The end result has been a broadened base of business. Since the end of 1999, Smartt's roster of clients has grown from 24 to 37, and his assets under management have gone from $5 million to $7 million. Not huge, but a substantial difference to him.
Why doesn't Smartt build up a financial planning practice like others in the business? Because, he says, it's not something he's interested in. Plus, it would cut into his time. As it is now, Smartt devotes three days a week to the business, and the other two to doing volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity. "If you really want to do the whole thing, you have to do it full-time," he says.
His wife seems to agree. "She says I'm not good at reading people and emotions," he says.
Serving Middle America
While many business strategies have advocated a move up the food chain, with higher emphasis on the "high-net-worth" client, Sheryl Clark is making a niche out of the clients who are left behind.
Million-dollar portfolios are hard to find in her office. You're more likely to find her talking to a client about how to make ends meet while unemployed. Or how to work out a basic family budget.
She's been doing this for two years now, and has seen her revenues double in the process. "I think that whether it's a bear market or a bull market is somewhat unimportant to Middle America," says Clark, owner and sole operator of Sunrise Financial, a fee-only firm in Tucson, Ariz. "The most pressing concern is, do they have a job and are they making money?"
Clark's client list has grown from 35 to 50 clients. Her typical client is 39 years old with a net value, including a home, of $475,000. Her clients have an average annual income of $100,000. Her annual retainer fees vary, and are based on income, assets and the complexity of a client's financial situation.
Many of her clients are self-employed, and some came to her after successfully managing their own assets during the 1990s bull market. "In a bull market, they felt they should be able to figure it out on their own because everyone they knew was making money," she says. It also meant clients were more likely to grapple with Clark's advice to pull the reins in on large cap and technology.
"As an advisor, it's been for me much less stressful in a bear market than a bull market," she says. "I feel like I'm helping people by telling them to hang on for the ride."