Monument Resource Center

Our clients hire us because they recognize the value of our Team’s unique, straight-forward, unfiltered opinion and our tailored advice designed to answer their questions, not everyone else’s. Below, you’ll find some of the most important questions we have been asked over the years to help you better understand the role we play and the advice we give.

5 Things That Happen When You Refer Someone to Monument

When you share what is working in your life with others, good things happen!

It’s nice to be the “expert” and it’s really nice when someone can connect you with a resource to solve your problem. Sharing who and what makes your life easier and makes you feel great can have a long-lasting impact on someone else’s life… this could mean introducing people to your hair stylist, your physical therapist, or your wealth advisor –Yes, you read that right…your wealth advisor!

Have you thought about recommending Monument to a friend or colleague?

If not, I can think of a few reasons why:

  • Finances are private so it can be uncomfortable to talk about.
  • Finances are complicated so it can be hard to explain details about what services you use even if you think they are valuable.
  • It may feel pushy or “salesy” to directly connect people with your financial advisor.
  • What if it doesn’t work out? No one wants to make a bad referral.

 

At Monument, we, too, make personal and professional introductions. We feel your pain and that’s why we have a process that’s a painkiller! We would love to meet your friends, associates, and yes, even your in-laws, if you think we could help them and that they’d enjoy working with us. And rest assured that we will maintain complete privacy for both you and your contact.

How do I know if my friend or client would be a good fit for Monument?

Great question. Our clients tend to be people coming into relatively newfound wealth, or they have overwhelmingly complex financial situations and need help.

(You can always refer to the Are We a Fit page on our website!)

If you have a friend or client who you think is a good fit, don’t stress about explaining what we do because we know how to do that, and don’t worry about being “salesy.” All you need to do is share a sentence or two about your experience with Monument in a simple email introduction to any one of us on the Monument Team, and we will take it from there.

 

Here Are The 5 Things That Will Happen Next:

1. We will respond to you both right away to thank you for the introduction and to let your contact know we’d like to have a short phone call to meet.

 

2. One of our partners will have a call with your contact to find out more about their specific needs and questions. We will share what they can expect when working with Monument, including our process and our philosophy on successful wealth management. And because anyone can call themselves a “Financial Advisor” (and so everyone does…), we will explain what it means to work with a fee-only fiduciary and how that differs from “fee-based” planners and the advisors at the big firms. We will also find out how they envision their relationship with their financial advisor, to see if we are a good fit for each other.

 

3. If we are a good fit for each other, we’ll set a time for a Monument Blueprint Meeting. This is our interactive discovery session that kicks off our relationship and sets the foundation for their Private Wealth Design–our collaborative, creative, and customized approach to turning diverse opinions, ideas, resources, and investments into a design that represents the life they want to live. This is a very exciting experience that helps provide clarity and removes the anxiety of the unknown.

If we are not a fit, we can still help! We have a network of other advisors who we know personally and who subscribe to the same philosophy we do but serve different clients. We’re happy to make an introduction.

 

4. If your contact completed a Monument Blueprint Meeting, the next step would be for them to decide whether or not to continue with the full Private Wealth Design process and engage Monument to help manage their investments.

 

5. Finally, we will circle back with you to let you know how everything turned out. Making this kind of introduction requires trust. We appreciate your trust and every introduction you choose to make; we will not leave you in the dark about the outcome.

Here is One Thing That Will NOT Happen.

We will not torture your friend/colleague with a hard sell. Again, we are fiduciaries providing financial advice in the best interest of our clients and we do not sell any products. To quote our Partner, David B. Armstrong, “We are not selling timeshares so don’t be scared…we are normal people, just like you.”

This process of making introductions isn’t a black hole of uncertainty. You are making connections to help a friend or colleague meet a need they have. They are happy to have a partner in solving their problem, we are excited to share our advice and expertise, and you have just established yourself as a source of good ideas and help. We hope to meet your friend soon!

And remember, a great place to start getting to know us and what we do is on our website, our Off The Wall blog, and podcasts.

Cathleen D. photo

Cathleen D. Phelps

Client Experience Manager

Cathleen has two big drivers-–a challenge and a love of learning. She cannot resist a challenge or a problem to solve, and cannot rest until she’s conquered it. Every morning, Cathleen runs or works out at Crossfit for an energy boost that gets her mind awake and going, ready to face whatever the day brings. She admits there’s always something that needs figuring out, and if she needs to learn something new to do it, that’s even better!

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION

Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Monument Capital Management, LLC [“Monument”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions.  Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Monument. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. No amount of prior experience or success should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if Monument is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Monument is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice.

A copy of the Monument’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures. Please Note: Monument does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Monument’s website or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

Historical performance results for investment indices, benchmarks, and/or categories have been provided for general informational/comparison purposes only, and generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.  It should not be assumed that your Monument account holdings correspond directly to any comparative indices or categories. Please Also Note: (1) performance results do not reflect the impact of taxes; (2) comparative benchmarks/indices may be more or less volatile than your Monument accounts; and, (3) a description of each comparative benchmark/index is available upon request.

Please Remember: If you are a Monument client, please contact Monument, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services.  Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.