own firm, Foguth 

welcomes the current national discussion 

to establish a uniform fiduciary 

standard. 

“I look forward to the day it is 

established because it will weed 

out those product pushers with the 

shiny financial object of the month 

that just tries to jam a client into 

a flavor of the month rather than 

sitting down with that client and 

finding out what is the right fit for 

them,” he said. “They are going to 

be out of business.” 

Foguth Financial Group 

www.FoguthFinancial.com

y felix badea 

Trust for the 

LONG HAUL 

“ 

I think that people today are just really struggling 

to find a way to preserve what capital they have and 

are being forced out further on the risk spectrum 

than they ever were before” - Gary Tasillo 

With lower returns in the traditional 

stock market, some financial 

advisors do more than just dabble 

in the alternative investment arena as 

a method for helping their investor 

clients preserve their accumulated 

capital against the rate of inflation. 

Gary Tasillo, president of Tunxis 


Farmington, Connecticut, is one of 

those advisors whom views alternative 

investments products as an effective 

tool for meeting the retirement 

accumulation goals of investors approaching 

their golden years. 

“I think that people today are just 

really struggling to find a way to preserve 

what capital they have and are 

being forced out further on the risk 

spectrum than they ever were before,” 

he said. “They really do not understand 

that. It is why more than ever 

they need a financial advisor.” 

Tasillo said he carefully analyzes 

any alternative investments before 

make green light recommendations. 

Yet, he is finding choices that come 

with acceptable levels of risk and return 

rates that will meet client goals, 

he said. 

“It makes my job a lot harder,” he 

notes. “I have to give them income. I 

have to keep their assets from going 

down. I have to minimize risk. However, 

we do have strategies in various 

products we find in the alternative 

space. We, as financial advisors, are 

more important than ever for the consumer.” 

It’s why his approach to advising 

clients is always formatted as a fiduciary 

role, he said. When evaluating 

an investment recommendation, he 

asks himself if the course he is recommending 

to the client is one he would 

take himself if he were in their shoes. 

If the answer is yes, then Tasillo said 

he goes forward with the recommendation. 

He’s hopeful that the current national 

discussion regarding the establishment 

of a uniform fiduciary standard 

for all players in the financial services 

industry will result in the requirement 

that the client’s “best interest” and not 

the “suitability standard” becomes 

the new baseline for transactions. 

In his 28-year career, Tasillo said 

that has been his guiding principle. 

“I am interested in building a longterm 

trusting relationship with clients 

that provides the best service possible 

to the people I meet and do business 

with,” he said. 

Our staff consists of experienced professionals with a “hands on” approach 

to financial guidance. Not only will you find our team members 

knowledgeable, but you will also discover that our staff truly cares about 

making your dreams a reality. As your Financial Professionals, we will 

do everything in our power to keep you focused on where you want to go, 

advise you on how to get there, and continually remind you of the importance 

of maintaining a disciplined approach to realizing your dreams. 

*Gary Tasillo is a Registered Principal 

with, and securities are offered through, 

LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. 

Tunxis Wealth Management, LLC 

195 Farmington Avenue, Suite 207 

Farmington, CT 06032 

Phone: (860) 676-4404 

Fax: (860) 674-9842 

www.tunxiswealthmgmt.com 



Alternative to Traditional Banks 

for Small Business 

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the banking industry has 

unashamedly favored midsize and large companies over 

small business when it comes to lending. According to a 

CNBC report citing figures released by the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corp. (FDIC), small business loans decreased 

19.1 percent from 2007 to 2012. In contrast, loans to 

midsize and large companies rose 12 percent during the 

same period. 

In 2013, Christopher Beckom, stepped 

in to help business owners find lenders 

for small business loans when 

he formed Beckom Investment Group, 

Incorporated. He built the venture capital, 

angel investor, and small business 

consultancy firm on the philosophy that 

small business owners should be provided 

with the needed capital to turn 

their creative and innovative ideas into 

reality. Beckom foresees that many traditional 

banks will be remiss over the 

next five years for ignoring this market. 

Business owners with a set business 

plan and who are serious about moving 

forward fit the client profile at Beckom 

Investment Group. “I want someone 

who has skin in the game and who has 

invested their own capital—this way I 

know that if we’re investing our time to 

provide private equity or to find small 

business loans, we will see some fruitfulness 

from our actions,” said Beckom. 

