Latest / Financial Planner Search / Collaborative Planning & Diverse Wealth with Marguerita Cheng | Financial Planner Search
Transcript
- Gregory Wilnau: Rita, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Marguerita Cheng: Well, thank you so much for having me. Gregory Wilnau: Rita is correct, right? I call you Rita. ⁓ Marguerita Cheng: That's right. mean, my legal name is Margarita, but you can call me Rita. Gregory Wilnau: I like Margarita too, that's a good one. But we'll keep it Rita for short. All right, so to get started, maybe you could tell us a little bit about your practice and what you specialize in. Marguerita Cheng: Sure. Blue Ocean Global Wealth is a financial planning investment advisory firm based in Gaithersburg, Maryland that's right outside of our nation's capital. And what we specialize in is financial planning. Financial planning first, then asset management second. That's very important because all too often people talk about assets first. Assets are very important, but it all starts with a plan. Gregory Wilnau: Definitely. I love that you start with the financial planning piece first. So maybe you could tell us a little bit more about what inspired you to do this. Marguerita Cheng: Absolutely. ⁓ I studied East Asian language and literature and finance. ⁓ Double degrees. I think I was destined to become a planner. The eldest of three girls and my dad made it his mission for us to learn about personal finance. I actually know a lot about cars and tech too. We did not get the home improvement, but I love helping people and I... wanted to become a financial planner. I want to use what I learned in finance to help individuals and families ⁓ change conversations about money and wealth. Gregory Wilnau: That's awesome. How many clients do you have now? Marguerita Cheng: So we have about 88 families that we serve. Gregory Wilnau: Congratulations, that's great. All right, so let's talk a little bit more about the people that you serve and who you work with. So maybe you could take a moment to describe the kind of person who comes to you. Like what's a typical situation that they might need you to lead them through? Marguerita Cheng: Sure, I love this question because all too often people ask, well, describe your clients. And they focus a lot on the demographics, which are important, but it's really about the psychographics. What prompts people to reach out to Blue Ocean Global Wealth is they value the financial planning piece. That's very important to them because many times they are experiencing a life transition or planning for big goals and they're feeling overwhelmed or stressed. They're doubting themselves. Gregory Wilnau: Mm-hmm. Marguerita Cheng: And by the way, it could be chief financial officers of publicly traded companies or executives or even executives in the government. So I think the theme here, what prompts people is they're feeling overwhelmed, they're feeling stressed and they want to collaborate with someone and they want to make sure that it's a collaborative, supportive approach. Gregory Wilnau: Awesome. I love that. What are some of the questions that they typically ask you when they meet with you for the first time? Help us get into their head and where they're at. Marguerita Cheng: Well, what's interesting is I think I do a good job setting the stage and it's not meant to be self-serving because all too often people are like, ⁓ my gosh, what should I prepare for the first meeting? I said, there's never any fear obligation to engage in meaningful conversation. Just come as you are and bring your questions. So some of the questions are, hey, ⁓ have you worked with people in this situation? If you have, like how have you helped them? And I can give them high level information. That's very like comforting. The other thing I tell people is we can't be all things to all people. Like you may not like the fact that we are so ⁓ focused on financial planning. And so in some ways people are self-selecting, but they might ask, you know, how much money do I have to have? What do I need to bring? I want to tell them, you know, just come as you are. We're here to engage in meaningful conversation. It really puts people at ease. Gregory Wilnau: Yeah, so they might have a lot of questions about whether you are the right fit, the situation that they're in, do they have enough money, and kind of your approach, basically. I love it. Come as you are, no expectations. You just open up the conversation. So that's great. We were talking a little bit about psychographics earlier, or psychographics and demographics, and you're like, the demographics are important. So maybe we could talk about that for a second. Maybe what are some of the demographics, sorry, I can't talk today. What are some of the demographics that your ideal clients might fall into? So things like age range, income, net worth, tangible numbers where it starts to make sense to work with you. Is there anything specific? Marguerita Cheng: So sure, absolutely. I would say one of the things that I think is very unique about Blue Ocean Global is we tend to attract clients earlier than other firms. Like we might have clients, like one of my clients, he just turned 50 this year and I'm like, ⁓ my God, you were the youngest 50 year old I know. He has been with me since he was 32 and his wife was 34. And the reason why he's still with me today, of course he likes him, but