0:02 Who are [music] you? And where are you going? What do you want? [music]
0:18 >> Hello and welcome to Trusts & Estates Weekly. I'm your host Kevin Bemmel and I'm here every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about estate planning and probate and trust administration uh primarily from the standpoint of professionals like myself and my guest Sharon who get involved in these situations for a living but also for those of you who you know, maybe you got appointed as the executor under your parents' will and you know, now you're trying to figure out what do I do right in this rather opaque complex process
0:56 and so hopefully these shows and in particular this show will give you some insight into how the whole administration process works, allow you to communicate with your advisors uh more cogently. So today I'm I'm very happy to introduce you to my guest Sharon Nassir who is president of Air Advisors. Sharon and I have known each other for gosh oh a couple three years now. We actually met um at a career day for uh my daughter's school uh Beverly Hills High School. Uh go Normans, right?
1:34 And um um and Sharon also um handles a uh rather large portfolio of securities for one of these estates that I administrate. So uh you know take that as the endorsement it's meant to be. Uh Air Advisors and Sharon in particular, they are a fantastic organization and and I have learned a lot from from working from with Sharon and and and really been looking forward to this conversation. I had to kind of entice her on. So, Sharon, welcome to Trust & Estates Weekly. Thank you so much for being the guest today.
2:09 >> Thank you, Kevin. It's a pleasure to be here and thanks for asking me.
2:13 >> Yeah, absolutely. You're welcome. So, you know, as I do with all my guests, if you would start out by telling us um you know, at least a little bit about a little bit about your background. So, you know, people can understand who you are and and and how you've come to you know, where you're at professionally.
2:31 >> Sure. Sure. So, Aerie Advisors is a wealth management firm that we launched, my partner and I, back in 2020 after having been uh wealth advisors and financial advisors at multiple firms in our 30-year history of experience in the industry. And we've worked through so many different channels between uh discount trading platforms like the TD Ameritrades to wirehouses like the Merrill Lynches and Bank of America's of
3:06 the world. And at that 30-year junction, we kind of decided that there's a better way to help clients. There's uh a need to be more customized and catered to specific needs of individual clients versus being part of a cookie-cutter platform that the larger firms are offering. And we felt that it's important to be true fiduciaries to our clients and have no incentives or conflicts of interest when we guide our clients with their
3:41 financial planning and investment decisions. So, that really kind of bubbled to us deciding to propel into the independent independent advisory platform, which is growing very rapidly. Many, many advisors practice under this umbrella. And uh we chose to be just fee-only fiduciary advisors, where we don't earn any commissions or have any transaction business that could still hinder or create some sort of conflict in our
4:16 conversations and direction we give clients. We strictly work for our clients. That's they pay us and there's nothing else that is hidden or non-transparent. So, being a fiduciary, being fully transparent, being able to advise on all parts of a client's investment profile, not just their stocks and bonds, was also a key driver to moving into this air advisor umbrella because we felt that clients
4:51 need help with not only those stocks and bonds or public investments, but their real estate, business succession planning, taxes, uh 401(k)s they may hold with their employers. So, now we can really cover the whole gamut of guiding the ship in all the decisions that come into play throughout our relationship with the families and clients that we help.
5:17 >> So, the before we get into the more sort of, you know, trust and estate oriented questions, I I would would you take a couple of minutes or a minute anyway, and when you say you don't um you know, commission um you know, income, that sort of thing, uh many people may know what what you mean by that and how that potentially creates a conflict. But for people who aren't familiar with with your model of wealth advising, kind of explain that so so people have some clarity on why that's important.
5:55 >> Sure, I think it's good to go through the timeline of how financial advice has evolved through the past three, four decades where back in the '80s, you might have had a stockbroker who would just call you and give you advice on you got to buy this stock and you got to sell that and create transactions during the process of making recommendations. And the way a stockbroker was making their living was through commissions earned between selling and buying of those recommended transactions.
