“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” as the saying goes. To Jeff Leppert, Kevin Holt and Mark Meloro, this saying is more than a turn of phrase. It’s a way of doing business.
Leppert, Holt and Meloro are partners in Market Street Wealth Management, a full-service, independent wealth management and financial services firm based in West Chester. Together, they have created an integrated model designed to help clients in retirement or pre-retirement achieve their financial goals—creating long-lasting streams of retirement income, making informed insurance decisions or leaving a legacy for the next generation, and often all of the above. Through the coordinated efforts of highly skilled team members, the partners of Market Street Wealth Management believe they can not only deliver superior service and better results but also help clients enjoy a simpler, more enjoyable retirement.
“Our thought as we built this firm was that a client could have access to a team of professionals, all working together and talking to each other on the client’s behalf,” says Holt. “We listened to what our clients needed, so when people come to us, they can speak with a team of financial advisors, a CPA, an estate planning attorney and others, so they can address not only their investments but also their tax planning, insurance, estate planning, health care, you name it—and it’s all under one roof.”
While each of the three partners has a unique area of focus, the firm has steadily acquired additional resources and team members with complementary expertise—investment planning, tax planning, insurance, legal services, etc. This continued growth ensures that clients can make well-informed decisions based on the wisdom of a team with decades of experience in their respective fields, according to Holt.
“We have even floated the idea of having an advocate for retirees in terms of health care and nursing home placement, because there are a lot of things our clients need as they get older,” Holt says. “We want to truly be a place where [clients] can come and benefit from having a full, one-stop resource.”
Although the stock-market index is approaching an all-time high and tax rates remain relatively low, debt in the United States has climbed to astronomical heights. In other words, people need more guidance than ever in order to effectively prepare for a sound financial future, according to Meloro.
“Most clients have one thought: ‘Am I going to be OK?’” he says. “That question is a whole lot more complicated than ‘Is my stock or mutual fund doing all right?’ As we see different needs arise, we believe in making sure we are ahead of the curve and that we have the proper people in place to help. Besides all of us being under one roof, we do a lot of planning. What I mean by that is we don’t recommend an investment or a path to retirement income without first doing a financial plan for the client.
“Some advisors invest a certain way based on how much money a person thinks they need, but the investing doesn’t involve a plan,” he continues. “When you’re putting together a blueprint for building a house, you have to start with a good foundation. If you don’t, that house isn’t going to stand the test of time. It’s the same way with a financial plan.”
When crafting customized financial plans for clients, Market Street Wealth Management uses powerful software from Conshohocken-based eMoney Advisor LLC. Each real-time financial plan is updated constantly, thereby helping the advisor and client collaborate in the decision-making process. When a client comes in for a formal meeting, he or she meets with an advisor and other members of the Market Street Wealth Management team to discuss the financial plan’s progress, strategies going forward and any necessary adjustments.
“On the investment management side, we’re completely independent so a client can get any stock, fund or whatever it may be—whatever is best for their situation,” Leppert says. “We’re acting as a fiduciary, putting the client’s interests first. We take a proactive approach and look at a lot of different economic indicators. With retirees, their biggest concerns are the big downturns like we had in ’01, ’02 and ’08. If we that see things aren’t looking good, we’ll get together with the client and start shifting toward more conservative [investment] vehicles.
“I’ve been retiring people for 23 years, and [planning out a retirement] is not as simple as looking at your monthly expenses now but also considering the unexpected things that arise,” he adds. “A person might be in retirement for 10, 15 or 20 years, or even longer. They will look at their pension or their Social Security check and say, ‘I can live off this income,’ but they’re not realizing they might need to put a new roof on the house, buy a new car or have to deal with some unexpected medical expenses. … There is no such thing as a crash-proof retirement, but we prepare [clients] for any potential pitfalls.”
With the creation of each financial plan, Market Street Wealth Management always considers the “what-ifs” and takes into consideration any existing investment or income vehicles, such as pensions and IRAs. The team then looks to create streams of retirement income that will not only last a lifetime but also be the most beneficial to the client in terms of potential tax implications, according to Holt.
“The most common comment we get from people is, ‘I didn’t think of that,’” he says. “That’s what our job is: to think of the things they don’t know about that might keep them from reaching their goal.”
Each of the partners meets with his clients, who tend to be high-net-worth individuals and business owners, a minimum of three to four times per year. The frequency could very well increase in light of significant life changes, market concerns or special circumstances, such as year-end tax planning.
In addition to meeting with clients in person, Market Street Wealth Management regularly conducts public educational workshops throughout the area to provide clients and prospective clients with broad-based information about investment pitfalls, long-term care and other topics with financial implications. They also host their own Web-based radio show, “Retirement Matters,” which tackles everything from how to maximize Social Security income to avoiding common mistakes tied to one’s 401(k). Details on the educational workshops, as well as past episodes of radio show, are available on the firm’s website, www.marketstreetwealth.net.
No matter how Market Street Wealth Management interacts with a current or prospective client, it’s always done in a comprehensive manner, and always with an eye toward putting a simpler, stress-free financial future within reach.
“The landscape for retirees is changing,” says Holt. “We expect taxes to change, we expect there to be changes with Social Security, and we know there will be changes with health care, and those three things are huge concerns for retirees. At the end of the day, we love our clients and we want to help them reach their goals; it’s why we do what we do.
“What is retirement for but to pay yourself to do the things you love to do? The benefit we’re trying to offer is the ability to show our clients how they can do those things, while at the same time having an extra set of eyes looking over their shoulder to help them succeed.”
Market Street Wealth Management
999 West Chester Pike, 2nd Floor
West Chester, PA 19382
610-692-3200
www.marketstreetwealth.net
Jeff Leppert, Kevin Holt and Mark Meloro are registered representatives of, and securities are offered through, USA Financial Securities Corporation. USA Financial Securities is a FINRA and SIPC member firm and is located at 6020 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301. Jeff, Kevin and Mark are also Investment Advisor Representatives of Market Street Wealth Management, a registered investment advisory firm. Market Street Wealth Management is not affiliated with USA Financial Securities.
Photograph by Jody Robinson
