Birmingham, Alabama-based financial guru Jeff Roberts, who was recently named one of the top private wealth advisors in the nation by Barron’s®, came on Yellowhammer Radio to lay out the facts so people can decide for themselves.
The full conversation with Mr. Roberts can be heard on the Yellowhammer Radio podcast or in the video above, and a lightly edited transcript of his interview with Yellowhammer’s Andrea Tice and Scott Chambers can be read below.
Subscribe to the Yellowhammer Radio Podcast on iTunes. Learn more about Jeff Roberts’ private wealth advisory practice at JeffRobertsAndAssociates.com.
Scott Chambers:
Oh yeah. Big money. Love that music right there. Welcome back to Yellow Hammer Radio Super Station 101.1 WYDE. She is Andrea Tice. I am Scott Chambers, and on the air with us today is our local financial guru, Jeff Roberts. He’s founder of Jeff Roberts and associates. Jeff’s team consists of seven seasoned advisors who share 130 years of financial planning with Ameriprise, and Jeff’s team specializes in working with affluent clients to preserve and grow their wealth. They are the go-to team in town. Jeff Roberts, how are you today, sir?
Jeff Roberts:
Fantastic. Happy Wednesday to you both.
Andrea Tice:
Jeff, our main question right now is, are you in a place where if the storms come through you’re okay?
Jeff Roberts:
I am good.
Andrea Tice:
Okay.
Jeff Roberts:
Although I am surrounded by windows in this office right now, so if one of these trees came through here I guess I probably would be in trouble.
Scott Chambers:
You might want to avoid the glass, Jeff Roberts. You know, it’ll hurt that pretty face.
Andrea Tice:
Yeah.
Scott Chambers:
You might want to avoid that.
Andrea Tice:
Give it some margin.
Scott Chambers:
Jeff, we’ve been talking on the air today. I hope you’ve heard some of the show. We were talking about some politic stuff. There was a great article on YellowHammerNews.com about couples getting married and then getting divorced because they don’t see eye to eye on politics and all kinds of things. Man, happy couples is a really important thing. Especially when you’re dealing with money, too. Do you see that often?
Jeff Roberts:
Indeed. If you and your partner disagree about spending or saving, you’re not alone. In fact, according to Ameriprise Financial’s recent study called Couples and Money, 31% of couples disagree about finances at least once a month.
Scott Chambers:
Wow.
Jeff Roberts:
The good news is, 77% of couples across the US report that they’re on the same page financially. My personal experience for the last 25 years in financial planning leads me to note that they may be on the same page, 77% of couples, it’s just not the right page. It’s the wrong one.
Scott Chambers:
Right.
Jeff Roberts:
That’s kind of my take.
Andrea Tice:
So they’re headed in the wrong direction even though they’re agreeing on it together? Is that what you’re saying?
Jeff Roberts:
Correct. That’s exactly right. As it turns out, happy couples that are happy with their financial communication tend to do three things really well, and so here’s our lesson today.
Scott Chambers:
Lay it on me.
Jeff Roberts:
Number one is be transparent. Number two, discuss larger purchases, and three is share financial responsibilities. Those are probably the big three that we find for successful communication in happy couples and finances.
Andrea Tice:
Okay, Jeff. When you say “being transparent,” I could be wrong, but I’m assuming that has to be with be open about where and how you’re spending the money? How much you spend.
Jeff Roberts:
All of the above.
Andrea Tice:
Okay.
Jeff Roberts:
The “being transparent” could mean proactively sharing account information.
Andrea Tice:
Okay.
Jeff Roberts:
Access to account information. Couples should talk openly about debt and savings amounts that they have. For example, we sit down with clients literally every single day, and every single meeting, every single time when a client sits down with me, we’re going through an entire net worth statement that shows every single dime that you have, every savings, every debt, everything lined up in one spreadsheet, two pages. For example, I had a couple in here last night, and we’re filling this out for the first time and going through it together. It was interesting. I’m asking, “How much is in your 401K plan?” And they will look at each other and one person doesn’t even know their own balance and they’re looking at their partner to find out if they know their own balance.
Scott Chambers:
Wow.
Jeff Roberts:
They won’t know debt numbers and, you know, “How much do we keep in our checking? Babe, how much is in there?” That sort of thing occurs regularly, and so being transparent is sharing that information proactively. It also involves setting long term financial planning goals together. Our study found that eight in ten couples surveyed have discussed their retirement goals, which actually isn’t bad. With our clients that number is 100%. We don’t just want our clients to talk about it, we want them to have a plan specifically.
