A Family Affair

Legacy—the term is often used in relationship to a child following a parent into college, but can also be seen in the corporate environment, as children follow their parents into business. This practice has always been present in the financial adviser space—this is, after all, a relationship business—and has become a small trend in the retirement plan advisory niche, as well.

 For some, bringing their child to work is a continuation of what their own parent did. For Karen DeRose, president and managing partner of DeRose Financial Planning Group in Chicago, who was brought into the advisory business by her father, inviting her son in was the natural thing to do. “Watching the third generation of what my father started, now being taken up by my son, is gratifying,” she says. “With the passion he brings to serving our clients, I know he is going to become a wonderful financial planner and serve our clients with the same devotion as my father. Anthony has the care and understanding to help motivate clients to get their financial house in order.”

 PLANADVISER spoke with six parent/child retirement plan advisory teams about what it is like to work with each other, how it benefits them personally and the values they bring to plan sponsor clients and participants.

 As all relationships—business or not—are based on trust, it is unsurprising that trust and honesty are the two most-cited advantages of family members working together. 

Ken and Brian Catenella“Because we are father and son, there is an innate trust factor between us,” says Jason Chepenik, managing partner of Chepenik Financial in Winter Park, Florida, who works with his father, Barney Chepenik, the firm’s founder. “If I had a different partner, it would not be the same. Having Barney as my partner is vitally important for the business and our employees. Barney is the backbone of the practice and is really critical to our success.”

Another father/son team is Ken Catanella, managing director, wealth management, and his son Brian Catanella, vice president, wealth management, at The Catanella Institutional Consulting Group in Philadelphia. “The fact that we get a chance to spend a lot of quality time with each other, devoted to something we are passionate about and really enjoy, is one of the biggest advantages of working together,” Brian Catanella says. “This is something we truly believe in. Along with that, trust is a big part of the collaboration. It’s something we probably take for granted, but we know we have each other’s backs and are there for each other.”

Again, trust is the “biggest advantage” for Jon Willhite, senior vice president at The Willhite Institutional Consulting Group in The Woodlands, Texas, of working with his daughter, Taylor Willhite, team administrator. “We know that we are operating with no other agenda than doing the right thing for our clients. We are in a competitive and fast-paced working environment,” he says. “Being a family team helps us serve clients better and grow more readily with new clients.”

From her perspective, Taylor Willhite says that working with family “eliminates the ego and the politics you may find in other offices and allows us to focus on what matters most, which is our clients.”

Barney and Jason ChepenikAlong with trust comes honesty—and culture—driven through shared family experiences, agree Corby Dall, president and managing partner of 401k Advisors Intermountain in Salt Lake City, and his son, Brady Dall, senior vice president, client service. “It is completely different working with family than it is with other partners,” notes Corby Doll. “While we tend to think differently because of our ages, we still think similarly because of our family upbringing and culture. Some of the things that are ultimately important to us are different than with other partners.”

Grooming the Next Generation
Without fail, all of the first-generation advisers say their son’s or daughter’s contributions to their firms have exceeded their expectations and instilled tremendous confidence in them among their clientele—pride is apparent in their descriptions of their offspring’s employment. However, to preclude feelings of nepotism from others in the office, they also note how important it is for their children to have a strong work ethic and that they foster their child’s career objectively.

In that mindset, the second generation generally can rest assured that their parents will do their utmost to mentor them—even if it means criticism—and support them in working their way up the ranks. Says Anthony DeRose, associate partner at DeRose Financial Planning Group, “Whenever my mom is critical of me, it is to help me be the best adviser I can be. She wants me to succeed. That is the best thing for me, personally.”

John Mott, executive director and financial adviser at The Mott Group at Morgan Stanley in Houston, says his clients have responded overwhelmingly positively to the work of his son, Josh Mott, client service associate.

“I began to see it when we started bringing Josh to the committee meetings and we saw their reactions,” John Mott says. “The committee members thought it was neat to see a father and son working together. Many of the industries we do business with don’t have the luxury of a business model they can pass along to their sons. From the beginning, at the first quarterly meetings Josh attended, all of the committee members approached him after the meetings. He has an innate ability to talk to folks 20, 30 or 40 years older than he is and make them feel comfortable.”

Brady and Corby DallMott says that working with his son is very encouraging for their clients because if he is unavailable, “they know they have someone else they can talk to. Again, much of it goes to the comfort level that the clients have developed from working with Josh. He is a perfect fit for this business.”

Likewise, Jon Willhite says his clients have taken keen notice of the many hours his daughter devotes to her job and how thoroughly she handles requests for proposals (RFPs) they issue. “My favorite story about Taylor was when one of our largest clients was combining recordkeepers for its defined contribution [DC] and defined benefit [DB] plans,” he says. “We went through our initial rounds of RFPs, and because Taylor had put all of the spreadsheets together, I decided to take her with me to the client to present the findings herself. Imagine us in a large boardroom with the CEO, the CFO [chief financial officer], the general counsel and the head of HR [human resources] present. I said, ‘I am going to sit back and let Taylor take you through the results.’ Afterward, each of these executives came up to me and said she answered every question impressively. That has been her M.O. from Day One. She is very, very detail-oriented.”

