Pamela Mayfield-Kizzee, MRFC • Houston, TX
LaCour Financial Services Inc. • Money Concepts Capital Corp.
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Moses LaCour, MRFC • Houston, TX
LaCour Financial Services Inc. • Money Concepts Capital Corp.
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Pamela Mayfield-Kizzee: I met Moses more than 20 years ago when I began working with him as my financial advisor. As I went through the financial-planning process with Moses, we developed both a business relationship and a friendship. I was working in the oil and gas industry at the time, and he put together a great financial and investment plan.

I was impressed with how he conducted his practice and the content of the process. My work then involved financial analysis, contracts, and trading in the commodities market, and that gave me a perspective that was probably different from most of his clients. The timing became right for me to leave my job, and Moses suggested that I pursue my licenses and join him as a financial advisor. We practiced together for a couple of years, and then I re-entered the oil and gas industry. In 2015, I decided to move back to the advisory business for good and joined Moses at Money Concepts.

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Moses LaCour: Many of the attributes I saw in Pamela as a client are what make her an effective advisor. She wanted to make sure that her financial plan was well-aligned with her specific financial situation and life goals. She wanted to understand the rationale behind each element of the plan and the investments under consideration. She was also very good at listening and having open give-and-take conversations, welcoming an in-depth discussion of the options we were looking at.

We both have our own clients in our practice but often share information about a specific situation or recommendation. We challenge each other’s thinking and come up with stronger solutions. While we generally don’t meet with clients together, we make sure to introduce our clients to each other and occasionally have joint meetings. We also hold educational workshops and client-appreciation events together. We consider ourselves a team and think we can serve our clients’ needs better in that fashion.

Moses: We provide comprehensive wealth management, which includes financial planning, asset management, retirement-distribution strategies, college-funding and insurance strategies, and legacy planning, among other services. I work in a highly consultative role, helping people who have a sincere desire to grow and protect their financial assets over the long term.

My background is in engineering, a discipline centered on analysis, attention to detail, breaking down problems, and developing sound solutions. It is not all that different in terms of financial planning, with the major difference being the added complexity of dealing with people’s mindsets and their unique circumstances. It is extremely important to be a good listener, drawing out of people what their most important goals are, their attitudes toward risk, and helping them prioritize their immediate and longer-term financial objectives.

Pamela: I agree that we view ourselves as financial consultants. We both also want to work with clients who are seeking a more empowered approach to life and their finances. I am willing to consult with clients on any aspect of their financial decision-making, beyond the more formal construct of a financial or investment plan.

I tell them if they are thinking of buying a car, or investing in real estate, or considering any major life decision that involves their money, they should feel free to speak with me. If I am not the correct resource, I can point them in the right direction. I am especially attuned to the particular needs of clients who are going through changes in their lives, including dealing with career issues, the loss of a loved one or a serious illness, an addition to their family, or the stress of elder care or planning for their kids’ educations. Our goal is to make sure clients know we are there for them, in good times or bad, and will help them address life’s financial challenges and opportunities.

Moses: It begins with the discovery during the planning process with clients: learning about them as individuals or couples and what is most important in their lives, clarifying their financial goals, prioritizing financial objectives, and evaluating their attitudes around risk and investing. Many of my clients are somewhat older than Pamela’s. They are most concerned about determining if their assets, combined with other potential income streams such as Social Security, can help provide the income they would like to support the kind of lifestyle they want in retirement.

Once we are on the same page in terms of objectives, we can run illustrations on various approaches to their investment and income planning. Many times, we will use a bucket-type approach to planning, assuming different levels of risk for different time horizons or specific investment objectives. We want clients to achieve the most efficient returns they can within the parameters of their risk profile. We work hard to find strategies or specific investments that can deliver a suitable return for clients without assuming too much risk. That is our single-minded goal.

Pamela: While I work with clients of all ages and backgrounds, I have a number of female clients. Some are single, some have faced the loss of a spouse, and some are divorced. Many are at a time in their lives when they want to focus on their financial future. They want security and stability. They’re actively looking for an advisor to partner with to help them live the best life that they can now and in the future.

With a full spectrum of nonproprietary financial products and services to choose from, we can deliver a customized financial and investment strategy that helps fit their unique situations. We manage some investments on our own, can use the portfolio services of Money Concepts, or can call on the services of third-party money managers. We determine what best fits the client’s objectives, and that may be a blend of all three resources. We generally look at about five third-party managers and assess the consistency of their performance record, what asset classes they tend to specialize in, and how their strategies can align with a client’s goals. Some of the managers use a sophisticated, algorithm-based approach to managing strategies, and that can be effective in identifying trends and major changes in overall market direction or specific asset classes or sectors.

The bucket approach that Moses mentioned is important for many clients as an underpinning to our investment planning. The “growth bucket” is longer term and is designed to replenish the shorter-term income bucket. That fits well with our goals-based approach. The key thing is putting in the work to find diversified strategies that our clients feel comfortable with and that fit their realistic goals. Sometimes clients walk in with one idea about their risk tolerance, and then that evolves after more discussion. Eventually, we’ll help them determine what’s really a suitable fit. That involves finding the balance of risk and return that meets their individual needs, risk profile, and personality, and that helps to mitigate the perceived stress of investing. Moses and I agree on a key point: We tell our clients that if they are sleeping well at night concerning their financial plan and investments, then we are sleeping well! If that’s not the case, we will work with them to make the appropriate adjustments.