it's not just above that. When they were starting out, I said, we focus on planning first. ⁓ Sometimes clients feel like they have to sell the advisor on why they're good clients. I know we don't have a lot of money to invest, but we earn good money with savers. We have the capacity and the ability to save. ⁓ I think that's... it's really important that you're creating that supportive environment for people. So what makes it different is we tend to get clients that are a little bit on the younger side compared to the industry average, more ethnically and culturally diverse. And that's very important. mean, I'm multiracial, I think, and a lot of blended families. Gregory Wilnau: Very interesting. like that. So there's some relatability there because that's also your background. So maybe that helps them feel safer or more understood. You can relate more to that. Yeah. Marguerita Cheng: Absolutely, particularly people who come from like multiracial, multicultural families. know, in some ways, so I'm ABC, for those of you listening, that's American born Chinese, right? I grew up, English is my first language, but yet sometimes I'm straddling two worlds. That's very comforting to prospective clients because even though I might not know the exact nuances, ⁓ I understand they don't have to explain themselves. Gregory Wilnau: Mm. Yeah, I love it. I love that you have that background and ⁓ that your clients can also relate to you. ⁓ Quick question. you do, checked out your website. Do you do any flat fee planning? Have you found that ⁓ younger clients typically are looking for flat fees or do you mainly focus on ⁓ doing assets under management? Marguerita Cheng: we do financial planning for a flat fee. So what's interesting is some clients can just hire us to do planning, right? And some people say, well, that's a lot of work. It is a lot of work. There's some people who, okay, one would say, well, why would you do all this planning if you know that people aren't going to have assets? There's reasons why sometimes people may not be able to move assets. Maybe they have Gregory Wilnau: Mm-hmm. Marguerita Cheng: all their money in their 401k through their employer. I'm glad they have a job, right? And they might need to do planning or maybe they're going through a divorce and during a divorce, they may not be able to move assets. So yes, financial planning for a flat fee, not hourly is available. Gregory Wilnau: That's awesome. I love that. When I first got started in my business, that's what I was looking for was a flat fee financial plan. But I actually had a hard time finding an advisor who did it. And I think over the last 10 years, more advisors are starting to do and offer flat fee planning. So that's why I wanted to ask. It was just a personal kind of thing for my own history. So I love that you're doing that because I think that's a part of the market that hasn't typically been served well that could really benefit from. Working with an advisor at least to the point where they you can even get them ready where AUM makes sense So I always like to ask that question. So thank you. Thank you for answering All right. Let's talk a little bit more about your approach and maybe your philosophy ⁓ And how your clients typically find you so where do you typically find your clients? What are some of the ways that you get to know them as individuals? Marguerita Cheng: So my clients, I typically find me from one of three ways. So referral, right? Happy clients are the best way to build your practice. So referral one. Two, would say web. I am a contributor to a lot of outlets and I'm also featured. So they might like something that I said. They might like the way I said something. That's two. Gregory Wilnau: Right. Marguerita Cheng: And then three, would say in what in some ways, it's kind of like referral, but from ⁓ like centers of influence. So that could be like divorce attorneys, business coaches, fitness instructors, people who have influence over others. Gregory Wilnau: who know you and know the other person and they're kind of like the cream filling. bring them to you because they realize that you'd be a good fit, possibly. Marguerita Cheng: Absolutely. And just being me, like, I mean, I am so my kids all swam year round. My younger two were like on three teams. So, I mean, I spent a lot of time on I used to spend a lot of time on the pool deck. I also coached girls on the run. So I get people who are interested just by me being me. mean, I don't carry business cards on me, but they see, ⁓ wow, you know, she's a really good, dedicated volunteer. She's organized on her A game. Calm like. while I like how she conducts herself in this space. Let me see, like, let me start the conversation. Gregory Wilnau: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. How about maybe what is, let's talk a little bit more about maybe some of the ways that you get to know your clients as individuals. Is there anything that you find yourself doing or maybe that's unique to you or something that you really enjoy about when you first meet somebody? Help us understand like something that's unique to you that you use to really get to know people. Marguerita Cheng: So this might be once a prospective client has decided to become a client. So when I ask them to organize ⁓ their information, I tell them that I'm here to support them. And I tell them, you can provide it to me anyway. If