Boosting Client Service, With a Little Help From Private Equity
Are your clients getting deeper into alternative investments nowadays?
It’s something that many clients are seeking, and we’ve expanded our offerings. One of our investment specialists [focuses] on investing in alts.
What’s your “Retirement Roadmap,” as you call it?
It’s a financial plan we do to align advice with what the client is trying to accomplish: when they would like to retire, income they’ll need, as well as addressing any other financial matters they might have, whether philanthropic or leaving money to the next generation, tax efficiency and estate planning.
Please describe the business development team’s M.O.
They reach out to various companies to tell them about The Mather Group and invite them in for a [complementary] consultation.
So one of the things we talk about is providing a free financial plan to evaluate their situation.
Please elaborate.
When we sit down with a prospect, we do a free initial financial plan to look at their current situation and see if there might be opportunities to be more efficient.
How effective is that free investment audit?
Very effective, because many times clients really want a second set of eyes on their situation to make sure they’re doing everything in their best interest.
Does the firm have any acquisition plans for the near future?
We haven’t acquired in over a year. But we [intend] to continue to grow through acquisitions. We look for firms to have top talent and where we can expand our geographic footprint.
We’re also seeking to expand products and service offerings to enhance client service. And so those are things we look for in acquisition partners.
You highlight services for expats as well for people immigrating to the U.S. It’s not typical for firms to feature those services. Please elaborate.
We have a tax team that addresses the issues and advisors that work with clients that fall into those categories.
We make sure we’re well versed not only in the U.S. tax laws but also those of the country they’re affiliated with.
The Mather Group “tries to stay ahead of trends,” you state on your website. Are there any growing trends that you especially like?
One that we really want to make sure we’re at the forefront of is continuing to invest in data science [analyzing data]. It helps inform our strategic decisions.
We’re also constantly assessing our priorities about tech and cyber-related issues.
What aspect of data science are you emphasizing?
Data science is the artificial intelligence piece. We use AI quite a bit — heavily over the last year.
What’s an example of how you use it?
I’m going to pause on that. What we’re working on is proprietary.
You were a practicing lawyer for a few years before joining financial services. How is your law background helping you?
Having a law degree really helps me think strategically and problem-solve. It’s also given me the ability to learn how to research and think through issues. I believe that’s made me a better leader.
Overall, what’s the biggest attraction to sign your firm?
What really sets us apart is that when you work with us, you don’t just get one advisor — you get The Mather Group.
As a fiduciary, we work to simplify clients’ complex financial planning and use an all-inclusive approach to investments, and tax and estate planning — all for one transparent fee.