For the small business owner, time is in limited supply. The bulk of it is spent on managing personnel, driving profit margins, balancing budgets, overseeing financials and keeping up-to-date on legal matters. Meeting with a financial advisor to plan for retirement may not be high on the day’s list of priorities, even though it is a big one.

Enter Mark Phillips, President of Phillips Wealth Management LLC in Columbus, OH. He sets out to make financial investing as easy as possible for small business owners by meeting with them “Old School” – at their offices – and using that time to educate them on financial investing products. His clients have a minimum of $250,000 in investable assets and 50 or fewer employees.

Many of them are concerned about changes in social security benefits sorely impacting their lifestyles during retirement. Rather than try to see into the future, Phillips creates a plan for them that doesn’t include social security benefits. Then, if the payments happen to become available, it’s like icing on the cake.

As a way for them to help others and also earn extra money during retirement, Phillips encourages his clients to become knowledgeable in an area so that they can do consulting on a part-time basis. If need be, this will offset the lack of social security benefits or help cover the cost of long-term care insurance.

Wading through fear

Phillips' clients undoubtedly want a certain amount of income from investments available to them during retirement. But lately, still shaken up by the recent economic downturn, they tend to be very conservative in their investment choices, harboring concerns about another slowdown in the equity markets. Phillips is seeing the same fear among millennials, who watched their parents go into debt and lose their financial footing. To avoid making the same mistakes, these 20-somethings are paying cash for cars and staying in apartments longer. They are shying away from 30-year mortgages, opting instead for 15- to 20-year arrangements. Phillips has the tough job of wading through this fear and helping them make the correct choices.

An educated client is a better client

The recent economic downturn was a wake-up call from the “go-go years of the 1990s,” which had clients thinking that this was the way the market was supposed to be. Phillips says that bringing their expectations back to reality has been a challenge for him. But he has managed to do it by creating customized plans with realistic goals. “If you have the plans right, the expectations will fall into place, too,” he emphasized. “We communicate consistently with clients to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.”

Fear and greed might drive the markets, but Phillips doesn’t pay attention to it. He makes his clients better consumers of financial products by educating them about the markets. Several times every year, he hosts free seminars on investing and encourages clients to bring friends. Phillips also sends them a “weekly market review” that gets them to think about their investments regularly, encouraging them to reach out to him with questions.

Tactical Asset Allocation Modeling Process

Phillips protects his clients’ wealth by basing investments on price flow and cash flow movements in the market, rather than on GDP or earnings. Unique to his firm, he uses what he calls a “tactical asset allocation modeling process.” In 2008, when the S&P 500 dropped, using this modeling process spared his clients from hardship because he was able to shift their assets from the market before its big fall.

“Every year, it seems, there is volatility in the markets,” Phillips says. His tactical approach leads clients to investments outside of the traditional realm. At the end of the day, he says that they still want to generate positive outflow – and they look to his team to make it happen.

For more information visit: www.phillipswealthllc.com