When asked how does the private equity 

funding offered by Beckom Investment 

Group differ from other angel investors, 

Beckom told “The Suit:” 

“Many angel investors take a very 

hands-on approach to the point of almost 

imposing on a lot of small business 

owners. Ours is a more hands-off approach. 

We rely on the business owners’ 

expertise and core competencies in the 

industry in which they are doing business. 

There are some thresholds we look 

for as far as skill sets, but once we see 

that people have the necessary skills, we 

rely on them to make the management 

decisions. Of course, we’re there as a 

resource to help with market research, 

data gathering, and other aspects of 

consultation.” 

Located in Southern California, 

Beckom Investment Group recently 

helped an energy firm secure $5 million 

in capital to start on a green energy 

initiative for solar rooftops in 

downtown San Diego where there is a 

strong sustainability movement. “Our 

plan is to expand our portfolio in the 

alternative energy industry,” said Beckom. 

“We see an influx of small businesses 

in California primed to compete 

with traditional utilities.” 

“To see individuals with great ideas 

convert those ideas into a business that 

can be monetized and grow, create 

jobs and build communities—I think 

that’s a huge thing and one of the great 

things about this country,” said Beckom. 

“The role that we play at Beckom 

Investment Group to help with a small 

piece of that is a real privilege and 

something I am passionate about.” 

41593 Winchester Road Suite 200 

Temecula, CA 92590 

Tel: 909-217-6058 

www.beckominvestmentgroup.com 


y diane alter 

On a Roll: Investment in Start-ups 

If the first quarter of 2014 provides 

any indication for the rest of the 

year, it appears this may be the 

most fruitful year in more than a decade 

for start-ups headed to making 

initial public offerings. According to 

a Thomson Reuters report, the time 

period between the start of January 

through the end of March marked the 

largest amount of investment by venture 

capitalists since the second quarter 

of 2001. 

That is welcome news to Brian Altounian, 

president of Alliance Acquisitions 

in West Hollywood, California. 

His firm specializes in taking 

start-ups through their growing pains, 

attracting investors and making initial 

public offerings. Just last month, 

one of Alliance’s portfolio companies, 

WOWIO, Inc., (OTCBB:WWIO) successfully 

completed its march to the 

public market and is now trading on 

the OTC Market, providing an exit for 

early-stage investors. 

“In the last ten to 15 years, I have spent 

a lot of my time in the early stage 

start-up industry, working from the 

perspective of building value in these 

companies and creating a unique opportunity 

for investors,” he said. 

Despite the uncertainty still surrounding 

implementation of the Patient 

Protection and Affordable Care Act, 

also known as Obamacare, Altounian 

views its servicing needs as a hotbed of 

opportunity. His thinking is directly in 

line with reports from the Renaissance 

Capital IPO Center, indicating that 55 

percent of Q1 2014 IPO filings were 

health care companies, and with Venture 

Beat – an online magazine tracking 

the activity of venture capitalists. 

In February 2014, Venture Beat predicted 

that digital health IPOs, already 

outnumbering tech IPOs, will soon 

also supersede them in value. 

“Whether you think good or bad 

about Obamacare, the reality is that 

any company that can facilitate compliance 

with the requirements of 

Obamacare, the management of health 

care, or anything to do with pharmaceuticals 

is going to have success right 

now,” Altounian believes. “Anything 

that is helping to navigate the new 

Obamacare line – that is what is hot.” 

While the role of angel investors has 

received a lot of attention in the past 

few years, for Altounian they aren’t 

necessarily the first direction 

he turns toward when 

seeking funding for a 

start-up. 

“Occasionally I find 

a synergistic angel 

investor with a particular 

passion for 

an industry in which 

there is a company 

we are working 

with,” he said. “But 

I really like working 

with the smaller investors who have 

discretionary income – such as successful 

professionals who are accredited 

and would like to dabble a bit to build 

the “risk” side of their portfolio. (They) 

have the penchant for a little higher 

risk than what the average angel investor 

tends to be able to swallow. Of 

course, that’s usually where the greatest 

rewards come from a well.” 

Altounian is also closely watching the 

future role that crowdfunding will 

play in the development and funding 

of start-ups. He knows the SEC has 

provided initial guidance for the use 

of crowdfunding, but doesn’t think 

the agency is finished establishing the 

rules. 

“I love the idea of crowdfunding – and 

that everybody is talking about it,” 

Altounian said. But he believes too 

many investors are hesitant because it 

is a method or idea currently existing 

without a full set of boundaries for the 

playing field. 

