The Wall Street Journal - 19.03.2020

S6| Thursday, March 19, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

New York No. 48

Merrill Private Wealth Management

Managing the finances of finance professionals

mightsoundlikeanunenviabletask.ForDavid

Magrone, founder and leader of the Magrone

Group, it’s a welcome creative challenge.

“Howdoyouconvincethemastersofthe

universe that your solutions are worthy?” says

Magrone,wholaunchedhisNewYorkpractice

asapartofMerrillPrivateWealthManagement

morethantwodecadesago.Hecurrentlymanag-

es $3.3 billion for 50 clients, half of them found-

ers or senior principals of private-equity funds,

hedge funds, or financial firms.

Magrone,51,focusesonensuringthathis

finance-pro clients are diversified around the

investmentstheymanagethemselves,andthatthe

otherhalfofhisclients—top-levelbusinessexecu-

tives—are diversified around their company stock.

His clients’ deep knowledge of the markets

removedtheneedforhand-holdingthroughthe

recentvolatility,butMagronesayshewaspleased

tobeabletoreportthathehadalreadydialedback

riskinclientportfoliosgoingintothenewyear.

“It’shardtopredictanyexogenousshocklikethe

currentone,butwewerefortunatetohavebeen

buildingsomedrypowderbeforeithit,”hesays.

Howthatcashwillbedeployedremainstobe

seen.“Thequestioniswhentheviruswillbecon-

tainedandwhatpolicyactionmighttakeplace,”he

says.“Oncethemarketgivessomeclearsignals,we

willbeabletobemoreconstructive.”

In the meantime, he recommends staying disci-

plined.“Mostofmyclientsarefortunateenoughthat

they don’t need me to make them wealthy—they’ve

done that,” Magrone says. “They need me to make

suretheirlifestylesandplansarenotgoingtobe

compromisedshouldsomethinghappentothem

ortheirwealth-creationcapabilities.What’smore

importantthanhowstocksperformedversusbonds

or alternatives is having a solid financial plan.”

Magroneaimstofosterarelaxedandopen

dialogue with clients, and begins every relation-

shipbycreatingafour-pageresourcebookletthat

givesclientsa“synthesisoftheirworld,”hesays.

Thatprocesshighlightsanyneedforchangessuch

as in titling of assets, beneficiary designations, or

liability protection.—K.H.

DAV ID

MAGRONE

Photograph byERIK TANNER

$3.3B

Total Assets

$30M

Typical Account

$50M

Typical

Net Worth

Tulsa, Okla. No. 6

Mariner Wealth Advisors

Earlyinherwealthadvisorycareer,Jana

Shoulders came face-to-face with a particularly

toughclient—herfather.

An Oklahoma rancher and world-champion

rodeo rider, Jim Shoulders equated wealth solely

withland.Hebalkedatinvestinginanyassets

otherthan“dirtandthingswithfourhooves,”

sayshisdaughter,whowantedhimtodiversify

hisholdingsandgainliquidity.

Thesolutionwas“puttingmyselfinhisboots,

learningwhatwashiscomfortlevelandwhatit

wasgoingtotaketohelphimunderstandand

evolveattherightpaceintoinvestinginsomething

else,” she says.

That experience taught Shoulders an invalu-

ablelesson.“Ireallyfocusonspendingalotofmy

energy understanding where [clients] are coming

from,what’simportanttothem,what’sthefabric

oftheirlife,”saysShoulders,nowmanaging

director of the Oklahoma office of Mariner Wealth

Advisors.

Shoulders’Oklahomaoperationnowboasts$2

billion of assets under management. She heads two

offices,oneinTulsaandtheotherinOklahoma

City,withastaffthattotalsabout70.

Shoulders,63,wasapracticingCertified

PublicAccountantinTulsafor19yearsfocus-

ingontaxesbeforeshestartedherRIApractice

in 1996, founding a firm she called Adams Hall

AssetManagement.Shecalledherevolvingrole

“financiallifemanagement.”TheMarinergroup

acquiredamajoritystakeinearly2012.

BecauseShoulders’practiceiscenteredon

Oklahoma,manyofherclientshavesignificant

investmentsinenergy,whichhasbeenhithard.

Such cycles are nothing new, but because the

clientsare“movingintothenextphaseoftheir

lives,”shesays,it’snecessarytotalkthrough

comfortlevelsandaninvestingtransition.

She’s telling clients that the recent market

shocksare“transitory,”notamarkettop.“Weare

optimistic that the second half of the year is going

tobepositiveinspiteofthechallengeswehavein

theenergypatch,”shesays.

And her father, who died in 2007?

“Thelastfivetosevenyearsofhislife,wewere

abletoaccumulateareallyniceinvestmentportfo-

lio,”Shoulderssays.“Hewassograteful.”—M.M.

JA NA

SHOULDERS

Photograph byBARRETT EMKE

$2B

Total Assets

$3M

Typical Account

$9M

Typical

Net Worth

AMERICA’S TOP 1200 FINANCIAL ADVISORS 2020