Patrick Hamill, CWS • Toledo, Ohio
Hamill Financial Services • Sigma Financial Corporation
My father founded a successful insurance practice in the Toledo, Ohio, area back in the 1960s. He acquired his investment licenses in the early 1970s and expanded his practice over time. I joined the practice after college, and we have been working together ever since. I realized that my lifelong exposure to financial decision-making had really made an impact on me. I studied marketing and finance in college, so everything fit together quite well.
I cannot give enough credit to my father for introducing me to the financial world and years of great training. Although he has now been in the business for over 50 years, he is still actively involved and comes to work on a regular basis. I also give him credit for steering clients through a lot of ups and downs in the markets and maintaining a level attitude through it all.
I acquired my Certified Wealth Specialist (CWS) credential some years ago, and that was extremely useful in helping me to work on evolving our practice. We have made the change to a fee-based advisory practice and to taking a holistic approach to overall financial planning. We tell clients that the planning phase informs everything we do, and execution of insurance, investment, and other recommendations must follow that. I believe clients have seen real benefit from the advisory model, both in terms of cost efficiency and the types of sophisticated investment products and strategies we can bring to them.
My father and I have been working on a succession plan for a long time, over eight years. This involves transitioning the clients who started with him to more direct contact with me. If they are willing, we want them to go through a full planning process again: creating a balance sheet, income statement, and making sure their investment policy statement is right on target.
I have also introduced these clients to the advantages of a fee-based advisory arrangement and to the concept of active investment management using third-party money managers. For some of the older, more conservative clients, it takes quite a bit of education. Clients with a stronger risk appetite tend to grab hold of the active-management story very quickly. They appreciate the nonemotional process, the quantitative orientation, and the fact that these sophisticated strategies are now available to them. Using expert money managers frees me up to do what I do best—focusing on the overall financial plan, making strategic recommendations, and building strong relationships.
Disclosure: Securities offered through Sigma Financial Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC. Investment Advisory services offered through SPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. Hamill Financial Services is independent of Sigma Financial Corporation and SPC.
Photography by Scott Stewart