“No one wants to be shut down until 

all the rules are established. It is something 

we will want to use in the future 

because it is a great way to introduce 

your company to a broad selection of 

new investors. However, until there is 

very clear guidance and all the rules 

are set in place, we just won’t use it 

yet,” Altounian emphasized. 

www.alliance-acquisitions.com 


y diane e. alter 

Revealing Risk Tolerance 

The psychology of risk tolerance is a field many financial advisors more than dabble 

in, whether they officially recognize it or not. While these advisors don’t wear white 

coats, they do take notes and many do have comfortable couches – or at least cozy 

chairs for clients – in their offices. Gauging a client’s willingness or ability to tolerate 

risk is a significant skill for any advisor to master. 

This is why John S. 

Longstaff, CFP®, 

one of six partners 

with The Planning 

Center, supports his 

firm’s use of the Australian-based 

FinaMetrica’s 

Risk Profiling 

System. Using 25 questions and psychometrics 

developed by the psychology 

department at the University of 

New South Wales, the system provides 

advisors and their investing clients 

with a scientific analysis of a client’s 

personal financial risk tolerance. 

“This isn’t necessarily about how 

much of their portfolio is in stocks or 

bonds, or how putting 60 percent of 

their investments in stocks and 40 percent 

in bonds will affect them,” Longstaff 

explains. “This is about assessing 

ahead of time how they deal with risk 

and its potential consequences.” 

According to Longstaff, each individual’s 

tolerance of risk is directly related 

to their money history. He gives 

the example of seating ten people 

around a table and placing a $100 bill 

in the middle of the table. “Each person,” 

Longstaff said, “will have a distinctly 

unique reaction to that $100 bill. 

One might say that his father used to 

light his cigars with a $100 bill. Another 

may say that they never even saw a 

$100 bill until they were age 40.” Those 

two examples may represent drastically 

divergent abilities for tolerating 

risk when it comes to their individual 

money history. They can also represent 

different and potentially destructive 

behaviors regarding the management 

of that money. 

“We attempt to assess for any destructive 

behaviors up front. Then in 

the consultative process, we work with 

that client to change those behaviors. 

They need to be willing to change –or 

at a minimum acknowledge – these 

said behaviors .” 

Armed with the evaluation of a client’s 

money history, Longstaff and his 

associates are better able to deal with 

the inevitable jitters that may arise in 

various clients when turbulence in the 

market makes it jump to peaks and 

drop to lows. 

This also helps when the evening 

news makes a high-speed, low altitude 

pass reporting market movement 

without giving any specifics or analysis 

of what the activity really means. 

“The news anchors get on television 

and tell the viewers things such as, ‘Everyone 

who has a 401k in the United 

States lost X amount today,’” Longstaff 

said. “It isn’t accurate and it causes un- 


necessary jitters.” 

He watches the market, but not because 

he is a financial advisor. Instead, 

his only reason for paying attention to 

the daily market activity is because he 

knows his clients are doing the same 

thing. Longstaff knows some are going 

to call. He knows which clients will call 

him based on how much the market 

fluctuates. And he even has one client 

he considers to be a barometer of coming 

market activity. 

“(It) seems he is absolutely spot on, as 

he will always call me when the market 

reaches its bottom and after his call, the 

We believe that the portfolio and financial 

plan should be integrated with 

one another, and that by managing 

behavior we can increase the probability 

of a successful investment experience. 

The key to managing behavior is 

to have a process for making decisions 

regarding the portfolio. Our process is 

as follows: 

215 W. Fallbrook Avenue; Suite 121 

Fresno, CA 93711 

www.theplanningcenter.com/Home.aspx 

market always moves up. So I look forward 

to his call when we have a falling 

market,” Longstaff said with a bit of a 

knowing chuckle. 

The Planning Center offers various 

specialized financial planning advice, 

including two levels of service: The 

Cornerstone Program and the Capstone 

Wealth Program. 

The Cornerstone Program, as Longstaff 

describes it, is “where you learn to 

crawl before you walk.” The program 

focuses on the needs of younger clients 

who do not yet have high net worth 

and are just starting their careers, families 

and are making large purchases 

such as a home for the first time in their 

lives. 

“This program gets them on the 

straight and narrow, allowing them to 

get their cash flow straightened out and 

start a savings program putting cash in 

reserve and begin contributing to a retirement 

program,” Longstaff explains. 

