In The Media
Paul Mann and TJ Tillman with Empire Wealth: Two Heads are Better Than One
When the industry they were working for wasn’t working for them, Paul Mann and TJ Tillman went out to work for themselves.
Both living and working in Arizona, they were working their way up the corporate ladder in the financial services industry when they met while working at JP Morgan Chase. Equally passionate about doing what’s best for their clients, the two teamed up a year ago to co-found Empire Wealth Management, a financial planning firm in Gilbert, Arizona, after growing frustrated with the corporate financial planning mentality.
“I was getting frustrated with the way the larger firms viewed their clients,” says Mann. “They always tell you to do the right thing for the customer, but some of their policies made it nearly impossible to do the client justice and keep my job.”
Tillman felt the same way saying that the numbers they had to hit for the company required them to sell services and options to their clients that those clients didn’t necessarily need.
So in a move that kept them both in Arizona but got them out of their corporate jobs, the two co-founded Empire Wealth Management and formed a successful partnership from a unique bond.
“Empire Wealth Management is a fee-only financial planning firm,” says Tillman. “We don’t work on commission so our clients know that we always have their best interest in mind, and there’s no conflict of interest.”
In talking to the two of them, it seems there’s no conflict at all. Two heads truly are better than one when it comes to Empire Wealth Management.
“Paul has an incredible understanding of options and option strategies, and I’ve learned a lot from him,” says Tillman. “I have a lot of background in investments, debt management, and lending, so we’re able to complement each other. Something unique about our practice is when I meet with a client, they’re my client, but Paul and I will collaborate together to create an investment strategy and make portfolio recommendations. Because of our different backgrounds we complement each other and our clients really benefit from the synergy our team approach creates.”
“It’s a synergy that would not be there if it was just one of us,” adds Mann.
Synergy is right. They both work under the mantra “You don’t become an expert by doing a thousand things one time, but by doing one thing a thousand times.”
They’ve developed successful strategic risk management strategies and tax planning strategies while creating partnerships with their clients’ CPAs and attorneys. It allows them to cover all their bases without stretching into outside territory.
“We don’t do taxes or create wills and trusts. Even though we may have the knowledge to, we feel our clients are better served by us drilling deeper into our field, while we create partnerships with other professionals who are experts in their respective fields,” says Tillman.
Leaving it to the experts is important, especially in this economy. The co-founders note that one of the worst things a person can do is panic when the markets get rocky. It often leads to an investor selling when the price is low, then buying back in when the price is higher—the exact opposite of what any advisor would recommend.
But fear and the unknown play a lot into most people’s retirement planning who are mystified by the financial world. That’s why Mann and Tillman make a point to never go more than a week without having some manner of communication with their clients. They throw client appreciation events and even Ladies’ Days, just to keep in touch.
Tillman says, “Even if they may not understand exactly what’s going on with their money, our clients want to know we’re thinking about them.”
A financial advisor, in many ways is one of the most important relationships, next to a spouse and children, they agree. It’s their life and their future.
Mann says, “One of the things we always do is educate our clients about the strategies we’re implementing, as well as the economy in general. We keep very close contact—a newsletter every month, weekly e-mail, and we call our clients whenever there’s a big drop in the market. This is a huge thing that most of our industry does not do for their clients. We’ll spend the day talking to all of our clients about why the market is dropping, the short and long term effect it will have on their investments, the actions we recommend, if any, and why.”
When looking for the right financial advisor, they say, it’s key to have an advisor who will stick with the client’s strategic plan, especially when fear may be driving a client’s desire to sell. They also add that having an advisor that is willing to listen to a client’s questions, and then in turn have the ability to answer those questions in easy to understand terms, is imperative.
“When I go to the doctor I want to go to someone who will explain things in a way that I understand,” says Tillman.
To say the pair work well together is an understatement. In addition to a long list of financial planning licenses and years of experience, the two even share an award from the Mesa Police Department.
While at JP Morgan Chase, one of their clients began coming in two to three times a week, approaching a bank teller and asking to withdraw $40,000. The teller noticed he was an investment client and brought him to Mann and Tillman.
“I started asking him what he needed the money for and he’d say that he had a friend whose son was sick and they didn’t have money for the surgery and he needed it today or the boy would die. We suspected that our client had Alzheimer’s and we knew someone was trying to scam him,” says Mann.
Every week for over a year the man visited their branch asking to withdraw money and every time Mann and Tillman sat with him and talked through his request. As they talked with him they collected information to share with the Mesa Police Department, who they were working with closely to identify the culprit, as well as track down the man’s out-of-state family members. Finally, more than a year and a half later, the police were able to arrest the person responsible.
Not only were Mann and Tillman instrumental in the arrest, they helped their client’s family acknowledge the severity of his Alzheimer’s which led to him moving closer to family for care.
It’s just another example of how the co-founders are much more than business partners.
“Our partnership works so well because I trust Paul more than any other professional in the world. We have a level of trust in our business that’s unparalleled in other firms and our clients benefit the most,” says Tillman.
That trust and service is something they both learned in their early twenties when completing missionary work: Mann in Taiwan and Tillman in Brooklyn. Although on opposite sides of the world, the two shared similar experiences that would bring them not only physically where they are today, but philosophically as well.
Tillman lived in Brooklyn and Queens serving the people in the neighborhood.
“We walked around in pairs in Brooklyn in the middle of winter. We’d see someone shoveling snow and we’d start helping,” he says. “The biggest thing I learned is how to serve people and that’s carried over with me throughout my career. I understand the value of helping others. If you’re always concerned about yourself, you’re not going to be happy. Life is about helping other people.”
Mann shared a similar experience in Taiwan.
“You have to be willing to walk up to people and genuinely ask them if they need help. One of the first Chinese phrases I learned was, ‘can I help you with that?’” Mann also taught free English classes to whoever wanted to attend. “You have to get over that initial fear and teach them in a way they would understand. It’s the same in our industry, when we’re explaining complex strategies we have to teach our clients in a way that they understand, whatever level they’re at,” he says.
And for both of them, that’s their favorite part of the job.
“I love meeting with clients. I love the challenge of creating an investment strategy for a client and then putting that plan into action,” says Mann.
Tillman agrees and notes that it wouldn’t be the same without their team approach.
“I love that we’re able to plan together. We’re able to fill the gaps in their financial plan with strategies that neither one of us would have come up with on our own.”
Just like the two of them, their firm, Empire Wealth Management offers the best of both worlds.
Tillman says, “We offer the technology and research of the large firms on Wall Street, and we also offer the level of service that our clients on Main Street have come to love.”
Empire Wealth Advisors Incorporated is a Registered Investment Advisor and a subsidiary of Empire Wealth Management LLC.
Quick Links
Contact Information
Empire Wealth Management, LLC
2200 East Williams Field Road
Suite 200
Gilbert, Arizona 85295
T: (480) 320-2302
F: (480) 452-1210
Our Expertise
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|