Scott Chambers:
Yeah, because if they’re not being transparent, it’s gonna take a lot longer to get to those retirement goals.
Jeff Roberts:
Exactly.
Andrea Tice:
Jeff, in order to help them, I assume that one of the services you offer is consolidating all of these issues that they need to be transparent on into one document that they can look at and agree on? Is that what you do?
Jeff Roberts:
No question. We know everything about our clients financially. We like to think we know as much as they do or more. Our client tells you no more, but, yes, our process is about delivering a path that they can walk on that gets them to that financial success, which answers, basically, these different issues we’re walking on. And like lesson two, discuss larger purchases. A spending threshold establishes rules that give each other, also, economy. Two-thirds of couples, the studies show, have discussed purchases over a certain amount that they’re gonna have limits on. Meaning, we’re gonna talk before we spend over a certain amount. Actually, on average, that number is $400.00, we found. Generally couples, if they spend over $400.00, they’re talking about it. That’s not a bad idea, whatever that is.
But what we find when practically working with couples is that folks get de-railed real quick when there is a perceived imbalance in the purchases people are making, particularly when the purchase is maybe something more than a personal nature versus something that benefits both. And so we know couples can disagree about money-
Scott Chambers:
Oh yeah.
Jeff Roberts:
But be aligned in the end, and disagreeing is fine as long as they actively and continually engage in open financial planning dialogue. Getting frustrated and stopping talking or stopping communicating, that’s real bad when it comes to money.
Scott Chambers:
Absolutely. We’re talking with Jeff Roberts of Jeff Roberts and Associates. One of the other things you mentioned, Jeff, was sharing that financial responsibility. What’s the best way to do that?
Jeff Roberts:
Yeah. Sharing responsibilities could mean that you take turns managing the expenses. You can take time to share regular financial talks to discuss long term goals, which is one of the reasons why we sit down with our clients, say, every six months, to do that exact thing for them, to infuse that into their lives. Another is both participate in, specifically, the investment planning piece rather than just one spouse that handles the money or investing. Our study shows that couples who actively discuss financial roles were excited and satisfied with the arrangement that they’ve made because they made an arrangement. Working with an advisor can help get couples on the same page financially. If they disagree or have a disagreement or they don’t see eye to eye, a skilled advisor can help them navigate these discussions, and ground the couples in goals that are aligned with their own personal core values.
40% of couples who weren’t in sync financially resolved their differences with the help of an advisor. My largest client, the biggest client that I work with has hundreds of millions of dollars, but they frequently cannot agree on money, and they literally rely on my counsel to cut through their issues, prioritize what their objectives are, and then resolve the differences. So it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have, money differences and problems are common, but having somebody that’s so familiar with your overall picture that can be that third party guidance, very helpful. Very helpful.
Andrea Tice:
Yeah. It sounds like in much the same way that a counselor can help couples, they can be the third party eye that weighs in on their relational issues, that you’re there to just help present the facts and the information and the wisdom and the background that guides them in working this out.
Jeff Roberts:
You now know what I do everyday.
Scott Chambers:
Well, I was about to say, if they sit down with someone like you, Jeff, if they sit down with you, it’s a lot cheaper and makes a lot more sense than going to the marriage counselor and then on to divorce if you’re not talking about your finances.
Andrea Tice:
Right. Right.
Jeff Roberts:
Exactly. I’ve got an entire team of people and advisors that we work day in, day out, working with our clients to do exactly this thing. If you want more information on the Couples and Money study, you can go to Jeff Roberts and Associates on Facebook. Look us up there. We actually have a link to that study. For people that want to actually look at kind of a three minute confident retirement check, you can go to JeffRobertsandAssociates.com and it just takes three minutes. You and a spouse can walk through … Your spouse can walk through this little three minute quiz that helps you to figure out how confident you are towards retirement. Excellent exercise.
Scott Chambers:
That’s a fantastic lesson plan there today, Jeff. Being transparent, discussing larger purchases, and sharing the financial responsibility. That’s incredible, Jeff. I appreciate you talking about that today. If people want to get in touch with you and maybe do this with their spouse and really get their finances down, give us the phone number where they can give you a call.
Jeff Roberts:
205-313-9150. Tuscaloosa or Birmingham.
Scott Chambers:
All right. Jeff Roberts, Jeff Roberts and Associates. I appreciate you coming on and helping our listeners out today with that really good, that’s a really interesting lesson plan, and it was a pleasure talking to you today.
Andrea Tice:
Yeah, yeah. Preventative-
Jeff Roberts:
Thank you, and it’s good to talk to you both.