The Capstone Wealth Program offers 

the full suite of advanced financial 

planning services such as investment 

consultation, insurance coverage assessment, 

retirement, education and 

estate planning. 

That latter one is a topic Longstaff 

knows is sensitive with most clients. 

“No one really wants to talk about 

their demise,” he said. “But it is nice to 

know where your net worth is going to 

when you leave this earth.” 

Or perhaps when leaving a marriage. 

Divorce is not the ending of a life, but it 

is a death of sorts – the demise of a relationship 

that included joint financial 

matters. The Planning Center has partners 

who have specialized training in 

planning for divorce. These extensively 

trained individuals keep financial matters 

within the appropriate legal scope 

as their clients experience a “highly 

emotional and highly volatile” time in 

their life, Longstaff mused. 

“The biggest mistake we as professionals 

can make – not just at our firm, 

but in a lot of places – is that we somehow 

lead ourselves to believe we know 

more about domestic law, or any law 

for that matter, than we actually do. 

And, even worse yet, if we carry that 

persona, our clients tend to believe it as 

well,” Longstaff emphasized. 

He believes he’s been blessed to have 

served for ten years – three as President-Elect, 

President and Chair – on 

the National Board for the Institute of 

Certified Financial Planners. Not only 

did he build lasting personal relationships 

with other financial professionals, 

but he traveled the country, visiting 

all types of financial planning practices 

in the 1990s and picking up plenty of 

ideas. 

“The biggest benefit it brought back 

to our practice and our clients is that it 

validated our decision to continue the 

conversion of the practice to the fee-only 

business model,” Longstaff said. “It 

validated the need for that type of unbiased 

advice.” 


y a. marie velthuizen 

One Uniform Standard Does Not Fit All 

In late March 2014, the SEC promised to speed up its decision-making process regarding the establishment 

of a national uniform fiduciary standard of care governing all financial advisors – registered investment 

advisors and broker-dealers alike. Yet not all players in the financial services industry are waiting with 

bated breath for this to happen. Some – particularly those identified as registered investment advisors 

(RIAs) – aren’t convinced that uniform standards are inherently in the best interest of investors. 

David Edwards, president of Heron 

Financial Group | Wealth Advisors, 

is one of those RIAs with concerns 

regarding the establishment of a onesize-fits-all 

fiduciary standard. 

“The nuances of the application of 

the uniform standard are not apparent 

to most Americans – or indeed to most 

regulators and politicians,” Edwards 

said, which is why he travels often to 

Washington, D.C. to explain the issues 

to members of the Senate and House of 

Representatives, and their staff. 

Financial advisors such as Heron Financial 

Group are regulated by the Securities 

& Exchange Commission (SEC) 

and adhere to the provisions of the 

Investment Adviser Act of 1940. This 

Depression-era federal law created a 

“fiduciary standard” obliging RIAs to 

select only the best possible investment 

opportunities for their clients. 

Broker-dealers have a different relationship 

with clients. Broker-dealers 

follow a “suitability” standard which 

may or may not best provide for the 

investment needs of the client. These 

advisors are governed by the Financial 

Industry Regulatory Authority (FIN- 

RA), which is a self regulatory organization 

(SRO) authorized by Congress – 

but not an official part of government. 

Edwards explained, “A broker-dealer 

can offer his client several similar 

investments, which may have no, minimal 

or high commissions. The broker 

dealer is NOT obligated to select the 

no-commission investment and indeed 

may recommend the highest cost op- 


tion, even if that option has a lower 

expected return compared to alternatives, 

without violating the standard. 

A registered investment advisor 

MUST select the investment with the 

best expected return AND the least 

expensive cost. Generally RIA’s invest 

only in no or minimal cost investments 

and charge an overall advisory fee 

based on the size of assets under management 

– the more the assets grow, 

the larger the RIA’s fee. Client and advisor 

sit on the same side of the table.“ 

In Edwards’ opinion, the broker-dealer 

business model is adversarial 

to the client’s best interest because 

the success of the BD is based on how 

much commission can be charged, not 

how well the client’s assets grow. In 

what Edwards calls the “daily battle” 

for client assets, ever more individual 

brokers are moving to registered investment 

advisory firms. This transition 

of tens of billions of client investment 

dollars constitutes an existential 

threat to traditional brokers and to 

FINRA, which is dependent on fees 

from brokers to fund its operations. 