Corby Dall has been equally impressed by the accomplishments of his son. “Brady has risen beyond my wildest expectations. Our clients have a lot of confidence in him, and, because of the dynamic of how we have split up the service and put much of the responsibility on his shoulders—I am more responsible for the growth of the business while still maintaining client relationships, while Brady is the day-to-day point person—I am personally very much at ease in knowing our business will run smoothly,” he says. “A couple of my closest friends and best clients jokingly ask me why I am there, because Brady has done such an excellent job.”

Helping the second-generation players continue to develop their skills and strengths is also important, says Karen DeRose. “For the most past, Anthony will present our financial plans for our clients,” she says. “In our next phase, because I believe he can handle it with confidence, he will present more of the new recommendations and strategies. I want to get to the point where I don’t need to be there anymore.”

John and Josh MottLearning From Each Other
The family teams also say it is invigorating to have a younger generation join the practice, that their children bring new ideas and challenges for them to consider, including concepts they would never have thought of otherwise. For example, Taylor Willhite points to her father’s technology development. “Over the years, his practice has evolved to embrace improved service and technology. He has been able to adapt.”

 “The combination of my father’s background, experience and knowledge of the industry over many decades, coupled with a fresh way of looking at the industry based on my age and the way I process things, really helps clients,” Brian Catanella says. “We have various strengths that different clients may gravitate to—some to my father, others to me. It’s a good combination.”

 Ken Catanella agrees that it is good to have different perspectives and fresh thinking. “While I have my own expertise, I have learned that you have to change with the times. Having a younger counterpart who is bright and energetic is a huge advantage for me and our entire team. You become more energetic when you have a younger partner like your own son.”

 John Mott says his son has come up with new ideas for client interaction that at first he resisted but that have turned out to be phenomenally successful. One was to hold a client appreciation family event, offering a private showing of “Jurassic World,” with a curator from the Houston Museum speaking before the movie about what parts of it were based on dinosaurs that actually roamed the Earth and what dinosaurs were fabricated. Also at Josh’s suggestion, the practice held a client dinner at cookware retailer Sur La Table, where guests could learn how to cook a meal.

Jon and Taylor WillhiteThe younger team members enable their practices to speak to the needs of Millennials. “I can tell them how important it is for young people to start saving early and saving adequately,” says Brian Catanella.

Likewise, Taylor Willhite has found that younger participants who call in to the practice’s toll-free 800 number seeking advice oftentimes ask for her. Listening to how she communicates with younger investors has helped her father learn how to better speak to their needs and cultivate their business, she says.

Such familiar partnerships also allay any questions about succession planning and tacitly prove to clients that the practice is dedicated to serving their retirement plans for the long haul.

“Many of our clients have known my father for many years,” Jason Chepenik notes. “With my dad present in a meeting, it underscores how long we have been in the business and been profitable. But with me present as well, it implicitly tells clients that we are not going anywhere. And I bring new ideas and technological competency.

“I think relevance is what is important here,” he says. “For example, we just picked up a multiple employer plan at a company where the son is now taking over the business. My dad and the owner talk one language, and I and his son talk another. It’s really nice to have both generatio

Karen and Anthony DeRoseWorking with a son or daughter also solves the succession planning issue, which so few financial planners have addressed. A recent Accenture report found that only 29% of financial advisers have a succession plan. “With me at age 58 and Josh at 26, our clients see a succession plan in place, which is extremely important,” John Mott says. “While I am going to continue to do this for a long time and will continue to bring Josh up to speed, our clients now have another point person and are comfortable turning to Josh with their questions. And, they know there will be a continuation of service. That is a huge advantage for us.”

Barney Chepenik agrees: “People want to know who is going to be taking over the business. Knowing that Jason is my partner is a very comfortable feeling for clients.”

Family and Office Culture
The family teams say that working as a father or mother and son or daughter team instills a family culture at their practice and amongst their clients.

Chepenik Financial “is like a family,” Jason Chepenik says. “We know our eight employees’ children. We spend a lot of time on the home fronts. It makes our practice mean more to us because it is real.”

Family is a major focus for folks in Utah, says Brady Dall. “Many of our clients are also family-owned businesses and enjoy doing business with us. This allows us to have very personal relationships with our clients, which is a certain advantage.”

Ken and Brian CatenellaHis father concurs: “The culture out here is family. Whether it’s a small business or a large business, they are all family-oriented, and they appreciate it when we call them family, too. And that is borne out by the hugs we get from committee members when we go to their offices for meetings.

Being a family business, the family team members say that they derive a lot of personal satisfaction from working with one another. “I get to see my son every single day,” says Barney Chepenik. “When I look at all the day-to-day scenarios and think about what we do, it is great to have my son in business with me, and the business has a solid footing. And I get to have interaction with his kids since they frequently come by the office after school.”

For this part, Jason Chepenik enjoys the time with his father as well. “I get to work with my father. It’s very special. How many people get to spend time with their parent every single day? And we have fun. We laugh all day long.”