Morningstar Advisor - December 2012/January 2013 - (Page 13)

Lee Baker, CFP, Apex Financial Services African-Americans seek Baker’s advice about entering the business. “There’s not a ton of old black CFPs around for younger folks to talk to—or even middle-aged black CFPs,” says Baker, who’s 45. One tip that Baker offers to aspiring planners: Build your business through referrals. He credits a doctor who became a client years ago with sending a number of friends and family members over the years. “The good news is, if you’re a financial planner and you’re good at it, you will get referrals,” he says. Focus on Planning How he caught our eye: Deeply involved in the Financial Planning Association, where he works to attract greater diversity to the profession. Career path: Earned bachelor of industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1990. Worked in insurance before earning the CFP designation in 1996. Founded Apex Financial Services in 1998. Served on the board of directors of the FPA from 2008 to 2010. Chaired FPA Experience 2012. Personal: Married, with two children, ages 7 and 11. Chair of Trustee Ministry at Antioch Baptist Church North, president-elect of Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization, served on various boards, including Emory University CFP Program Advisory Board and Wesley Community Centers. Favorite funds: Columbia Dividend Income Fund LBSAX, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth RPMGX, Vanguard REIT Index VGSIX, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock VEIEX. Baker emphasizes planning in his practice, rather than growing assets under management. He manages about $10 million for clients. Funds from the Vanguard family are among those he turns to frequently. He also uses some exchange-traded funds in client portfolios. “I’m agnostic when it comes to passive verus active, but I’ve got to feel confident enough that an active fund is going to deliver enough individual value above the index,” he says. Though Baker got his start in the insurance business, he no longer promotes that service. He expects it will become an even smaller art of his practice in the coming years, as he focuses on planning. In October, he chaired the FPA’s national conference, held in San Antonio. After that event wrapped up, he was ready to get back to work in his business and to spend more time with his wife and children. He’s also turning his attention to alma mater Georgia Tech, helping to establish an endowment for engineering scholarships. “I’m always trying to find something to do, but also finding that balance between working on the business and tithing an appropriate amount of time, giving back to the community,” he says. K Kate Stalter is an investment advisor with Portfolio LLC. She is also a columnist at RealMoney.com. To help spread the word that financial planning is for a wide spectrum of clients, the FPA launched blogs where readers could submit questions for planners, including Baker. Baker is also proud of the diversity initiative that he helped launch at the FPA. He approaches this topic from different angles, beginning with the small numbers of female planners. “When you look at the demographics in the country, the majority of the inhabitants are female. But maybe a fourth of the planners are,” he says. He also wants to bring more non-white planners into the industry. The FPA offers a Diversity Summit, as well as a Diversity Scholarship, which covers attendance at an FPA conference and other opportunities to collaborate with the organization. “We’ve had some success there,” Baker says. “We’ve seen more women, AfricanAmericans, Latinos, and Asians who have become members of the FPA, been active, gotten engaged at the chapter level, and are doing good work in their community to reach different segments of society that historically have largely been ignored.” Because he has been in the financial-services industry for more than 25 years, young MorningstarAdvisor.com 13 http://www.RealMoney.com http://www.MorningstarAdvisor.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - December 2012/January 2013

Morningstar Advisor - December2012/January 2013
Contents
Contributors
Letter From the Editor
What Stands Between Me and Stupid
Why Do You Use Dynamic Funds of Funds?
Serving Clients and Community
How to Pick an ETF Managed Portfolio Strategy
Tactical View of Risk
Investments á la Carte
Investment Briefs
Unbundling ETF Managed Portfolios
Risks Loom Over Telecom Industry
Outsourcing Asset Allocation
ETF Managed Portfolios on the Rise
Age-Based Options Take Over 529 Industry
How the Landscape for Advisors Is Changing
Mark Egan Embraces Volatility
Alpha, Beta, and Now … Gamma
Performance Gaps
Gains in Momentum
Companies Where Management Teams Add Value
Our Favorite Mutual Funds
50 Most-Popular Equity ETFs
Undervalued Stocks With Wide Moats
The Once and Future King

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