Morningstar Advisor - June/July 2013 - (Page 13)

Carol Berger, CFP, ADPA, Founder and Principal, Halcyon Wealth Management In a nod toward cost-containment, Berger works from a home office. To boost credibility among potential gay and lesbian clients, she earned the Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor designation from the College for Financial Planning. Though she is committed to attracting same-sex couples to her practice, Berger acknowledges that it has not been as easy as she’d hoped. She currently works with a more traditional client base, and she emphasizes that she does not turn away qualified prospects, regardless of their status. She has about $10 million under management. How she caught our eye: Launched own firm to build niche serving gay and lesbian community. Career path: Earned bachelor’s degree with high honors in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1981. Worked for Mobil Oil for 14 years designing computer systems and as a financial analyst before opening and operating a Mail Boxes Etc. franchise for five years. Completed the Financial Planning Program at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Passed CFP exam in fall of 2006 and became CFP professional in 2009. Was a wealth manager with her approach is the DFA US Core Equity II Fund DFQTX, which is generally the largest portfolio holding. Another significant holding is the DFA Tax-Advantaged World ex US Core Equity Fund DFTWX, the key piece of Berger’s international allocation. Other investments diversify clients into small-cap value, international small caps, emerging markets, and other asset classes. Cambridge Southern Financial Advisors in Stockbridge, Ga., for six years before launching Halcyon Wealth Management in 2012. Personal: Partner of 34 years. Has a 7-year-old African Grey parrot named Turbo. Raised in the Canal Zone in Panama. Favorite Funds: DFA US Core Equity II Fund DFQTX, DFA Tax-Advantaged World ex US Core Equity Fund DFTWX. it with calm. She settled on Halcyon, a Greek word that not only suggests peace and tranquility, but also richness or prosperity. Building a Client Base Because Halcyon is so new, much of Berger’s effort goes toward marketing and prospecting. She is a member of the local chamber of commerce, as well as the Atlanta Gay Chamber. She is experimenting with advertising in a local alternative newspaper and plans to increase her social media presence. When she set out on her own, one of the toughest decisions was what to name her firm. She wanted something that reflected her desire to remove stress from clients’ lives and replace She hasn’t yet relied heavily on referrals, opting to wait until she has a longer track record with her existing clients. Although Berger does financial planning as well as asset management, she won’t take planningonly clients. “The investments are such an ongoing, important piece that I can’t put together a comprehensive plan knowing that clients are going to do it themselves or have somebody else working on that part of it. I wouldn’t know whether it’s going to be done the way I said it should be,” she says. She does, however, manage the portfolios of some clients without having done a financial plan. In those cases, she charges a lower percentage of assets under management, because clients are not getting the full wealth-management package from her firm. Though Halcyon is still young and in growth mode, Berger sees plenty of potential in her goal of working with same-sex couples, which she believes form an underserved niche. “There have been times in my own life when I wasn’t entirely comfortable getting advice, so hopefully they will feel more comfortable with me than with someone else,” she says. K Kate Stalter is an investment advisor with Portfolio LLC. She is also a columnist for RealMoney.com MorningstarAdvisor.com 13 http://www.RealMoney.com http://www.MorningstarAdvisor.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - June/July 2013

Morningstar Advisor - June/July 2013
Contents
Contributors
Letter From the Editor
Not Your Values
How Do You Use Alternatives for Clients?
Working to Build a Niche
How to Put Buffett’s Investing Philosophy into Practice
Sophisticated Strategies for the Masses
Investments á la Carte
Investment Briefs
The Percentile Trap
Defense Firms Will Stay Aloft
Beware the Lure of Diversification
Using Alternatives in Practice
Managed Futures and Cash Rates
The World Is Getting Grayer
Waiting to Pull Up Anchor
The Price of Managing Volatility
Let’s Get Back to Basics
Our Favorite Mutual Funds
50 Most-Popular Equity ETFs
Undervalued Stocks With Wide Moats
Mutual Fund Urban Myths

Morningstar Advisor - June/July 2013