6:31 So, there was always an incentive for the advisor to entice another transaction. Over time, that morphed into, you know, let's invest in more diversified types of investments and hold them long-term like mutual funds and index funds and insurance annuity products where those had a embedded layer of commissions whenever a client or investment was made. So, whether it was an upfront fee or a hidden fee that was paid to the advisor
7:07 annually through the fund company, it was still coming out of the client's pocket and investment returns. So, that also created a conflict of, you know, how am I going to recommend the right investments to my client when I don't want the incentive to be how I get paid for that product. And then in 2000, 2000 10, you know, the the whole concept of financial planning came into play where that we shouldn't just be making individual recommendations, we should be doing financial plans and looking at the
7:42 clients' overall needs and long-term goals to really professionally advise. That's when I got my CFP certified financial planner license to really dig into what are the clients' objective goals, long-term picture, and short-term needs, and what's the best way to kind of plan ahead for all of the coming turn of events in an investor's life cycle.
8:07 >> Mhm.
8:08 >> And then it became a hybrid type of a model where you would get paid a percentage fee for what you're advising a client's portfolio on. So, let's say they had, you know, 10 million with us, and we're charging maybe a percentage half or per of all the assets that we advise on.
8:30 >> Mhm.
8:30 >> While we still were doing transactional business on buying a bond or still selling some insurance or things that still paid out a com- a commission that wasn't very transparent to the master. And then finally we decided we should just be true fiduciaries, just charge either a flat percentage or dollar from our clients for the work we do for them. The way they're conciliatory, they they have us on basically like a retainer.
9:03 >> Mhm.
9:03 >> To help them in every aspect without any incentive in it for us where nothing we recommend pays us anything in deferral or over time or on the back end. We're just purely getting paid by our clients.
9:20 >> Okay. Yeah, and that and that certainly makes sense, right? If if you're if you're make helping your clients make investment decisions and those decisions are leading their wealth to grow, and you're getting a percentage of assets under management, so to speak. So, then then, you know, your advice is helping them, and so you your fee will increase. On the other hand, if if it's not growing, then your fee is going to decrease. So now your your goals are essentially aligned with with your client.
9:50 >> Exactly.
9:51 >> Yeah.
9:51 >> Exactly.
9:52 >> Makes sense. Well, so so let's let's um talk about some of the aspects of what you do that are perhaps, you know, more specific to working with someone like me who, you know, I I administrate estates and trusts for a living, right? And so um in the sense, you know, I'm your client, but in in reality, it's kind of a weird situation, right? Because it's in a way it's really the heirs who are the heirs who are the beneficiaries, right? And so I'm sort of a
10:27 in the case of a trust, a trustee for them. In the case of a of a probate, I'm I'm the administrator for them. So um I guess my first question is, so when you have um um a trust document that is silent on the investment philosophy, or where you have, you know, a situation like the one we have where it's a probate, the the decedent died intestate, there was no guiding documents at all. So how do you uh
11:02 how do you formulate investment decisions um that that take into account both kind of the legal situation as well as, you know, some kind of economic logic um for what in some cases um could be a a short-term situation like a probate, in other cases maybe a longer-term uh situation like a trust?
11:30 >> You know, every situation is different and it really is more focused on digging deeper into what are the short-term and long-term goals of the trust and who are the beneficiaries and what are the assets that are within the estate to then kind of prudently go through planning on the investments understanding the goal of the trust. So, it's unfortunate that a lot of times we fall into what you just mentioned where
12:06 there was no clear directions by the original grantor of how they want trust assets to be managed. But, in in in practicality, most trusts want the assets to continue to survive through all the needs, whether it's estate and taxes that are going to come up, plus uh providing for the beneficiaries and the next generation and legacy planning.
12:41 So, it's not a straight forward answer, but it's a it creates tension a lot of times between the beneficiaries and what the trust's purpose really should be and managed. So, our biggest role is really to be a good communicator, to be a good educator, to really follow the you know, role and responsibilities that we have as fiduciaries to balance between all
13:16 the moving parts of handling the estate.
13:20 >> So, so kind of taking an example of that for a minute, let's say there's a let's let's use the example of a trust um where there's, you know, two beneficiaries. One who is is married, has children, has a you know, fairly stable life, is making an income, and is essentially able to support him or herself and family. And you've got a second beneficiary who, you know, doesn't work, you know, but you know, has a shall we say it um
14:00 money-consuming lifestyle.
14:02 >> [laughter]
14:05 >> But I I was going to say profligate, but you know, but you know, really they're not interested in settling down. They they want to be traveling or doing this and doing that. And you know, from an I would think from an investment perspective, their goals are at odds. Um so Right? So, how would you look at sort of, you know, as they say, squaring that circle or circling that square? Whichever one it is.
