PRACTICE
Conger Wealth Management
develops a customized asset allocation for each client, based on risk tolerance and the portfolio’s risk capacity
(and factoring in women’s longer life
expectancy). Conger believes in modern portfolio theory’s ability to protect
client assets on the downside, using
AdvisoryWorld’s optimization software to determine that allocation.
Most client portfolios are 50% to
55% in equities, generally in ETFs. She
does not follow individual stocks, but
will hold them if clients insist. Conger
also limits any one asset class to 20% of
a portfolio and limits industry sectors
to 5% of a portfolio (or less), depending
on the volatility of the asset class.
The balance of a client’s portfolio is
held in cash and fixed income. She buys
the suggestion of her former partner.
staying active
A big believer in part-time jobs or volunteer work for retirees, especially
TypeA personalities, Conger asks
her clients, “What are you going to
do when you retire?” She encourages
them to retire to something, not just
retire from something. Conger is especially proud of one retired professor
who joined the Peace Corps at age 72.
When it comes to retirement,
men also need empowerment. She
encouraged a retired male doctor who
needed another $25,000 to $50,000
in retirement income to take a part-time job with the Federal Emergency
Conger tries to keep her staff’s workweek to 32 hours to stay in line
with the firm’s mission: ‘To help our clients live the life they want.’
individual bonds for portfolios in excess
of $600,000 and uses target-date ETFs
for portfolios under that amount. Conger avoids alternative investments and
hedge funds of any kind, although she
likes to use Invesco PowerShares’ alternative energy ETFs within the natural
resources sector of portfolios.
One investment that often appeals
to female clients: Conger sometimes
puts up to 2% of a portfolio in the Pax
World Global Women’s Equality Fund
(PXWEX). The fund invests in companies around the globe that are leaders in
promoting gender equality in the work-place and beyond; as Conger explains, it
singles out companies with a significant
percentage of women on their board of
directors and in upper management.
As part of her buy-sell agreement
with Arkansas Financial Group, Con-
ger took 31 clients with her to start her
new firm. The group was primarily
made up of single women, in part at
at the funeral: “I guess this is one thing
we never planned for.” The client fell
apart for more than a year — missing
deadlines, failing to deliver paperwork,
etc. When she finally invited Conger to
her house, the coffee table was stacked
high with bills and financial documents.
redecorating budget
Over the years, Conger began noticing
that almost all widows redecorate their
homes after a death, particularly if
their husbands endured a long illness.
So now Conger has newly widowed
clients set aside assets in a renovation
Management Agency. He takes care of
wounded people for short periods of
time; his last stint was in Haiti. The cli-
ent discovered that the job gave him a
purpose in life, a strong feeling of satis-
faction and much less paperwork than
he had as a full-time physician.
CEQUIZ
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