Gregory McBride, Ph.D. • Cantonment, FL
American Heritage Financial • OneAmerica Securities, Inc.
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Proactive Advisor Magazine: Gregg, please share your motivation for becoming a financial advisor.

I was raised in a faith-based family and have always been involved with the church. My grandfather, a Baptist preacher, was a big influence in my life. He and my grandmother also managed a home that cared for foster children.

During my college years at the University of Southern Mississippi, I served as president of the Baptist student union. Over more than 30 years, I have been a pastor, an educator, and a church leader in a variety of settings. I earned a master’s in divinity and a doctor of philosophy degree in theological education from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I was trained in guiding people to make better life decisions.

In 2013, with the support of my financial advisor, I became licensed to start a career helping people make better decisions with their money. I joined his firm and greatly appreciate the mentorship I received, gaining proficiency as a financial advisor. After three years, I moved to a larger financial-services firm, American Heritage Financial, which offers comprehensive services and support for professionals and their clients.

I am passionate about meeting and serving people from all walks of life. I think my background in ministry has honed my ability to listen to people empathetically. This skill, combined with my financial training, allows me to help people solve their financial problems, find and cultivate suitable opportunities, and seek to improve their lives.

What is your philosophy as an advisor?

A few truths inform the way I approach my advisory practice. I believe prior generations helped build this country and its manufacturing economy with tremendous effort, ultimately passing unlimited opportunity to the baby boomer generation. Baby boomers were integral to the shift to a more service- and technology-oriented economy. They have accumulated the greatest wealth of any generation and are now aging into retirement. They are about to transfer this wealth to a generation that may or may not be equipped to handle it well as responsible stewards.

My mission is to help both the retiring boomer generation and the younger generations that follow to be better stewards of their finances. As good stewards, we are entrusted with capital to responsibly use, share, and manage for growth. When we leave this life, we should have more to give back than we’ve received. This is a great message for a sermon on money, but it’s an even better lesson for those figuring out what to do with their money. I left the pulpit to help fill this void and add value to people’s lives through financial education and guidance.

As a financial advisor, the theme of stewardship informs everything I do with clients. This includes (1) helping clients figure out what is truly most meaningful to their lives and values as they approach retirement planning; (2) looking at wealth accumulation and investments not only from a return perspective but also in terms of accountability for investment choices; and (3) making ethical and efficient choices regarding tax minimization, protection of assets, and legacy planning.

“As a financial advisor, the theme of stewardship informs everything I do with clients.”

Talk about your financial-planning process.

I do not have a rigid planning process as each individual, family, or business is unique. The planning needs of a small-business owner often differ greatly from those of a church pastor. But there are commonalities in how I approach every new client relationship.

At our first meeting, I tell everyone that my objective is to make them more efficient in the use of their money. If they decide to work with me, they need to share everything that informs their financial lives—both positive and negative.

We spend time helping them envision what they want to do with their money. Are they more focused on income now and in the future, or do they want to maximize asset accumulation throughout their lives? Do they want to fund a charity, or are they more concerned with family legacy? What does their ideal retirement look like? What values, people, and activities are most important to them? How do they view their financial priorities and worry points? What are their attitudes toward investment risk?

With the resources they have and the potential income streams in place, we work together to analyze several planning scenarios and discuss the pros and cons of each. Some people are more aggressive investors, while others are more concerned with capital preservation. My process involves getting to know someone well enough to provide suitable, efficient options grounded in responsible stewardship. Along the way, I provide as much relevant financial education as I can. Importantly, I explain why the three main objectives we will explore for their money flows are income, liquidity, and legacy—and how they can be addressed in an integrated fashion for their specific situation.

A final point about my process is that I can provide guidance across a full spectrum of financial- and retirement-planning needs. Our firm’s structure includes capabilities in wealth management, insurance, and risk management; Social Security planning; long-term-care options; workplace benefits and business-owner solutions; Medicare planning; investment accumulation and distribution strategies; wills and trusts review; 401(k) and pension analysis; and the development of tax strategies to provide efficiencies across the entire plan.

What is your broad investment philosophy?

I think that financial and investment planning should prioritize risk management, help to secure an income stream, and then focus on building wealth. All of our investment recommendations are based on each client’s overall financial objectives, risk profile, and time horizons.

One of the educational areas I focus on with clients is the concept of the sequence of returns. Poor investment returns early in one’s distribution years, or even just before retirement, might mean running out of retirement funding. Therefore, we need to help clients build investment and income plans that seek to protect them from that possibility while also pursuing risk-managed growth opportunities.

I use an analogy of someone selling sunglasses on the beach here in Pensacola on a perfect summer day. This works well until a rainstorm moves in for a week. Then they better have some umbrellas available to sell. Similarly, an investment plan must be prepared for all eventualities and not be fully exposed to volatile equity markets. We have seen the consequences of such exposure several times in this century.

As an advisor, I believe it is my responsibility to be agnostic about investment products and services. I take pride in having access to the sophisticated products available in today’s investment environment and the ability to create customized investment plans that take advantage of a full range of strategies.

Within this context, my goal is to help those approaching or in retirement employ their assets in an efficient manner. After carefully studying the many approaches to this challenge, I believe a combination of insurance, specific types of annuities, and risk-managed investment strategies can provide an efficient long-term retirement solution. This approach may offer reliable income, risk management, asset growth potential, tax efficiency, inflation management, and legacy planning. In the investment bucket, where appropriate, I often look to products or strategies offered by third-party investment managers that usually employ active risk management. Additionally, other investment options such as REITs, buffered ETFs, fixed-income strategies, dividend-paying stocks, or cost-efficient passive funds might play a role in a customized investment plan.

A final point on my investment philosophy relates to the concept of stewardship. Clients should be aware of how their investments are deployed and, when possible, choose investments aligned with their values. Good stewardship also means that I have the responsibility to ensure my clients thoroughly understand how the elements of their investment plan work together. Together, we will periodically review their plan’s performance and make any necessary adjustments—another element of their active, responsible stewardship of their money.