14:36 >> Well, if if a trust was designed really thinking it through initially, which is rare, it would have clauses in there that would allow the fiduciaries or the the beneficiaries to create sub-trusts where each portion of that their the beneficiaries assets could be managed differently. But 90% of the time, that's not the case. So, our role then becomes to manage for the trust and not just for each beneficiary's purpose.
15:13 And total return and keeping up with purchasing power and inflationary issues of maintaining the asset values over time becomes priority and what however that total return is taken and used by the beneficiaries is up to them. If there's gains and profits and one of them or you know, between income and growth needs it right away, they take it out. The other beneficiary who doesn't need it is just going to see an accumulation of wealth at a much better
15:48 pace
15:49 >> Mhm.
15:49 >> than the one in high needs and low income scenarios. So we we don't have the clarity often to just create those sub trusts.
16:02 >> Yeah. Yeah. And and it's interesting because that that would be an excellent solution because now it's mitigating the problem, right? And then each one sort of does what they do and if if the the single one ends up running out of trust assets, okay? He's done, right? It doesn't it doesn't impact the other beneficiary. Sure. Sure. So um next question is is I I again sort of taking another aspect of that is and and you know so some of the viewers they may not be aware of things like the you know, the
16:38 prudent investment rule or the prudent investors rule which you know, requires a certain amount of you know, diversification and that sort of thing. So when you have a situation where you're taking over the you know, handling the investments of a trust or or even an estate often times I know I found that assets tend to be very concentrated in certain areas. So they're not diverse. So how do you look at um you know, working with such a portfolio
17:15 um keeping in mind kind of your your duties to, you know, protect the assets, etc. While at the same time you like I said, you know, you've got this high concentration of assets and it may not be so easy to diversify.
17:33 >> Yeah, I mean that makes our fiduciary role very complex and it's one of the biggest pain points in um inherited assets because concentration in a family business or real estate or certain company stocks are very, very common. And there's a lot of emotional attachment to those things. There's a lot of um difficulty trying to persuade the heirs that we we need to start diversifying
18:09 your risk away from just a single asset or single asset class to a more diversified approach to give your assets better protection and longevity. So, it's one of the biggest, most common issues that come up. But we look at a lot of different things in trying to chip away from that concentrated position. M- main number one thing is what are the tax implications of wanting to reduce exposure to that
18:44 business stock, company stock, or real estate uh so that it it does not kind of destroy the assets altogether by having a huge tax off consequence. We try to create tax strategies in advance of needing cash like long short type of uh tax management uh techniques that that come up or tax loss harvesting during times that markets are down to kind of pre-plan and have some losses on the books to start chipping away at those
19:21 concentrated positions that are at highly appreciated gains that did not get a step up in basis that um but definitely constantly educating the family members that we need to reduce that exposure and diversify gradually. Um and trying to create cash flows and income streams where they feel more comfortable letting go of what they thought was their only source of income generating, you know, avenue
19:56 by holding onto that property or holding onto that business stock dividend that was coming in.
20:04 >> Yeah, yeah. That that certainly makes sense. Let's take a quick break and we'll we'll come back and talk some more.
20:10 >> Sure.
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20:58 >> Okay, so another another aspect of, you know, that I find again through in my practice is what are sometimes unpredictable uh needs for liquidity, for example. Right? And and you and I, this is one of the uh issues I think on which we communicate most often is um on the one hand, we want to maximize the return on the investments you handle. On the other hand, I have sometimes unknown timed liquidity needs.
21:33 So, um you know, how do you how do you deal with that where, you know, maybe there's going to be a big, you know, legal expense or there's a tax liability or maybe not because, you know, the the estate tax return is still under audit, you know, these these kind of things. So, how do you how do you deal with that that uncertainty?
21:57 >> Uh that's also a challenging way to kind of and a balancing act because when you stay too conservative and try to create too much cash, you give up long-term returns. Um but really the most unemotional, detached way that we try to educate the heirs or the uh executors to look at liquidity needs is to create a segmented or timelined ladder of liquidity to cover just basic, understandable
22:32 upcoming needs where for the first 12 to 24 months, we might bucket a portion of the liquidity needs in ultra-safe CD look, you know, cash alternatives and cash manage that actively while having quarterly update calls to make sure, okay, we were leaving this cash around. Do we need it now? Do we roll it over another for 6 to 12 months? While we then create a 2 to 5-year bucket where anything that's not required in the next 12 to five-year timeline,
23:08 we put into laddered bonds. Maybe things that will mature in three, four, five years, and then have another touchpoint that what's changed, and keep that bucket of money safe and conservative, and then really only buy into growth and more riskier assets to keep up with inflation, to bring in good total return with a portion of the assets that we know, even if litigation or taxes or expenses chip into a chunk of the portfolio that we still have some money put with gas on the
23:44 pedal for growth
23:45 >> Mhm.
