Kayla Tausche CNBC

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HELP ANYONE WHO COMES TO YOU...
Despite a slow economic recovery – one that makes turtle racing look
speedy – there remains a contingency of investment advisers who won’t
budge from enforcing client minimums. They adhere to the traditional,
even as other money managers opt for a more flexible approach in regard
to the subject of just how much money a new client ought to bring to the
investment table.
Damian Bell, a founding manager
and partner with Rockbridge
Wealth Management
in Daphne, Alabama, is one
of those more flexible financial advisers.
He admits that he and partner,
Mark Baggerly, revisit this question at
least once a year, particularly after going
to training conferences, hearing yet
another so-called “expert” tell attendees
about the importance of establishing
client minimums.
“We just keep coming back to the
fact that some of our very best clients
came to us with less than what most of
the recommended minimums are,” Bell
said. “We came to the conclusion that
we are a better firm – and better people
– when we agree to help whoever comes
to us. We help anyone who comes to us,
no matter what the account size is.”
Bell began his career in financial planning
in 1992 when the branch manager
of the financial services firm he used for
his own retirement savings encouraged
Bell to visit the offices – not as a client,
but for a job interview.
Bell was in auto sales at the time. His
friends, family – and even his wife discouraged
him. At 37 years old, they told
him, it was too late to start another career
from scratch. But when he met with
the branch manager, Bell quickly discovered
that he had a great deal of interest
in the financial services industry.
He decided to prove them all wrong.
Initially joining Prudential Securities, a
mere two years later Bell went to work
for Merrill Lynch, where he met Baggerly.
The pair worked together as a
team at Merrill Lynch for several years
before deciding to form their own independent
firm in 2001. Shortly thereafter,
Bell said that the pair were able to add
an office manager. Today, three other
advisers work for Rockbridge clients.
“We feel blessed every day that we
made the decision to run our own firm
and to take care of our clients in the
fashion that we do,” Bell related.
That fashion includes “the plain, unvarnished
bottom-line truth,” no matter
how bleak the immediate situation appears.
It included some very frank discussions
during the recent Great Recession
from 2007 to 2009, when markets
dropped precipitously. “Contrary to
other advisory firms, Rockbridge grew
during that tumultuous time period,”
Bell told The Suit.
“We were getting so many referrals
from our existing clients,” Bell said.
“The one recurring theme was that
these prospective clients understood
that markets can drop and that there are
risks – but that their adviser at the time
was simply not communicating with
them. People just want to be informed
of what is happening.”
Learn more about Rockbridge Wealth
Management online at www.rockbwm.
com.
9812 Millwood Circle
Daphne, AL 36527
www.rockbwm.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE - JAN 2015