DB: Where are you?
LM: In Florida, on the Gulf side, where I’m visiting clients from Tampa and St. Petersburg down to Naples. I’m here for a week to do year-end reviews and (and plan for future growth).
DB: How’s business?
LM: We’re growing the firm and looking to add two or three more certified financial planners. When our clients do well, we do well. Our client focus is on family businesses and business owners.
DB: What are the trends?
LM: There are still lingering effects from COVID-19 as our clients and many businesses look to find people to work. Inflation is another concern. The other trend we’re seeing is that the markets bucked the system. With a pandemic, it would be reasonable to project that the markets would slow, but we didn’t see that.
DB: Why is that?
LM: The markets were up by double-digits. Success like that comes down to earnings. They were good overall in 2021, and that drives market growth. The other thing is we’re very focused on working with high-net-worth families who have businesses. We’re not looking to have 300,000 to 500,000 clients; rather, we work closely with our clients.
DB: How’s your book doing?
LM: During the pandemic I wrote “Unpack Your Financial Baggage.” It’s about the misconceptions people have about financial and retirement planning. I’m glad I wrote it when I did, because a lot of people are retiring.
