When considering the following quote attributed to Warren Buffet years ago, building a financial portfolio and growing it into wealth seems, well, almost easy.
“I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy.
Be greedy when others are fearful.” — Warren Buffett
Of course, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. So, AMP visited with five of the state’s top financial advisors about how they advise their clients.
Discipline and hard work are prerequisites, of course, but these advisors — Matt Jones of Legacy Capital, Pat Moon of Meridian Investment Advisors, Joey Small of Small & Associates, Jared Zeiser of Zeiser Wealth Management and Rocklin Senavinin of Fiduciary Wealth Management — shared their own insight on how to manage and grow one’s portfolio.
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Matthew R. Jones, JD, CFP®
President
Legacy Capital, Little Rock
Matt Jones’ areas of expertise include asset management, estate tax and multi-generational wealth-transfer planning and life insurance planning.
His path to finance started in law school, and he remains a non-practicing member of the Arkansas Bar Association. Jones clerked at three of the state’s largest law firms before deciding finance and investments were his true passion. Before joining Legacy Capital in 1997, he worked at Morgan Keegan in Memphis and Stephens in Little Rock.
Jones received his BSBA in financial management from the University of Arkansas, where he was a member of the Razorback tennis team. He earned his juris doctorate from the Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Jones chairs the board of the Baptist Health Foundation.
AMP: What advice would you give to younger clients to set them up for long-term success?
Jones: The two most important disciplines for long-term wealth accumulation are completely within your control — ALWAYS live below your means and make saving a habit every time you get paid. Yes, investment returns are important over time, but you have much less control over returns than you do your own disciplines of saving and spending.
AMP: What do you and your firm do to help clients feel confident about their financial situation?
Jones: I think initially we strive to help them understand where they are relative to their long-term goals. Oftentimes, that may lead to a conversation of setting some long-term goals if they do not already have them. This may not always lead to immediate confidence in their current situation if they are not on track to be able to meet their goals. Ultimately, it is our job to help them develop a comprehensive plan that has a high probability of them achieving their long-term goals. Once they can see and understand that they are on track or close, then they begin to develop more confidence about where they are.
AMP: What is the biggest mistake you see people make with their finances, and how do you help your clients avoid it?
Jones: People consistently increasing their lifestyle as their income grows. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the fruits of your labor and success and enhance your lifestyle some as your income increases, but there has to be some discipline to increase savings and investments as your income rises. Most people who achieve significant wealth reach a point in life where their saving and investing exceeds their lifestyle costs. That is how you build meaningful wealth over time.
AMP: One of your firm’s areas of expertise is working with physicians. Have current economic trends affected the way doctors are planning for retirement?
Jones: I don’t think the core principles of how we help physicians plan for the long-term have changed. Current economic trends and conditions will always be changing. What we believe is important is to not get too caught up in what is going on in the short-term (what the stock market is doing or what the Fed is doing with interest rates) and continue to focus on your long-term goals and the plan you have developed to get you there.
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