The Wall Street Journal - 19.03.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, March 19, 2020 |S7

Portland, Ore. No. 1

McGee Wealth Management/Raymond James

JudithMcGeedidn’twaitforanxiousclientstocall

herwhenthestockmarketwasdroppinginlateFeb-

ruaryoncoronavirus-relatedconcerns.Shereached

outtoremindthemthatthesuccessofafinancialplan

isn’t predicated on the short-term performance of

stock indexes.

McGee,CEOofMcGeeWealthManagementin

Portland,Ore.,acknowledgesthatthingscould

getmuchworse:Thecontagioncouldcontinueto

spreadformonths,causingstockstoreelandthe

economy to sink into a recession. For now, she isn’t

planninganysignificantchangestoclientportfoli-

os, which she had already positioned to withstand

stress in August.

“Wedidn’tanticipateavirus,butwewereexpect-

ing increased volatility in 2020,” says McGee, who

managessome$648millionfor800householdswith

average wealth of $3 million.

Withinstockportfolios,shelayeredinlow-

volatility strategies that use options to cushion the

downside.“Andwedidadeepdrill-downinfixed

income,gettingridofanythingconsideredjunk.We

wanttostickwiththehighest-ratedbondsofAAor

higher,” McGee says.

Asthelatestcrisesplaysout,McGeesaysshe

expectsthatopportunitieswillbegintoopenupfor

savvy stockpickers. Sweet spots will be in online re-

tail,pharmaceuticals,andtechnologycompaniesthat

don’thavegreatexposuretosupplychains.

“Youmightadjustyourassetallocationifyouwant

toreducetherisk.”shesays.“Ifyouwereata70%to

30%mixofstockstobonds,maybeyounowwantto

beat60%to40%.”

McGee,aPortlandnative,77,gotherfirstjobatan

advisoryfirmin1975.“Icanofferhonestadviceand

yearsandyearsofexperiencehandlingthousandsof

financial-planning cases,” says McGee, whose longest

client relationship dates back to 1979.

Based on her pandemic analyses, McGee is telling

clientstheycouldseea20%to25%declineinstocks.

If she’s right, she acknowledges that portfolio values

will decline despite the stabilizing measures she put

in place, and that it will be unsettling to clients.

Sheplanstostayinclosetouchwithclients

throughreports,emails,andcalls.“Theywanttohear

that you’re not panicking,” McGee says.—K.H.

JUDITH

McGEE

Photograph byCLAYTON COTTERELL

$648M

To t a l A s s e t s

$1M

Typical Account

$3M

Typical

Net Worth

Aspen, Colo. No. 3

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel

When Wally Obermeyer meetswith clients,

he can not only offer wealth-planning advice but

alsoswapstoriesonthenutsandboltsofentre-

preneurship. As president of Aspen, Colo.–based

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel, he heads

oneofthelargestregisteredinvestmentadvisors

in Colorado. He also serves as vice chairman of

his family’s successful ski-apparel line, Sport

Obermeyer. “It’s just having that perspective of

howtorunthings,”Obermeyersays.

Obermeyerdisplayedbusinessacumenearlyon.

Whenhewas15andlivingonafarmoutsideAspen,

hewenttoalocalbankonhisownandborrowed

moneytobuyabrownSwisscow,so,inhiswords,

hecould“sellthemilktothehippiesinAspen.”He

later purchased more milking cows, selling them

afterhighschooltomakeadownpaymentonsome

property in nearby Snowmass Village. That real

estateventureputObermeyerthroughcollegeand

business school, during which time he developed a

hydroelectric project in southwestern Colorado that

providescleanenergyto5,800homes.

This pedigree, Obermeyer believes, resonates

wellwithColoradansandthosewithpropertyin

Colorado, who make up about 70% of the 600 fam-

ilies Obermeyer Wood works with. “The environ-

ment is our backyard, and people care deeply about

it,” he says.

Obermeyer, 63, founded Obermeyer Wood in

1998. The RIA has $1.6 billion of assets under man-
      agement and 20 employees.
      Obermeyer flies himself in his Pilatus PC-12NG
      betweenthefirm’sDenverandAspenoffices,as
      wellastofar-flunglocationstomeetwithhiscli-
      ents.“Thereareanalogieswithflyingandinvest-
      ing,”hesays.“Inflying,ifyou’regoingtodoitwell
      andsafely,itrequiresagreatdealofpreparation
      andcontingencyplanning,likelookingforalter-
      nate airports and weather analysis.” In a similar
      way,ObermeyerWoodpridesitselfondoingits
      ownresearchandanalysisforthemajorityofits
      securities.
      Obermeyer’s advice after the recent market tur-
      moil:Maintainrelativelyconservativeassetallo-
      cations,lookforstocksthataremorerecession-re-
      sistant, and “be willing to buy good companies on
      sale.Theeconomywillindeedslowforawhile,so
      be patient.”—M.M.

WALLY

OBERMEYER

Photograph byPHILIP VUKELICH

$1.6B

Total Assets

$3M

Typical Account

$10M

Typical

Net Worth

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