Edwards doesn’t hesitate to say, 

“The whole discussion of the fiduciary 

standard is not to raise broker-dealers 

to the standard that RIAs currently 

work under, but instead to ‘dumb 

down’ the existing RIA fiduciary standard 

so that broker-dealers are less 

disadvantaged.” 

“What’s good for broker-dealers 

is not necessarily good for average 

Americans,” he emphasized. 

What Edwards does view as beneficial 

for American investors is a forward 

looking investment philosophy. Edwards 

tells his clients that comparing a 

portfolio’s rate of return to benchmark 

index returns is like referencing the tachometer 

in your car. “The tachometer 

tells you what the engine is doing,” he 

noted, “But if you focus only that one 

instrument, you will crash your car. 

A good driver must look through the 

windshield down the road, monitor 

what is coming next and be ready to 

make changes in anticipation.” 

Edwards tells his clients that there 

will be scenarios during which his investment 

strategy will under-perform 

the market. In 1999 he refused to buy 

Internet stocks even as the NASDAQ 

doubled that year. “I saw a huge bubble 

there and did not want to have 

anything to do with it,” he said. “My 

clients thought I was an idiot,” he said 

with humor in his voice, “until the 

following year when the NASDAQ 

crashed 80 percent.” Edwards was 

perfectly happy to buy Amazon, Cisco, 

and EBay in 2002 because the risk/ 

reward ratio had tilted dramatically in 

his favor. 

Edwards believes his job to show 

his clients how they can realistically 

achieve their financial dreams - an early 

retirement, a second home, funding 

a grandchild’s medical school tuition. 

Edwards will take on just enough risk 

to achieve those dreams, but no more. 

He is a practitioner of “Purpose Based 

Asset Allocation,” which is a process of 

segregating a client’s assets into multiple 

accounts with different strategies 

for short, medium and long term needs. 

For example, if a client needs funds in 

a month or so for a tax payment, tuition 

payment or house closing, Edwards 

will invest those funds only in 

non-volatile assets like money markets 

and treasury bills. For long term needs 

such as retirement where the horizon is 

5-20 years in the future, Edwards will 

choose volatile but higher returning 

assets like US and international stocks, 

and commodities. 

“Risk is not volatility – the amount 

that a particular asset will rise or fall on 

a given day,” says Edwards. “Risk is 

the chance money won’t be there when 

you need it. We can’t take any investment 

risk for cash payments need in 

the next 30-90 days, and we invest very 

conservatively for cash flows due in the 

next 3-12 months. Funds set aside for 

retirement MUST be invested aggressively 

when the client is younger to 

achieve the higher returns derived from 

more volatile securities. As the client 

approaches retirement, we will systematically 

increase the fixed income component 

of the portfolio – lower overall 

return, but less volatility.” Edwards 

closed by commenting, “During the financial 

crisis of 2008-9, there was never 

a moment where we had to reduce the 

monthly draw of our retired clients – 

mission accomplished!” 

670 West End Avenue 14th Floor 

New York, NY 10025 

Toll-free (800) 994-3766 

Local (347) 580-5280 

www.HeronFinancialGroup.com 


WHY RENEWABLE ENERGY? 

Save money. 

Reduce your impact. 

SOLAR ELECTRIC SOLAR HOT WATER WIND GENERATION 

Why SunLion Energy Systems? 

Experience. Expertise. Integrity. 

At SunLion Energy Systems, we know renewable energy. 

It’s not just a fad to us. Our years of experience have 

taught us how to maximize your return on investment by 

installing a smartly-designed renewable energy system 

that is optimized to your unique location and energy needs. 

With the 30% federal tax credit 

still available, now is the time to 

take control of your long-term 

energy needs. Call us today to 

schedule a free site evaluation. 

800-886-4762 

Whether you own a home or farming business and are 

interested in solar electric, solar hot water or wind 

generation, SunLion Energy Systems can help you save 

money, declare your energy independence and start 

harvesting free energy. 

RESIDENTIAL 

AGRICULTURAL 

COMMERCIAL 

2330 Dairy Road 

Lancaster, PA 17601 

800-886-4762 

717-898-8700 

SunLionEnergySystems.com 

PA 9396


According to 

the Food and 

Agriculture 

Organization 

of the United 

Nations, the 

average American tosses 

away $28 to $43 worth of 

food, weighing in at about 

20 pounds each month. 

That equals a range of $336 

to $516 of discarded food 

each year. It isn’t simply 

that the leftover chicken or 

spaghetti are tossed in the 

garbage – it always represents 

spending that in 

theory as well as in practice 

takes away from savings. 

