Longtime financial planner goes the distance for clients

In the world of financial management, Don Rich sees himself as a quarterback. He knows the game, calls the signals and directs the offensive play for his clients.

Rich has been serving affluent clients from his financial services firm, Cornerstone Wealth Management Partners, for 19 years. In the 11 years prior to that he worked for a regional brokerage and investment firm.

“We specialize in providing creative strategies to affluent individuals,” he said.

Rich is a certified financial planner, which he calls the core of his practice. He also offers investment advice tailored to an individual’s needs. He does an investment tolerance risk profile with each client.

Rich is a broker for LPL Financial, the largest independent brokerage firm in the United States. LPL has no proprietary investment products, which means Rich can provide investment advice by using a pool of thousands of companies.

LPL provides some company research, but Rich does quite a bit himself.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University but is working on a Master’s in Financial Planning from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, an affiliate of the University of Phoenix.

When he gets that degree, Rich probably will be the only person in the state with such a degree, he said.

In his business, Rich helps people organize their financial and other affairs into a “road map.” The goal is to make sure their life’s work ends up going where they want when they die.

“Many of our clients have three, four or five homes. Most people who have funds to invest and own a house could use our services,” he said.

Rich provides inheritance advice and business planning. He is paid based on a percentage of investable assets or on an hourly consulting rate.

There are three key legs to his business — providing direction on investments, insurance and “legal stuff,” such as powers of attorney and living wills. He gives referrals for the legal affairs.

“Advance and protect” strategies are a key to the investment portion of the business. This involves capital preservation with an offensive strategy.

This has been a challenge with the downturn in the economy over the past few years.

“The game has changed,” he said. “It’s my belief you’ll have to be a little more flexible, open to making changes. For the first 25 years I was in the business, if you were well-diversified you could buy and hold [stocks].”

The advance and protect strategy involves moving to cash when the risk is too high and using investments when the opportunity presents itself.

Fixed-rate investments also can be used some in this strategy, he said. If an individual wants to invest in precious metals, Rich suggests no more than 5 or 10 percent of a portfolio in this area.

The biggest change he has seen in his 30 years in the business is that a buy-and-hold strategy no longer works. Many people haven’t seen the current economic conditions since the Great Depression in the 1930s or the recessions of the 1960s and 1970s.

“In every challenge there’s an opportunity,” he said. “That’s what our job is, to find those opportunities.”

The confidence level of many investors is low, he said. But “we’ve always been such an incredibly resilient country. If I were a betting man, I’d still bet on the U.S.”

Earlier in life, Rich earned a Master of Science degree in Athletic Sports Medicine from the University of Arizona. He spent two years as a head athletic trainer and professor in the health department at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

He then decided to move to Kalispell.

“It became clear that we weren’t going to be able to meet our life’s goals in that profession,” he said.

Rich and his wife, Leslie, who also is a partner in the business, grew up in the small town of Stanford between Great Falls and Lewistown.

For the past 11 years, their business has been located at 24 First Ave. E. in Kalispell 

“I love what I do and want to celebrate another 30 years in 2040,” he said.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.