Growing up on a farm in Iowa taught Doug Mottet the lesson of “sowing and reaping.” He watched each year as seeds were planted in an investment-like fashion toward what was intended in a few months to be the farm’s harvest. It didn’t take long for Mottet to transform this notion to his finances and begin investing with a local representative in his small town.

As Mottet learned more about investing, his interest in opportunities beyond his current representative’s scope germinated. But the rep wasn’t interested in tending to Mottet’s blossoming interests that were not included in the lucrative contracts he had signed with specific investment companies.

“He didn’t want to talk about those other funds because his arrangement was with certain companies,” Mottet recalls.

He learned yet another lesson: The meaning of fiduciary – the notion that a financial advisor ought not align with only one set of investment products in an effort to provide clients with a full range of choices that bring them the best option for their unique situation.

Back in 1989 when Mottet began his journey toward becoming a fee-only advisor, he was a bit ahead of his time in the nation’s heartland.
“No one in the Midwest had ever heard of fee-only,” Mottet said with a chuckle.

But the concept of putting the client’s needs ahead of the interests of an advisor began to set well with Midwesterners. Mottet knew he was connected with a winning ideal. When third party investment managers , began offering managed portfolios to advisors, he signed up.

As the owner of Mottet Wealth based in Parkville, Missouri, (a suburb of Kansas City) he hasn’t looked back since.

“They [the investment managers] do all the research, pick the funds, and they have become my back office,” Mottet said. “It gives me time to build up my practice; to focus all my attention on building relationships with the clients. Mottet built his practice one client at a time. He is picky about which clients he takes on, but he is also willing to work with folks with lower investable amounts ($50,000) as long as they are committed to the process. He seeks clients with a long-term view and who are not interested in getting in and out of the market on a regular basis.

He likes investments in which the money manager he works with has also opted to participate at high engagement levels.

“This way they have skin in the game,” he said.

While Mottet helps people plan for their retirements, at age 59, he isn’t looking to end his career anytime soon, adding that he would be dabbling in financial advising even if he wasn’t getting paid to do it.

“I tap dance to work every day,” he said. “I just love my job.”

For more information on Doug Mottet Enterprises, Inc. and Mottet Wealth visit: dougmottet.com