Welcome back to our Spotlight Series, where we interview and showcase members from our team!
For this month’s “Spotlight,” we get to hear about Matthew Belardes, Wealth Management Specialist here at Capital Growth. With a Juris Doctor degree, Matt is a high-achieving individual who aims to improve his knowledge of the world at every chance. Learn how his legal training and global perspectives help him plan for the long-term wellbeing of his clients.
Great to see you again, Matt! Why don’t we start with some basics? How would you describe your main responsibilities as a Wealth Management Specialist and Portfolio Associate?
On the investment management side of our business, I’m responsible for implementing investment strategy and performance reporting. On the financial planning side, I primarily help clients review their estate plans.
So, a little bit of everything. You also have a Juris Doctor degree with legal training, is that right? How does that help you navigate your role and improve clients’ experience at Capital Growth?
Legal training is designed to sort out the most important aspects of a problem and relay solutions to clients in an organized and easy-to-understand format.
Many clients have this perception that estate planning is either dull or complicated, and I help them see how it comes down to a few key decisions and simple steps that can have a large positive impact on their long-term financial plan.
I can definitely see where your big-picture thinking comes from. You also managed to get your J.D. in just three years and while working full time. Wow! How did you stay motivated?
Red Bull and French press coffee kept me alert and in the game, but what kept me motivated was the financial crisis of 2008 and the need to become a more well rounded and highly specialized investment professional.
The best job security is providing a reason for clients to have a high level of confidence in you, along with your ability to deliver on their expectations. It was an interesting time to study law and work in the investment industry.
I’m sure it was! Right before joining Capital Growth, you also worked for big corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Wells Fargo. In your experience, what benefits can your clients expect when working with a smaller independent firm?
From a client perspective, the benefit of working with a smaller independent firm is that where a giant corporation may tell its millions of clients that they all matter, at a small independent firm, we actually mean it.
Understandably, these larger firms have a national and global view, while we focus more on our local community of clients. We don’t rely on our name recognition—it’s our service model and the satisfaction of clients that significantly benefits each of them on an individual basis.
Now, we have to discuss the fact that you’ve explored all 50 states with your wife. What were some highlights of that trip?
The main highlight was just how different every region of our country can be, and just how large it really is. Culturally, we are a very diverse place with a lot to offer. From a historical perspective, it really is amazing how far we’ve come in fewer than 300 years.
I can’t disagree with you there. You didn’t stop there, though—you also traveled around the world! How did it feel to come home after gaining all those brand new perspectives?
In regard to the investment management business, where we’re allocating client savings to businesses involved in a global marketplace, that trip really reinforced the understanding that we live in an increasingly globalized world with lots of opportunities to earn a return as global growth expands. That is, if we can all get along with each other, which seems to be difficult at times.
Yep, we definitely have our moments, unfortunately. I’ve heard you’re well-read in political theory and history, which perhaps explains your nuanced global views. Any book titles you care to recommend?
A great book to understand the cyclical yet repetitive changes in American politics and economics over the generations is “The Fourth Turning” by Neil Howe and William Strauss.
Another good reason to read it is because it’s often misquoted and misrepresented by people who either hate it or love it. Better to just read it and form your own opinion. It makes a lot of interesting points that helps put a lot of the recent shocks and changes in historical perspective.
It’s definitely true that looking back a little can teach us a lot about our future. For you, you’re almost entering your fifth year now with Capital Growth. What about your next five years? Anything you look forward to achieving?
The next five years may be a challenging time for investors, as a lot of economic and political headwinds seem to be coming to bear at the same time. I look forward to helping clients navigate turbulent times and stick with the plan. Conflict, oil shocks, economic challenges… These are not unique to our time, but have been an ongoing aspect of the American economy and financial markets since our inception.
While clients cannot control what goes on in the world around them, I look forward to helping them plan for the variables they can control in their daily lives.
Beautifully put, thank you Matt. And to leave us off with more to think about—do you follow a philosophy when it comes to wealth management?
Success in managing wealth, in my opinion, largely comes down to diligence.
Saving money, spending wisely, assessing risk, forming a plan, committing to a long-term strategy… These are all steps in wealth management that require diligence, and clients who remain diligent for the long haul likely improve their ability to grow and protect their wealth significantly.
Talk to Matt and gain more intelligent perspectives about your financial future. You can get in touch with him at matthewb@capitalgrowthinc.com, or learn more about him on his Capital Growth page.