With a financial services career spanning more than 34 years, Barry P. Mitchell Jr. is eminently qualified in his role as a trusted advocate helping clients navigate every type of market environment. He founded Next Level Private as an independent fiduciary advisor to serve their best interest. He takes great pride in his ability to add value by providing clients with a high standard of support, collaboration and knowledge. Moreover, his experience in helping successful families, individuals, professionals and business owners has deepened his expertise across diverse areas of wealth management. This enables him to deliver customized solutions for each client’s unique financial situation.
Russ Prince: You recently made the move to independence. What were the reasons behind this move and why now?
Barry P. Mitchell Jr.: Looking at the changes in the wealth management business over the last 10 years, I feel like I almost had no choice. The overwhelming necessity to be a fiduciary was the main reason, and the big broker-dealers seem to resist being under the fiduciary standard.
We’ve always put our clients’ interests before our own and didn’t want to feel pressured to use a parent company’s approved products, services and pricing. As an independent RIA, we are free from those proprietary constraints and can select from a full spectrum of financial research, planning resources and product offerings to find the best solutions for your particular situation at the fairest price. Full transparency and always putting the client’s best interest first is a no-brainer.
Prince: I have heard you say on many occasions that your industry has it all wrong. You say, “Most people believe they are in the money business and they just happen to work with people,” and you believe that “you’re in the people business and just happen to deal with money.” Can you explain what you mean by this?
Mitchell: In the answer to your first question, “Why independence? Why now?”, I talked about transparency and operating under a standard that always puts the client’s best interest first and reducing conflicts. If you believe in the following three tenets, it is self-explanatory.
The first is always putting the client’s interest first, the second is total transparency and the third is eliminating conflicts. If you worry about helping your client and focus only on their best interest, then the financial side of the equation takes care of itself. The big banks and all public companies only seem interested in increasing and beating quarterly earnings estimates. I call this the “profits first” mentality, which I think is totally backward. Client first just feels like the way to go!
I say we’re in the people business rather than the money business because our most important consideration when taking on a new client is not how much money they have to invest, but rather how much help they need and what we can do to help them live more impactful lives. Our approach is all about building deep and meaningful connections with our clients that help them feel more confident about their financial decisions, which in turn leads to a greater sense of freedom and an overall improvement in their lives.
I think our name also reflects how our business is all about the people we work with and serve. We chose the name Next Level Private because each day, every member of our team tries to do at least one thing for a client that will help them get to the next level. Next Level Private is all about increasing impact and giving back to our communities.
Prince: What do people thinking about retirement need to do to live a life of fulfillment?
Mitchell: In my opinion, very few folks live a fulfilling or meaningful retirement unless they do what I call the “pre-work.” Most people do not know how to retire, they just know that they want to retire. But for someone who has spent 40 or more years building a business or a career, having that go away can leave a substantial void. That’s something we always discuss with our pre-retiree clients or those who want to sell a business.
We feel that planning a successful retirement comes down to answering several simple questions. Start with the why. Why retire? Why now? “Why” really is the most important question of all, because strange as it may sound, retirement isn’t for everyone. Look at Warren Buffett; he’s 91 and still working.
Among the reasons why we start retirement planning with the “why” question is due to the distinct links that research has demonstrated between stress and overall mental and physical health. We want to be sure our clients are mentally as well as financially prepared for retirement.
Once you know the why of retirement, then you can move on to how. How do I stay engaged? How can I still add impact? How can I be productive? How do I continue to grow? Remember, retirement does not mean getting ready to leave this world. We think retirement can also mean getting ready to start the next adventure, which can last another 30 plus years.
Russ Alan Prince is the executive director of Private Wealth magazine and one of the leading authorities in the private wealth industry. He consults with family offices, the wealthy, fast-tracking entrepreneurs and select professionals. Connect with him on LinkedIn.com.
