Helping clients create a lasting legacy
Helping clients create a lasting legacy
Trevor Cochrane, CRPC • Fort Worth, TX
Reverb Financial • Securities America Inc.
Read full biography below
Proactive Advisor Magazine: Trevor, talk about how you see your firm’s mission.
The naming of our firm, Reverb Financial, was very intentional. “Reverb” is a term used to describe a sound that lasts beyond itself. That’s what we strive to do for our clients. We prepare families and professionals to create financial plans that last beyond themselves and echo into the next generation. We educate and assist our clients as they prepare for their financial future by helping them dynamically manage risk and preserve and pursue growth.
We don’t just work with those who already have a legacy to leave. We also want to empower families and individuals to build a legacy to pass on—whether that is to their children and grandchildren, communities, church, or other institutions. Values are very important to our firm. We would like to see our clients grow their ability to steward their resources with wisdom—and in a way that reflects their values. We want to help our clients produce positive changes in the trajectory of their lives.
Describe your client base and financial-planning process.
Because of my pastoral background and our focus on building legacies, about half of our current clients are either a part of a ministry vocationally or volunteer at a church. But leaving a legacy isn’t just a faith-based principle—it is something people from all walks of life desire. We work with a wide range of clients, covering many different demographic segments and occupations or professions. In addition to working with individuals and families, we understand the unique benefits and challenges of operating a small business and how business owners need to prepare for their retirement.
In addition to retirement-planning clients, I especially enjoy working with young families. For the young family, life is constantly changing, and with every shift comes new challenges. For example, they might be thinking, “What 401(k) options should I choose? How do I invest toward my children’s future? What is the best approach to planning for college funding? How would buying a home impact our budgeting and cash flow? Will my family be OK if one of us passes away unexpectedly?” We find that couples facing these types of major decisions will benefit greatly from having a conversation early on regarding financial planning.
While we approach each new client relationship with flexibility, there is a specific process we follow. The first step is to get to know one another and establish a relationship. During this step, we learn more about our clients, explain to them our fees and processes, and mutually decide if there is a good fit.
Assuming the fit is good, we then move into the data-gathering process, both soft and hard data. We want to discuss their hopes and dreams and help them think about those in terms of more specific financial objectives. In terms of hard data, we analyze their current financial situation. We look at assets and liabilities, insurance coverages, benefits and retirement programs, and so forth—assembling a complete picture of where they stand currently.
One of my favorite questions to ask at this stage is, “Imagine we’re at our 10-year review meeting. What has been your greatest accomplishment over the last 10 years?” They might answer both from a financial perspective and in terms of their overall life, family, and career. I follow up by asking, “What do you think your greatest concern might be in 10 years? Are you satisfied with your preparation so far for the next decade in your life?” This type of discussion yields a wealth of information that will inform the planning process. In general, specific recommendations might not come until we have had several meetings with an individual or couple, since we spend so much time on education and finding out what is most important in a client’s life—now and into the future.
The next steps are the comprehensive analysis of their planning needs and developing their financial plan. Usually, the plan will include multiple scenarios. We discuss the pros and cons of different approaches together, weighing the trade-offs involved and reviewing the basic principles of each plan element. Since empowering our clients is a part of our mission, we spend ample time explaining the basics of financial and investment planning—concepts such as life insurance, long-term care, estate planning, and different investment approaches. Once there is agreement on moving forward with the specific plan, we take great care with plan implementation. We are transparent about each plan component and the third-party providers we may use. We believe that conversations with our clients should be ongoing. We offer clients different check-in options—quarterly, bi-annually, or yearly—where we review the monitoring and progress of their plan. They can contact us at any time, of course, with questions or to discuss any changes in their lives.
What is your overall investment philosophy for developing client portfolios?
We create portfolios that cater to our clients’ specific goals, whether that is for retirement income or tax-sensitive growth. The investment plan should be a natural outgrowth of a client’s financial plan objectives, and risk management is a guiding factor. We assess our clients’ goals, age and time horizon, and capacity and tolerance for risk to determine how we will recommend allocating their portfolio.
I believe both active and passive styles of portfolio management can be beneficial, depending on the client’s objectives. Certain portfolios make a lot of sense with a buy-and-hold management style, especially for tax-sensitive models. Other portfolios can make a lot of sense with active management, most often, but not exclusively, qualified accounts. We will often diversify a portfolio with both active and passive strategies. This is just another way to enhance diversification and alignment with a client’s goals.