you use a spreadsheet, ⁓ if you want to do pencil and paper, it doesn't really matter to me. Here's what I want you to think about. When you're doing this, there's no judgment. I want you to think about your expenses in this way. There's core and essential expenses. I didn't say fixed because oh my gosh, gasoline is core and essential. You need money to put gas in your car, but it's not fixed, it's core and essential. So I tell people, I want you to think about your core and essential expenses. And then I want you to think about your lifestyle and variable expenses. And I tell them, I was like, I'm very intentional with the words I use. I did not say discretionary. And then I... Gregory Wilnau: Mm. Marguerita Cheng: share some hostile humor. Remember, I'm a swim mom. I had to wake up like before 4am to take my kids to practice. For me, coffee is not discretionary. It is an essential expense. It's a required expense. So when you're going through this exercise, I want you to think about your lifestyle and variable expenses that includes your passions, your hobbies, activities. That's when I get to know them. Gregory Wilnau: Ooh, that's early. That's a requirement. Yeah. ⁓ Marguerita Cheng: I think one of the most rewarding things that I experienced early this year as I went to see one of my clients, he's been a client for as long as my youngest daughter has been alive. He's been a client for almost 21 years. That's my youngest child. And he had this beautiful photo album and he's like, well, we can wait until after our meeting to go through this. He actually had his photo album of a Beatles. trip where he got to he first started in Liverpool, then went to Hamburg, and then went to yes, and then finished in London. Why is this important? Because I know how important music is to him. And he said to me, you know, this trip was a little bit expensive. And I told him, but you don't do it every year. And I just want to let you know, last year, an amazing year, the stock market, the market gave you money for this trip. Gregory Wilnau: The ⁓ I love the Beatles. The Beatles are my favorite band. I love the Beatles, man. It was a pilgrimage for him. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, we took a trip to Liverpool and I went specifically because I wanted to see Beatles stuff and it was awesome. I would trade my money for that experience anytime. You cannot take it with you. So it sounds like you also encourage people because you get to know the things that are important to them and you can help them weigh the decision about cost versus experience and also probably help bring some insight on this is probably worth it because this is so important to you. And you get to know them to the point where you can make those recommendations with conviction because of that. So I love that. That's awesome. And the Beatles are my favorite band too. So all right. So let's talk a little bit more about your practice and where you see it, what you're on, what you're working on. ⁓ Maybe in the next one to three years, what's your vision? Are there any kind of goals that you're working on? Marguerita Cheng: I mean, I do have goals. am actively, I realize when I look at ⁓ who is coming to me and what they value, I am a certified financial planner. I do have some other designations too, but certified financial planner first and foremost, but I've also earned the CDFA, which is certified divorce financial analyst. So to answer what is coming down the pike, of course, I promise you this will be approved by compliance. I would like to create like a... I don't know, maybe a page or maybe even another website just to help people with divorce with a specific focus on silver or gray divorce. I think that's really important. ⁓ As crazy it might sound, I tell people, I don't want them just to get through this divorce. I want them, it's not just about survival. I want them to thrive. And so I think that's something that I'm thinking about over the next one to three years. Gregory Wilnau: Mm. Yeah, I love that. I know when you own your own business, it's, you know, you've got to be thinking about what you're doing next and what you're working on. So it's great that you've decided that's a place that you could add value and you're planning on executing on that. That's, that's great. Okay. So, ⁓ I typically ask this question because I know, ⁓ as a business owner yourself and myself, we spend a lot of time probably thinking about the things that we want to do better and thinking about that a lot. And it's can be more challenging to think about the things that we do well and acknowledge that. So I'd like to take a second and ask you to put your humble hat on and maybe brag about yourself a little bit. So what's something that you might typically do for your clients that might take a lot of time or energy, but they probably won't ever see or know about? Does anything stand out to you? Marguerita Cheng: I mean, there's a lot of things I do. ⁓ I would say one of the things that I'm very proud of is I really try to be thorough. And for people who are still employed, I am in the weeds. I will actually ask them to upload or ⁓ information about their employee benefits. I don't think everybody is doing this, but this is something that is very important to me, I will do that. For those who are retired, ⁓ I might not be an expert in all the different plans in their region, because I do have