23:46 >> that can tolerate volatility and can tolerate risk of, you know, being down for a year while it could move back up and then some over time. As that inflation hedge and that total return piece, that would create a better holistic picture. Instead of trying to time the market, getting get out, make predictions, we really try to create that sort of a timeline.
24:14 >> Interesting. Inter- I mean, that again, that that certainly makes sense. Uh And and I I So, then in terms of, you know, how much you put into each uh tranche, shall we say, each, you know, time period tranche, how do you look at making those kinds of decisions?
24:36 >> So, a lot of it is by understanding all the expenses and burdens or, you know, tax liabilities that are due to come up, and it's reassessed really every six months or every quarter, and with most of our trust accounts, we do an annual review every year to say, "Okay, did what we budget uh was it too much? Did we budget too little? Do we need to add more into your expense bucket and less into the growth bucket?" So, as things evolve and progress with either expenses coming
25:12 down or cash needs getting more or less, we're constantly tweaking the lever. It's very stat- It's not a static decision once made and never adjusted. So, the annual rebalancing is where we do the touch points of regrouping and and seeing if probate's been completed or expenses have been paid, the house was bought, any of the major initial needs that were required from the trust to then really grow the assets.
25:45 >> Okay. All right. Yeah, I mean and that's that's really the challenge, right? Is is making those judgment calls and, you know, essentially hoping that that they'll work out and then um seeing how they do and and making the adjustments after that, right? I mean, that's and and I I I would think that this is where your experience in having done this for so long, you know, serves you well, you know, vis-à-vis someone who's had a much shorter tenure
26:21 uh you know, in in in in doing what you do. Um you you've got that that, you know, experience base on which to call.
26:31 >> You know, it's interesting because even for example, the clients that I work with with your uh trust that were you're administrating right now, if it's an intentional, systematic process where not only am I talking to the beneficiaries and I do like a deep dive annual review with them and they may not have even inherited the assets along [clears throat] with having the quarterly calls with the executor. It's really intentional in a in a in an um purposeful instead of reactive to oh
27:06 this just happened in the market and now we got to like make these changes to constantly be doing the proper allocations and rebalancing needs instead of oh this just came up and now we need to change course. So that intentional process is really what keeps the system moving along like clockwork, you know?
27:33 >> Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. I I in in your case, I think you actually will you know, go out and visit with with your clients face-to-face from time to time as well, right?
27:44 >> Yes, either we travel to them, they travel to us at you know, that one year mark to really do a full dive annual review of how has your life changed, how have your investments changed, are we still on track? Did anything new come up? Oh, you just had grandchildren. Oh, you just had kids. So life is always moving and evolving and we as advisors really need to be in front of that to make sure that the money we're growing for them is addressing all the changing and moving parts.
28:19 >> Right. Right. That makes sense. So um So when you've got um a trust or a probate that for whatever reason, you know, gets into gets into some kind of litigation situation, right? Where in addition to the regular uncertainties of the the process, now, you know, you're you're it's in court, which is is just a whole 'nother layer of of
28:54 unknowns, right? So, how do you handle a situation like that where um even if you are very comfortable with um you know, what what the administrator or the executor uh what what you know, what his perspective is, what the perspective of the beneficiaries are. Like I said, now you've got this whole other unknown out there that is perhaps you know, largely outside anyone's control. Um and and you know, and but but you know, there it is. That's the
29:29 reality.
29:32 >> Yeah, those things are are very unfortunate and costly and time-consuming. So, unfortunately, when I a letter like that drops and we need to kind of regroup, cash-heavy and being safer than sorry is really the approach in order not to jeopardize uh having to come up with a lump sum of cash to cover all the unexpected outcomes
30:02 >> Mhm.
