This $2 Billion Atlanta Advisor Empowers Entrepreneurs But Avoids Jargon

Name: Matthew Lipscomb

Farm: Ashford Advisors

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

AT M: $1.8 billion

Forbes ranking: America’s Best Financial Security Professionals, State’s Best Financial Security Professionals

Background: Matthew Lipscomb, 55, moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta with his family when he was six years old. He remembers growing up, his family couldn’t afford much, with him and his brothers eating free lunches while his father’s businesses struggled. Lipscomb recalls starting babysitting and doing other odd jobs to generate income. In college, he would lend money to friends and acquaintances, at one point even loaning his brother $2,000 to buy a car. After paying his way through the University of Georgia, Lipscomb earned a degree in finance from YEARTK. He joined Ashford Advisors right out of college and began building his business by cold-calling lawyers or going to malls.

Competitive advantage : “I really believe my clients when they want to invest in something,” Lipscomb says. That means if an entrepreneur wants to take money out of an investment account to invest in real estate, he’ll support their decision, even if most professionals would consider it a risky move and advise against it. “You have to understand not only taxes and asset protection, but also the entrepreneur’s mindset,” Lipscomb says. He’s also very committed to quality service: “I’m extremely sensitive to client communication and response times—it’s simple to me, but clients really appreciate it.”

Investment Philosophy/Strategy: Many of Lipscomb’s clients enjoy buying and selling assets. “The most important thing for entrepreneurial clients is access and control over their capital,” Lipscomb says. “So I’m not a big fan of IRAs and 401ks because I don’t think it’s going to be a net tax benefit for my clients,” he adds. “That’s not to say that everyone shouldn’t do it, but for my clients who we think will have higher incomes and net worth in the future, it may not be the best strategy because it lacks access and control.” Lipscomb uses low-cost index-type solutions on behalf of his clients, both as a way to achieve solid returns in the market, but especially as a tool for clients who anticipate a lot of capital gains in the future. Lipscomb is a big proponent of tax-loss strategies that will reduce future capital gains. So if a client sells a business, it will be offset by existing losses on their tax return, for example. “For me, investing a client’s money is doing good work, but it’s also leaving it in a parking lot waiting to be deployed when a client finds opportunities.”

Best advice: “When you’re talking to a client, you have to take complex situations, from taxes to trusts, and describe them in a way that a sixth-grader could understand,” Lipscomb says. “I don’t let my team use industry jargon.”

Out of clock: Outside of work, Lipscomb is an avid hunter, hunting deer, alligators and wild boars. A father of four and most recently a grandfather, Lipscomb enjoys family trips, often to his lake house and hunting estate or a University of Georgia football game.