clients across the nation. like networks can vary and you want to make sure you have their primary care physician, but I also take the time to help them get because it's for retired clients to like organize their ⁓ expenses on healthcare. I don't think everyone is like in the weeds like this, but it's something that I think is really important. And I'll just, you know, organize it for them so that even if they prepare their taxes themselves, they have that and if they don't, it's ready for like a tax advisor. It's something little, but it but it's it's the ⁓ extra attention to detail that makes all the difference. Gregory Wilnau: Yes, that little bit of love, right? A little bit of extra love. I love that. Okay, cool. ⁓ Maybe we could start talking about what it looks like to work with you. So maybe you could take a moment to walk us through your actual process. So when somebody becomes a client, let's say somebody becomes a client today, ⁓ maybe could you describe what it looks like to work with you the first four to eight weeks? What kind of happens? And then what does it look like to work with you during the course of a calendar year? But let's let's let's save that that last part for a little bit. Maybe just focus on what it looks like to work with you the first few months. Can you walk us through that process? Marguerita Cheng: Sure. So today I had an introductory meeting and the it was just like, come as you are, bring your questions. ⁓ And so ⁓ next steps for me and for someone who is going to be a client as part of the onboarding process. The first thing that I do is I invite them to a secure dashboard to store their items. ⁓ And in that dashboard, I also organize things for them. This allows them to upload their information whenever they want. It's safe and it's secure. The next part of that ⁓ is I'm also ⁓ sending them like a welcome email of what items to have. Now they're not required to upload every single item before our initial meeting, but this is what I'm going to need to be able to complete ⁓ a comprehensive financial plan that addresses the life goals that are meaningful to them. And then we schedule our like discovery meeting, if you will, where I'm helping them clarify, like their goals. I know you said retirement, but what does that mean to you? I know you said college, does that mean, you know, 100 % in state or are you willing to pay for private and so clarifying quantifying their goals, then I go back and we meet. again and it's about proposing well actually even before we even propose solutions we take a look at where they are. Status quo, what happens if we don't do anything? What happens if you just sign up? What happens if you continue on this path? Can they see where they are? And then that's when they're like hey you know you mentioned that you want to retire at this age here's what it looks like so this scenario planning so I'd say between Gregory Wilnau: Mm-hmm. Marguerita Cheng: what you said, like four to eight weeks. ⁓ Clients know exactly when they're gonna hear from me, but if we have to reschedule because of personal professional commitments and responsibilities, we absolutely can. But I tell people I like these deadlines because it holds me accountable. Gregory Wilnau: Yeah. Yeah, I'm the same way. ⁓ Well, it's also mutual accountability because there are kind of stakes in the ground that you're both working towards. And like you said, if you need to reschedule, you can. But here's what we're doing. Here's when we're doing it. I think that's really important, especially when you start working with someone like you, is have that accountability and to have that structure. All right. So that's what it looks like the first couple of weeks. How about during the course of the calendar year? I'm assuming that and if I'm wrong on this, let me know. that a lot of the work is front loaded, getting to know the client, getting the dashboard set up, understanding more about them and their goals. So after the first four to eight weeks, what does it look like to work with you during the course of a calendar year? Like, what can they expect to work? How can they expect to work with you like after a year, two or three? What does that help me understand what that looks like? Marguerita Cheng: So every client that comes to Blue Ocean and Global Wealth has to do financial planning. We're not assets under management. Even if you win three, five million dollars, we don't want to take your money because it's only through financial planning where we understand ⁓ what's important to you. personally so we get to learn your personal situation as well as your financial situation. So there might be some clients where it's like hey I'm just hiring you for financial planning. If that's the case it might be a little bit different because it's like a ⁓ closed engagement but if it's ongoing financial planning and asset management people do meet with us more regularly. It could be ⁓ topics of discussion that are relevant. So for example, tax season, you know, I'm making sure that I'm talking to people on a proactive basis about things to be aware of things they can do. There's some seasonality. So for example, if they, ⁓ you know, are getting a refund or they need to adjust their withholding. ⁓ The other thing is maybe they We're lucky enough to receive a bonus at work. What do we do with that cash helping them, you know, identify providers for