GAME OF DRONES

the suit staff
Invest Only After a
Thorough Examination
There is one thing Cary Cowan does in his business that has
gone a long way toward settling the nerves of jittery investors.
His clients never write their investment checks to his
firm, Cowan Financial Group, Inc., based in St. Augustine, Florida.
He has been in business for 43 years, and has been using that
policy all along.
“People are still leery,” Cowan said
in reference to the financial meltdown
that began in 2007 and continued
through 2009. “The awareness is still
out there. Yet in my situation, where
their checks are not being made out
to me and my company but instead to
larger companies that are the custodians
– it takes away a degree of uncertainty.
When you meet with someone
face-to-face and the check isn’t being
written to you, it helps to allay some
of the fears.”
According to Cowan, addressing
those fears is a good thing. Despite
the challenges, there remain plenty
of opportunities out there in a market
featuring a much greater variety of investment
tools for investors who are
willing to use them and who are also
willing to work through some strategic
planning.
In 2000, Cowan developed a six-step
process indigenous to his firm called
the Lifetime Financial Strategies Program.
He later turned this process
into a book, “The Lifetime Financial
Strategies, a 21st Century Financial
Planning Process,” featuring several
case studies highlighting different investment
approaches, including successes
and failures, for new clients to
review before he begins working with
them.
“I do an extensive interview with
them to see if they fit the category we
look for,” Cowan explained. “I let the
client know up front what they are
getting involved with before entering
into any commitment with me.
That involvement includes Cowan
advising clients regarding equity sales
and financial planning, which is the
bulk of his daily work. He has insurance
professionals – each specializing
in various areas such as property, casualty,
life, home, health and auto – to
provide the firm’s clients with advice
tailored for their specific situation.
“We have everything at our client’s
disposal in one spot,” Cowan said.
With 37 financial services representatives
working for his firm, Cowan
already has a fairly extensive staff. Yet,
for 2014, he’d like to add a few more
employees to his firm. Hiring, Cowan
admits, has actually been his greatest
professional challenge. Coming up
with financial solutions for his clients
based on their current situations, the
market and their future goals is much
easier for him than finding the right
person for each job within his firm.
“It has been a trial and error situation,”
he concedes. “It was tough until
the 1990s, when I finally decided
to hire talent specifically for each job
rather than just have somebody fill a
slot. I don’t believe that there really is
a bad employee. I believe that often,
I have put the wrong person in the
wrong job.”
He has corrected that issue via a
profiling test during the employment
process, identifying a candidate’s
strengths and weaknesses not often
found on a resume.
“If we have a job that needs to be
filled we try to find somebody who
fits the criteria of that job rather than
just hire somebody who looks good
on paper,” he said. “We look deep
down into their characteristics to see
if this is the job they really want to do
and are capable of doing.”
*Securities and Investment Advisory Services
offered through NEXT Financial Group, Inc.,
Member FINRA/SIPC. Cowan Financial Group
is not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group, Inc.
136 Malaga St
St Augustine, FL 32084-3521
Phone: 904-824-8147
www.cowanfg.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE - DEC / JAN 2014