30:02 >> at a bad time when you need to sell out of the market or sell an investment at the wrong time. So, you do give up returns in in those circumstances for more protection and peace of mind, which has been really more important for a lot of the estates rather than oh no, market's roaring, we should be in invest or real estate is down, we should be buying assets. Once those other legal issues come in, the perspective changes and we have to keep guiding the ship as to let's let's make sure we have enough to cover the
30:38 worst-case outcome of what we're waiting for and then focus on the longer picture.
30:46 >> I mean it it you know, it's your your answer highlights something that I honestly hadn't thought about before. Um and that is that just being in the litigation, even if the trust or probe or the estate prevails, if they're still likely to be not an actual loss in the sense of they've lost money, but there is a um a potential loss because now um you know, uh investments that might have produced greater gains are sacrificed in order
31:21 to, you know, be able to deal with the situation, right? So there is there is a uh uh there is a loss, if you will, to the estate that accrues again, even even if the, you know, the estate or the trust prevails, right? So
31:37 >> Yeah, the opportunity cost is is really sacrificed, but markets are so unpredictable, investment assets are so unpredictable in a 1-to-2-year timeline that it's not worth trying to outsmart it or put too much risk exposure to when those assets are going to be needed, and then sell it at the worst time and have an even extra loss, you know.
32:05 >> Right. Right. Let's take another quick break, and I've got a follow-up question on that.
32:11 >> Sure.
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32:51 searching. So, something you said right before the break struck me and and that is you you you you you mentioned that there's there's no there's nothing to be gained by trying to, you know, outsmart the market, so to speak. Right? That may not be a direct quote, but it strikes me that there's an awful lot of humility in your perspective on on the work that you do and I think that that that's a contrast to how people perceive
33:27 professionals who, you know, manage securities and manage investments and all that kind of stuff. So, I I'm I'm I don't I'm not looking to embarrass you or anything, but I'm I'm I'm curious about your thoughts on on that aspect of your work.
33:42 >> You know, it's interesting you bring this up cuz this is one of our biggest messages to our clients who decide to work with us is that everything you see on the news and on the um investment channels and advisory marketing is based on selling you on the idea that they can make a prediction and they can see into what's next. While if
34:17 you really study this and there's a lot of data and information that shows that most stock pickers have been uh unsuccessful in just beating the market that they're supposed to um beat. So, whether they're trying to beat the S&P 500, the US stock market, the international markets, whatever area that they are uh touting that they are experts on, uh data has shown over and over again over like an 80-year timeline that
34:53 90 over 90% of these investment gurus have underperformed and have not been able to beat the index that they're trying to beat. So, that's like less than a 10% success rate for someone whose full-time job is to make investment decisions and selection process to pick the needle in the haystack and pick this stock over that stock and timing, and they've all failed at it. Even economists that have to predict what the
35:29 interest rate changes will be for the next 3 months, a 50/50 chance our rate's going to go up or down, have been wrong more than 60% of the time. And we have data that we show in slides to really hone this in that if your goal with working with us is to beat the market, outsmart it, make predictions, that is not um what we believe is the right way to approach investment planning. And the way to really look at how to plan investments is your allocation. How
36:05 much do you want to put at risk for long-term growth in stocks or bonds or alternatives or cash? And we try to really educate what risk really is all about. And the timeline you have on how long you want to be willing to let this money stay invested and grow is really going to be how we decide where and how much to invest. So, there's a lot of I mean, it's not sexy and it's not what we really want to try to lead with when we have conversations with our clients
36:41 that oh yeah, our performance has been top-notch and our returns are better than all. No advisor, no stock picker, no Jim Cramer's of the world have been able to consistently and successfully beat the market or make accurate predictions. Most of them have less than a 50% success rate. And um our goal is to really educate you on what to really focus on when you decide to make investments. So, it's not humility, it's really more like a data that has proven that
37:19 that timing the market or picking the needle in the haystack has not been a fruitful venture in the long run. Yes, you could get lucky one year, two year, three years, but over a decade time span, it hasn't panned out.
37:32 >> Yeah. Okay. I mean, to me that you know, in a world where you know, being able to pick you know, out out place the market, you know, is seems to be the goal. It seems to me that to say look, that's that's not the right strategy. That to me that is a statement of humility, but I will I will stipulate that you look at humility.
37:56 >> [laughter]
37:57 >> But we're not the Wolf of Wall Street, you know, we're not trying to sell that sexy high return, high octane type of a outcome because it really is more a myth than actual fact that that you you deliver what you promise like that.