how do you savings account still pay a better return than your savings or checking account, as well as CD. So there's a lot of things that we do throughout the year above and beyond investing. Just making sure people are aware of everything that's available to them, because there's a lot of information out there. but there's a difference between information and actionable advice. Gregory Wilnau: Yeah. And that was something that stood out to me before we actually started recording, which you mentioned that you're one of the things your superpower is, it came across to me as execution. Right. So information is great, but we're all of us are inundated with information. So how do you take information and turn it into action that lines up with a bigger picture? And it sounds like that's one of the things that you also specialize in. You do help get clear on the bigger picture, but then as things come up, As the information's added, you turn it into action in a way that helps your clients move forward. So I love that. I can see why that's a really valuable thing. I do want to take a step back because I actually had another question that I wanted to ask you and I forgot. So let me ask this one really quick. So as your practice has grown, are there any programs, trainings, or organizations that have kind of helped shape your approach and maybe positively impacted how you serve your clients? Is there anyone you'd like to give a shout out to? Because none of us do this alone. So maybe this would be a good opportunity for you to make a note of those. Marguerita Cheng: Well, sure, I definitely want to give a shout out to the professional associations. I can't say enough. ⁓ You know, I joined the Financial Planning Association and some people be like, why would you join the Financial Planning Association? That's nothing but a bunch of competitors. I don't view us as competitors. I view us as collaborators. So much so that I actually served on the local board of directors and I was ⁓ president and then chair. Gregory Wilnau: Mm. Marguerita Cheng: I would definitely like to take the opportunity to thank the financial FPA community, Financial Planning Association community, FPA community, because I wouldn't be there without the, not just the continuing education, but the professional education in learning new things. Gregory Wilnau: Mm-hmm. could see why that would be really valuable to you, especially since you are big on the financial planning piece. So I can see why that would be completely invaluable for you. Awesome. Let me see. We have time for one more question before we see how somebody can get in touch with you. All right. I know you do you do you heavily focus on the retirement ⁓ financial planning piece. and you do retirement, but you also do flat fee planning for people who are earlier. But what are some things that your clients or prospective clients should be excited about after retirement? Maybe could you give us an example? Let's help us get excited about this. Marguerita Cheng: So I think it's really important. And you know, the client that actually went on the trip to Beatles, it's interesting. His wife told him, I'm not gonna let you retire until you have a plan for how you're gonna spend your time. She's so wise, right? So what I want clients to do is not focus on what they're leaving behind, but focused on a new beginning. ⁓ Gregory Wilnau: That's a very wise yes. Marguerita Cheng: I think that that's really important, something to look forward to. Now this client actually retired like during the pandemic. So there was a period in time where actually, I actually helped him a lot because he was actually gonna go to Japan in 2020. If you read my bio, you know that I spent time in Japan. And he's like, the ⁓ travel company is not gonna give us our money back. And I was like, we're in a global pandemic, give me that phone, I'm gonna call those people. Gregory Wilnau: Mm. Marguerita Cheng: So make a long story short, he did get the money back and they were able to go in 2021 or 2022. I think that what I want people to be excited about, it's not just about travel, but to explore new things. Like another client used retirement as a time to return to music, know, take guitar lessons, learn how to play the guitar or improve their guitar playing skills. Gregory Wilnau: Yeah. Yeah, I can relate to that. I don't know if you can see, but I've got. Yeah, it's an acoustic. It's an electronic kit, so it's quiet. You have to put the headphones on. But my poor parents, we when I was growing up, I didn't I had a really loud drum kit. I remember my dad walking into my room. I was playing for like three hours and he just walked in with his hands like this and said, please stop. So but, you know, it's it's. Marguerita Cheng: Yes, I can see the instruments. Gregory Wilnau: Great to have the time, freedom, and the bandwidth to be able to explore music. So that's many things to look forward to. All right, Rita, well, thank you so much. Last question, for anyone listening who is interested in working with you or speaking with you, how can they get in touch? What should they do next? Marguerita Cheng: Well, they can visit our website www.blueoceanglobalwealth.com and then submit a form and we will reach out to you. Gregory Wilnau: Well, thank you so much, Rita, for coming on the podcast. Appreciate you and have a great rest of your day. Marguerita Cheng: Thank you so much.