So, what does that have 

to do with financial planning? 

If you ask Sheryl 

Garrett of the Garrett Planning 

Network based in 

Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 

the answer is -- a plateful. 

She founded a financial 

planning network in 2000, 

now featuring access to 

hundreds of independent, 

fee-only advisors across 

the United States, as well 

as professional resources 

for its member advisors. 

As a woman running a 

household and also one of 

the Wall Street Journal’s 

go-to sources for commentary 

on various financial 

topics, Garrett has a unique 

outlook on finances. She 

knows first-hand that adding 

to one’s savings does 

not have to be complicated. 

Saving is as simple as 

cutting costs: A move as 

easy as freezing those leftovers 

for consumption later 

versus taking yet another 

trip to the store, running 

extra fuel in your vehicle 

and burning up your own 

time just to replenish what 

you already had, can add 

up to appreciable savings. 

“The objective in my 

family is that we want to 

live on $5 per day per person 

for the grocery bill,” 

Garrett said. “This is based 

on how we choose to eat.” 

She is talking about making 

more home-cooked 

meals using whole foods. 

It’s part of the reason Garrett 

is launching a cook 

book section on the firm’s 

website. She wants readers 

from across the nation to 

submit recipes that include 

Improving Financial 

Planning Through 

Surprising Choices 

time saving tips as well as ingredient 

costs, preparation 

methods and taste enhancers. 

“You are not going to spend 

any more time cooking at home 

than it takes to go out, and preparing 

whole foods together as 

a family enables you to have 

more quality time with your 

family, eat healthier and save a 

lot of money,” Garrett said. 

Exactly how much potential saving could this represent? A significant 

amount, according to some mind-boggling markups 

posted by both Primer Magazine, an online magazine targeting 

young men out of college, and SFGate, the free online edition 

of the San Francisco Chronicle, revealing“average” restaurant 

mark-ups on commonly consumed items: 

• Fountain drinks – 2,000% markup 

• Canned soda – 800% markup 

• Wine by the glass – 300% to 400% markup 

• Pasta dishes – 600% to 1,000% markup 

• Mixed green salad – 800% markup 

• Eggs – 500% markup 

“Our blog is going to help the public see this kind of information 

so they can make better informed decisions about how to 

spend their money,” Garrett said. 

Just imagine how much Garrett and her network could do with 

a retirement account. 

Learn more about the Garrett Financial Network online at 

www.garrettplanningnetwork.com 



FROM RETIREMENT DREAMS TO REALITY 

In the past, people’s 

dreams of retirement 

usually included trading 

in that swivel desk 

chair for a beach chair 

– and never looking 

back. Times are changing, 

however. The Sloan 

Center on Aging & Work summarized a 

recent AARP study involving workers 

age 45-74 that stated: “More than 7 in 10 

say they plan to work in retirement; this 

includes 29% who will work part-time 

As a financial planning and investment advisory firm, William 

Howard helps clients meet their stated financial goals through a 

proven, logical, and customized financial planning process. 

for enjoyment and 23% who will work 

part-time for income.” 

William Howard & Co. Financial Advisors, 

Inc., helps prepare clients for financial 

security during retirement, going a 

step beyond by helping people examine 

how they will spend time once their daily 

routines – the practice of decades – 

comes to an end. William B. Howard, Jr., 

CFP® president of the Memphis, Tennessee-based 

firm calls this the non-financial 

part of retirement planning. 

When retirement is about five to 

eight years away, Howard starts this 

dialogue with clients by asking them 

what they are going to do after they 

retire since they won’t be going to the 

place where they practice their profession 

each day. To help paint a picture of 

the future, Howard asks each client to 

fill out a daily planner to describe how 

they would spend their days in retirement. 

“Some of our clients jump right 

into retirement and are as busy as they 

can be with family, traveling, and having 

a great time – while others struggle 

with it,” said Howard. “For some people, 

their hobby is their work.” 

As an independent, fee-only financial 

planning and investment advisory 

firm, William Howard & Co. Financial 

Advisors, Inc. is built on adding value 

to their client’s financial life. “We 

try to organize and simplify our clients’ 

financial health so they can enjoy 

their lives without worrying about finances,” 

said Howard. The majority of 

those clients are high income, high net 

worth individuals and business owners, 

including a niche in the medical 

community working with physicians. 

“If you stick with the very basics of 

investing, it will work for the longterm. 