38:17 >> Well, and and I will say I think this is one of the reasons why um, you know, to touch a personal note for a moment, we work together so well because my philosophy in what I do is very similar. I'm I'm looking to be prudent, realistic, uh, you know, and and and not create a lot of unrealistic expectations that are far more likely to um, disappoint a client because they don't come about, right? Uh, which which is its own, you know, headache and and and then you get client churn, which is also
38:52 not good for for clients. So.
38:55 >> You know, that also works for clients who just say, "Oh, I just want to get a high income, you know, I just want to get 8%. I don't want to be in the market. Just give me something that pays 8%, 9%, 10%." And chasing those types of returns is also not looking deep into, well, how are those higher paying, higher yielding investments generating that? And when you dig into the weeds and locate how many pockets of risk there are in trying to capture double what the money market or CDs are paying, you're also really doubling the
39:30 risk of losing the entire principal because those investments are leveraging, using a lot of, you know, have a lot of debt exposure, are they're they're doing things to generate that extra return that really exposes our clients to unnecessary risk. So, try to compartmentalize and say, "If you had some of your money very safe, some of your money long-term in stocks, and some of it in the middle, you're kind of covering all the bases, and your total return ends up being somewhere around 7% to 8%
40:06 over time. So, it's really trying to change the narrative and clients' perspective of how they see returns instead of just wanting to clip that coupon or and not paying attention to the risk.
40:22 >> Right. Right. Yeah, I mean and and again because you handle or get involved with all types of investments not just securities and such real estate etc. Right? I mean I see the same thing in in real estate. People I just want an X return from this property. Well, Okay, there are ways to get that but it you know the higher the inevitable logic of investing is the higher the return the higher the risk. There is no such thing as a higher return with lower or the same
40:50 >> free lunch. Yeah.
40:52 >> Yeah, for sure. So, when there is a dramatic shift in the market and and I think we could reasonably say you know the market has been very good overall for a number of years now but there have been some some shifts the beginning of this year right the the mag seven all seem to not be quite so magnificent for example as they have been in prior years. So, when those things happen, I assume or maybe maybe maybe incorrectly that
41:28 you know all of a sudden your phone is is lighting up, right? So, how do you navigate or maybe more appropriately help your clients navigate you know those kinds of um you know disruptive periods in the market um and and and you know look at some kind of perhaps you know disciplined rebalancing plan if it's necessary.
41:54 >> You know, you won't believe me if I tell you this but we haven't had a single client call us panicking when markets like last April when the tariffs came out and markets dropped significantly within just two weeks time because the initial approach and the way we educate them about looking at their investments is compartmentalizing them between how much money do you need in the next couple of years. That money we keep so safe and stable. How much do you need for when you, you
42:30 know, for the next 5 years to have a major purchase or a home or, you know, college? And then what's for the long-term that you really want to keep growing and that's what's exposed to the market side. That's what's exposed to the riskier side. And that at every annual conversation and review that we do with our planning is okay, this is how every bucket has done. Let's rebalance systematically, like intentionally, instead of, "Oh, no, well, let's not rebalance because it's
43:05 doing so well." And let your kind of like winners get top heavy, the Max 7's getting top heavy. If you're chipping away, you're always selling high, taking some money off the table and rebalancing it into things that you don't have enough of and maybe being buying low. So, this process has helped our clients to get disciplined to understanding that doesn't matter, I'm going to rebalance at the end of the year. I'm going to have some profits, some losses and I'm not overly exposed and the money
43:41 I need tomorrow is there safe in my account. So, even if the market's down significantly this month, this year, my day-to-day needs are covered and I can wait for the market to come back for that better long-term outcome for the growth portion of my money. So, really compartmentalizing, reviewing the kind of asset allocation that we have every year, and then deciding the rebalancing part to be more proactive at selling high at highs. So, before the max 7 corrected,
44:17 we rebalanced and now
44:21 >> Nothing to worry about.
44:23 >> Yeah.
44:23 >> And and by the way, I do believe you.
