"Because they do comprehensive planning, they may start with just part of the information they need and then they gently prod you to get everything they need," Cortés says. "I have also seen them in a room of accountants and lawyers. They bring a strong understanding of tax and legal issues to the situation and bring it all together."
Most of the Stepp & Rothwell clients have undergone some life-changing circumstances that have prompted them to seek a financial planner, and they have found in the firm people willing to take on the details of their lives. "You could say we are the quarterbacks and the client owns the team, which is our staff," says Rothwell. "Our clients do not have time to deal with details. We do it for them. We have 13 people in the firm, including six financial planners, but only two or three people will actually be involved in a client's investments. The others will be doing everything else for the client."
Stepp & Rothwell clients range in age from those in their 20s to those in their 90s and are facing different circumstances in their lives. Some are working and accumulating wealth; others are retired, recently widowed or facing other life changes. Most have between $2 million and $10 million in assets. Returns on investments range from a conservative 5.5% for the most risk averse to about 11% for the younger, more risk tolerant.
"In any given year we will exceed the major stock market indexes and in a bad year we may be negative, but we will only lose a small percentage of what others are losing," Rothwell says. "The real misconception among people is that clients know what they want when they come to you. Most have no grand, long-term plans."
Determining those goals for the client and helping him or her achieve them is what the firm does. "Everybody brings different things to us to start with. We take that and build on it, but we are not looking to beat the market and we do not use exotic investments. Our clients know they have won the game and now they do not want to risk losing it."
For many clients, the firm becomes a second family, and some of the clients' interests become causes for Stepp & Rothwell, which encourages its employees to participate in the community and in charities. The firm has a two-for-one match of money for employees' favorite causes.
"One employee has a child with cystic fibrosis and that has become one of our causes," Stepp says. One client "is interested in anything to do with President Truman, who was from Independence, Mo., so we are involved in that. It keeps us connected to Kansas City and to the community."
Dolores Otto, who was recently named president of the firm, first met Stepp through their involvement in a local charity. Stepp & Rothwell is her third career (she was once the office manager for a U.S. senator and also worked for a major public relations firm) and she says this is a perfect fit. She manages the office and handles administration and compliance issues.
"Kathy and Howard are unparalleled in client services and have higher ethical standards than anyone I know, but what keeps me here is the family atmosphere," Otto says. "They encourage the staff to become involved in the clients' causes and charities, and they help the employees with their causes."
The firm also recently started an employee ownership program, and once it is established, four current employees will automatically be vested. "We were 100% owned by two people who are married to each other," Rothwell says. "In the last five years, we have had some very strong people come to work for us. We want to keep them here and not have them hang out their own shingle, which they could easily do. We want them to participate in the growth and equity of the firm.