If someone wants to make a lot of 

money in a month or a year or two, we 

are not the firm for them. That would 

be a major red flag for us,” explained 

Howard describing the fundamentals 

of successful client service from his 

point of view. “What it boils down to 

is face-to-face communication with clients 

so they can develop trust in us.” 

He told The Suit that the highest form 

of client trust is referral of their family 

and friends to the firm – something 

that has occurred consistently throughout 

the history of William Howard & 

Co. Financial Advisors, Inc. and has 

contributed greatly to their growth. 

The firm has received local and national 

media recognition, and Howard 

himself was recently featured in 

the Memphis Business Journal for his 

views on the state of domestic and international 

financial economies and investment 

portfolio strategies. 

International Place II 

6410 Poplar Ave, Suite 330 

Memphis, TN 38119 

Phone: 901-761-5068 

www.whcfa.com 

William Howard & Co. 

Financial Advisors Inc. 



ANOTHER LIFETIME 

INCOME SOURCE 

"Take the Risk Out 

of Retirement" 

In 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office 

released a report recommending that Americans 

convert their cash-balance defined benefit pension 

plans into lifetime income annuities, rather than take 

a lump-sum payment upon retirement. This report, 

“Ensuring Income throughout Retirement Requires 

Difficult Choices,” warned that Social Security payments 

most likely will not provide sufficient income 

replacement. It further advised most Americans to 

convert at least half of their cash savings into annuities 

offering lifetime income guarantees. 

This bit of advice 

from a non-partisan 

federal agency 

charged with reducing 

wasteful government 

spending and providing 

financial savings advice 

to Americans, sounds 

similar to the advice Jan 

Gleisner, president of Belvedere 

Insurance Agency 

in the San Diego, California, 

area would give. 

The only difference is 

that Gleisner adds any 

type of retirement savings 

plan to the list of accounts 

for which prudent 

retirement preparation 

dictates moving assets 

into annuities featuring 

lifetime income guarantees. 

“The U.S. Department 

of Health and Human 

Services came out with a 

study in which only four 

of every 100 Americans 

can afford to retire and 

keep their standard of 

living based on the income 

streams they have 

prepared for their retirements,” 

Gleisner said. 

“That means 96 of them 

cannot afford to retire at 

their current standard of 

living level. It is why we 

see people at age 70 still 

working at places such as 

Wal-Mart – because their 

retirement savings plans 

have failed.” 

He isn’t advocating a 

complete departure from 

the stock market. But he 

is a proponent of a paradigm 

shift that is quickly 

gaining ground among 

Americans preparing for 

the golden years who 

have the losses sustained 

in the Great Recession of 

2007 to 2009 still clearly 

imprinted on their financial 

minds. It’s a changing 

mindset that stock 

market investment alone 

is not a fail proof method 

for securing adequate 

funds for retirement. 

The increased use of annuities 

with guaranteed lifetime 

(income) benefit riders is a 

trend backed up by statistics 

from the Life Insurance and 

Market Research Association 

(LIMRA), a Windsor, Connecticut-based 

worldwide research, 

consulting and professional development 

group representing 

more than 850 insurance and 

financial services companies 

in 73 countries. According to a 

2012 LIMRA study, purchase 

of GLB (Guaranteed Lifetime 

Benefits) within annuities is 

gaining in popularity. GLB riders 

were elected on nearly $8 of 

every $10 of the more than $83 

billion of variable annuity purchases 

in 2012. For indexed annuities, 

$3 out of every $4 in the 

more than $23 billion in sales 

represented a GLB option exercised. 

The Indexed Annuity 

Jan Gleisner, 

President of Belvedere Insurance Agency 

seems to be the better choice of 

the two as the client can usually 

get a higher amount of guaranteed 

lifetime income compared 

to the variable annuity. 

These are encouraging numbers 

for Gleisner, who said that 

once clients become aware of 

this option, they are interested. 

“Previously, they were not 

aware of it because they have 

just been going down this 

paradigm of investing in their 

401K or IRA and not knowing 

there is another paradigm – 

that there is another option,” 

Gleisner said. “The good news 

is for those who are open to it, 

this represents a way to create 

a low stress source of lifetime 

income.” 

12526 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300 

Del Mar, CA 92130 

www.belvedereinsurance.com. 



Sometimes, a term bubbles to the 

general surface from the special 

environment where it began. One 

that seems to be popping up more 

and more is “family office,” but what 

actually is it? Family offices began in 

many types of financial service firms, 

ranging from those providing solely 

financial services to firms providing 

comprehensive services, including 

everything from managing household 

staff to making travel arrangements 

for members of a single – 

sometimes extended – family. 