44:25 >> [laughter]
44:26 >> Cuz I know I I I know I don't when I when these market, you know, events happen, I don't call you because, you know, I have confidence. Look, Sharon is on top of this. You know, she's the expert and if there's something she needs from me, she'll call me. Otherwise, we're we we talk periodically and, you know, and that's so I can stay focused on what I need to be on which I need to be focused and I don't have to be, you know, calling you, you know, panicked. So, So, we're we're coming up on time here. So,
45:02 my my last question, um and I don't know that there's any difference between how you look at this versus another client that when you're managing investments on behalf of a trust or an estate, what are your metrics of success? And and I'm when I say metrics of success, by the way, I don't necessarily mean just the the financial metrics. But as as a wealth advisor, what are your metrics of success in in dealing in
45:37 this, you know, realm of of investment management?
45:42 >> It's a great question cuz um single-handedly, most people look at just returns. How do we do in the past year as success? But again, um it may not even be that different for a trust versus just a family that is managing their own wealth, but it's more about uh the success I look at is were we able to maintain the purchasing power of the assets, meaning did we keep up with inflation? Did Did the assets grow in line with what is
46:18 eating away at the purchasing power of the portfolio. The second is meeting all the distribution needs, all the income needs that the uh estate or the beneficiaries or the day-to-day clients need out of the portfolio. Were we able to comfortably do that without causing any damage to the portfolio's actual principal and growth? Continuing that liquidity over time without killing returns and keeping the peace with the family. I mean uh
46:53 there's always multiple beneficiaries and the trustee versus the beneficiaries needs and making sure that they're comfortable and getting what they need while still sticking to the grantor's wishes. They want that this money doesn't end in a year and that there's I I I have peace of mind that my heirs are going to have money that's going to last their lifetime or survive any kind of mishap or unexpected economic downturns. So that's where the success is focused on.
47:31 >> Well, I and I I think that that's a good note um on on which to end because it it it really it it highlights, I think, the the the value that you bring to your clients and and and especially to the kind of work that uh that that happens in the estate and trust realm. So So, Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to talk
47:55 >> for having me on and making it so comfortable to just, you know, have a dialogue instead of being on the spot. It It was very natural and I hope your audience felt at ease with how we interact.
48:10 >> I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm sure they will. So, you know, this this is the time when when I give the shameless plug for my guest. But in your case, it's it's very easy because first of all, you can see the the the kind of rounded um um perspective that that Sharon takes to the work that she does. Um you you I I I talk about this from time to time, you know, the the world is a volatile place, life throws all kinds of curves, and I think we need to build within our lives um uh
48:48 the people we work with and the way we work with them sort of areas of calm so that we can we can deal with the vicissitudes and not have to worry about, you know, across the spectrum of issues. And I I will say having worked with Sharon now for for uh more than a more than 2 years, um that that is one of the best parts of working with her is I I I never I never have to wake up in the middle of the night going, "Oh my gosh, what is Sharon doing?" Which is not the case with a lot of other issues. So,
49:21 >> Yeah.
49:22 >> Uh and and I think that is that is the the frankly the true testament to the quality of the work that you do is
49:28 >> I appreciate that. And And shout out to you, Kevin, cuz you truly are a inspiring, really diligent, hardworking advocate for all the people you represent, and it's been a pleasure knowing you and kind of working towards serving mutual clients. So, I appreciate your trust.
49:50 >> You're welcome. Um for those of you watching, all of Sharon's uh contact information is in the show notes. Um, so whether you're watching on YouTube, uh Spotify, Apple Podcast, just look below where you're watching and and you'll you'll Sharon's uh uh email address and and uh um phone number will be there. I'm sure she'll be happy to speak to you about uh your investment management needs. And you know, again, needless to say, I I give Sharon my absolutely unqualified recommendation.
50:24 >> [laughter]
50:25 >> You're welcome. So, real quickly wrapping up What's that?
50:29 >> Thank you for this time and uh happy to help any of your uh listeners in any questions or guidance they need. It's our pleasure to just educate and direct people the right way.
50:41 >> Great. Well, so real quickly wrapping up, uh tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time is my show uh Business Lessons from the Military, and on Wednesdays at Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time is my show People Making Money. So, a couple more opportunities for us to learn together. And then keep in mind, every other Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time is my show Jiggers' Place. We have a cocktail and a schmooze and talk about all the things not related to the financial side of our lives. So, the the stuff that's really important, relationships, learning, faith, all
51:17 those kinds of issues. So, I hope you'll you'll join me again. So, uh a final thank you to Sharon for being on today. And that just leaves me to thank you all for watching and listening, and remind you, as I sign off, Marie Darling, you are my bell. Courage at all times, my friends.
51:38 >> Okay.