Advisor Success Story–John Williams and Scott Davis

Independence and self-education are themes that run through John Williams'life. As co-founder of Davis, Williams & Associates, Inc., an independently owned and operated financial consulting firm in North Carolina, Williams lives out his values daily as a financial entrepreneur, community leader and client advisor.

Williams and his business partner Scott Davis use wealth management because the discipline fits in with their own value system and the way they present themselves and their business. "As someone who has a strong sense of independence, wealth management makes sense to me," says Williams. "You're asking clients to support their values with their resources. I can't think of any more effective way of organizing a whole panoply of necessities, from finances to family issues."

He adds: "I come from a family of educators, so the process of wealth management is satisfying. When you're assisting people in their quest to maximize their resources for selffulfillment and on behalf of their families and communities, you are providing a deep level of education. They will be able to better utilize the resources they have—which is the whole point of education, improving self-sufficiency and providing a frame of reference that opens up new avenues."

Wealth management is actually an outgrowth of financial planning, which became both popular and practical in the 1990s as a way of organizing a full financial picture. One difference is that financial planning is involved in the provision of a plan but not necessarily its implementation. Additionally, financial plans tended to be fairly straightforward, placing individuals in certain categories and providing them with ready-set solutions.

Both Williams and Davis, via wealth management, have pushed beyond financial planning, operating as their clients' chief financial officers. They organize legal and accounting services and supervise the customized planning and implementation of tax, estate and retirement planning as well as investing.

For their investing approach, Williams and Davis have implemented DFA's asset-class investing as one of their strategies.

Asset-class investing provides a group of funds with historically predictable returns and varying degrees of volatility over time. DFA blends these funds to provide portfolios that reflect a client's expected return and tolerance for volatility. By outsourcing the investment process and focusing on a CFO role, Williams and Davis provide clients with more attention, which leads to an even better effort when it comes to monitoring the wealth management process.

"We used to approach our practice a little differently,"Williams admits. "But a wealth management approach that uses DFA defines industry best practices as far as I am concerned. It gives you the opportunity to help clients determine what is most important in their lives, then work with them to align their values and goals with their resources."

Williams was a business major who switched to accounting and then became involved with financial services almost immediately out of college. He "wanted to own some sort of business" and after a short accounting stint decided he would gain more practical experience in financial services. He joined a national agency that specialized in medical and disability insurance; then he met Davis. Four years later, the two set up their own shop.

Like Williams, Davis has an entrepreneurial bent and values business and personal independence, which he learned as a child watching his parents run a driving school. He began his own investment accounts at age 16—which led to a formal education in finance and economics, a string of professional designations, and eventually the financial firm he founded with Williams.

Today, the pair has about $100 million under management and some 350 clients. Their practice has matured over time and diversified as well. Going forward, the pair envisions a firm with more assets and fewer clients. The client base will probably shrink by attrition, while assets will grow as the practice continues to focus on wealth management. "Wealth management has made the biggest difference," Williams points out. "We've raised our minimums, and we're careful about whom we bring on board as a client. We want to be able to provide them with a level of service that is congruent with our capabilities and the expertise that we can make available."

The pair has been assisted in their efforts to implement wealth management practices by CEGWorldwide, a wealth management coaching firm that works with advisors and financial institutions. "CEG Worldwide is the Cadillac of wealth management assistance," Williams says. "We were introduced to them through our broker-dealer, and they have provided us with insights that are both practical and inspired."

Williams and Davis emphasize independence and education for themselves and their clients; thus, the two partners learn more about their own values alongside their clients. "I knew that building a business would be a voyage of self-discovery," Williams said. "But what I didn't anticipate was that the service itself would focus on those kinds of issues. To be able to help people more deeply realize what is most important to them is a privilege beyond the independence that comes from entrepreneurship. Scott and I are most grateful."

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