Family Office Firms: 

Advising 

the 

Affluent 

Welcome to the 

world of Jack Sullivan, 

CEO of Heritage 

Wealth Counselors, 

LLC, a Registered Investment 

Advisory 

firm. This New Jersey-based 

family office 

firm manages financial investments, 

trusts and administrative functions for 

high net worth families. 

Heritage Wealth Counselors offers 

proprietary services for preserving and 

growing family wealth as well as for 

generational planning. Sullivan is the 

creator of the “Family Wealth Protection 

Process,” a system that families can 

follow to successfully pass on wealth as 

a legacy to their heirs. 

“It’s about transitioning the wealth 

from one generation to the next – and 

also transitioning the values that created 

the wealth,” Sullivan said. “Getting a 

buy-in from the next generation can be 

very challenging,” he continued. “One 

of the ways we engage the family is by 

encouraging family meetings on a regular 

basis to discuss business issues, 

and we facilitate family development 

practices in empathy and other sensitive 

areas. Different skill sets are needed to 

navigate the hard and soft issues that 

surround family and wealth.” 

It’s a recognition that Mark Butler, the 

CFO of Heritage Wealth, said takes time 

to develop. 


“When families first acquire their 

wealth, there is a lot of financial illiteracy 

that comes along with that,” Butler 

explained. “The manner in which 

Heritage Wealth Counselors works 

with families is what attracted me to 

this firm.” 

Butler respects the firm’s policy of 

setting up rules and guidelines for a 

multitude of situations. These are established 

and fully defined in documents 

that surround the family council. 

For instance, everyone involved 

understands exactly what must happen 

in the event of the death of a 

spouse. Other life-changing situations 

are similarly defined. Trusts can also 

be developed for future generations. 

These and family partnerships are 

often established through the family 

office. 

Affluent investors began to think 

more like the rest of us after the 2008 

economic bust. Sullivan says that his 

clients talk more about asset preservation 

these days, than about chasing 

high returns in their portfolios, and he 

believes that this is true for most high 

net worth families as well. “Today’s 

strategy is to keep the money safe. 

That’s more important than Alpha. 

While we do take some risk, we’re 

not taking the risks we took five years 

ago,” he said. 

Butler agrees. 

“Today, it is all about capital preservation,” 

he said. “When people are 

chasing yield and return, that pursuit 

usually ends badly.” 

Butler shares Sullivan’s emphasis 

on helping each family achieve their 

individual goals. “I get inspired by 

helping people – that’s what we do at 

Heritage Wealth Counselors, particularly 

in the areas of working with the 

next generation of a family. It’s not 

work, it is fun,” Sullivan said. 

In fact, he enjoys it so much that he 

wrote a book about it, entitled, “Family 

Wealth Counseling: Getting to the 

Heart of the Matter – A Revolution 

in Estate Planning for Wealthy Families.” 

He shares his wisdom, garnered 

over the course of more than 30 years 

of working with many wealthy families. 

In the book, Sullivan details how 

the family wealth counseling process 

he developed has positively impacted 

America's wealthy families – financially, 

socially, emotionally and spiritually 

– by creating comprehensive 

life plans that produce successful results. 

429 Rockaway Valley Rd. Suite 500 

Boonton Township, NJ 07005 

www.heritagewealth.com

Strength is nothing 

without consistency. 

At Northwestern Mutual, we’ve paid more 

dividends than any company in the industry for 

the past 14 years. 

Put our strength to work for you. Contact us to learn how. 

Alex Conti 

245 Park Ave 18 FL 

New York, NY 

(646) 366 - 6577 

alex-conti.com 

James Bufalo 

CLU®, ChFC® 

Financial Advisor 

(845) 562 - 4175 

jimbufalo.com 

05-2931 © 2011 Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) (life and disability insurance, 

annuities) and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), a subsidiary of NM, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, 

and member of FINRA and SIPC. James John Bufalo, Alex Conti, Insurance Agent(s) of NM. Alex Conti, Registered Representative(s) of NMIS. James John Bufalo, 

Registered Representative(s) and Investment Adviser Representative(s) of NMIS. The dividend scale and the underlying interest rates are reviewed annually and are 

subject to change. Future dividends are not guaranteed.

o_19grqq7snim9mn019q11f7ds26a.pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?