We frequently use third-party investment managers because of the value they can bring to our clients. I look for money managers that have a proven track record, a high degree of transparency, and a process and service structure that is easy to work with. I think it is a sound business practice to bring highly experienced and sophisticated investment resources to our clients. I like when very qualified investment professionals have a stake in the success of our clients. Clients also benefit from having a larger team involved with the construction and implementation of their investment plan. We don’t necessarily use the same managers for every client account. Again, we are aligning portfolio allocations with the specific goals of each of our clients, developing customized portfolios in each case.
Client education and managing expectations are two of the most important aspects of our investment-management process. While we strongly emphasize risk management, markets will inevitably have periodic bouts of volatility and pullbacks. During review sessions, we review portfolio performance in the context of longer-term objectives and a client’s risk profile. While there are no guarantees as to a specific quarter or year, we believe over the long term that well-constructed, risk-managed portfolios will help clients in achieving their investment objectives.
“We help clients manage their finances in a way that changes the trajectory of their lives.”
What would you like a client to say about working with your firm?
The highest compliment to my mind would be if they said I have the heart of a teacher, meaning I ascertained their needs, communicated in a way that was accessible and compelling, and took the time to explain complex concepts in a manner they understood. At the end of the day, what is most important is having a meaningful impact on someone’s life—which is something every great teacher strives for.
Trevor Cochrane, CRPC, is the founder and principal financial advisor at Reverb Financial, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Cochrane says, “We help clients manage their finances in a way that changes the trajectory of their lives and allows them to pour into their community and impact the next generation.” Reverb Financial offers a comprehensive suite of financial-planning and investment-management services.
Mr. Cochrane spent his early years in Mesick, Michigan, and his family later moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He has “many positive memories” of his childhood, from spending time on his grandparents’ Christmas tree farm to attending family reunions. He says his family has a strong faith orientation, with his father and maternal grandfather both pastors. In addition to focusing on his studies in high school, Mr. Cochrane says that he was passionate about playing guitar, achieved notable success on his school’s track team, and led youth Bible studies.
Mr. Cochrane, like his father, graduated from Frontier School of the Bible in Wyoming. He was deeply involved in the college’s music program and often conducted chapel services. He went on what he describes as a “transformational” missionary trip to Africa, where he taught biblical study classes to young pastors. Following college, Mr. Cochrane and his wife spent time in several cities where he was involved in a variety of pastoral and youth ministry duties at different churches. He also worked in automotive sales while participating in a new church start-up in New Orleans.
Mr. Cochrane decided to pursue a career where he could combine his “love of teaching with making a meaningful impact on people’s lives.” He says he saw that as a financial advisor he could help people with “their financial education and stewardship and leaving a legacy for the next generation.” He founded Reverb Financial in 2020. He says he is grateful for the mentorship he has received from several people in the advisory business and the resources that are available through his broker-dealer relationship. He has recently earned the professional designation of Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC).
Mr. Cochrane and his wife have three young boys. He says they love spending time together as a family, whether swimming, enjoying other outdoor activities, celebrating their faith, or just watching a movie. Mr. Cochrane works part-time at his church and helps with leading worship. He has been an avid guitarist for 15 years and is a dedicated runner.
Disclosure: Securities offered through Securities America Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Securities America Advisors Inc. Reverb Financial and Securities America are separate entities.
Photography by Sarah Hailey
New this week:
The 3 C’s of client service
Trevor Cochrane, CRPC, is the founder and principal financial advisor at Reverb Financial, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Reverb Financial offers a comprehensive suite of services, including integrated financial planning, wealth and investment management, retirement-income planning, insurance strategies, and estate and college-funding planning.
Mr. Cochrane says, “We pride ourselves in making our financial-planning services transparent and easy to understand. We would like to help clients manage their finances in a way that changes the trajectory of their lives and impacts the next generation.”
His firm’s core client-service principles focus on the three C’s: connection, coaching, and consistency. Here is how he articulates these principles to clients:
- Connection: “Our first meeting is all about you. What are your goals and concerns? What are you hoping to accomplish by connecting with a financial planner? You talk. We listen. In order to create a financial legacy, we need to know your goals. If you’re unsure what those are, we can help you identify them.”
- Coaching: “Financial education and literacy are at the heart of what we do. We dedicate a lot of time and energy to helping you understand the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’ of your financial options—which is the key to empowerment. This is the nuts-and-bolts stage of financial planning. We map out the real-life steps to reach your destination. When we’re done, we have enough information to develop a personalized financial plan that is uniquely you.”
- Consistency: “We believe our conversation should be ongoing—not just a one-time occurrence. That’s why we offer you different check-in options: quarterly, bi-annually, or yearly. Outside of formal meetings, you can contact us any time with questions or to discuss changes in your life that might affect your financial goals.”
