Meet Julian Morris of Concierge Wealth Management in North End

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Morris.

Julian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I was fortunate enough to get an internship at Salomon Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley).

There was a unique energy in the office and I loved it. Being 19 years old and going to work every day in a glass skyscraper downtown was amazing to me at the time. The gentleman I interned for took interest in my success and we are still in touch.

In 2004, I took a job with a large financial services firm. A few years later I was operating an independent franchise through them.

In 2010 we were just coming out of the “Great Recession” the timing was right to become a fully independent financial advisor and Concierge Wealth Management was born. We provide custom tailored solutions to all kinds of people in the Greater Boston area from young entrepreneurs, folks that work in tech and biotech, pre retirees and those in retirement.

We don’t maintain a minimum to become a client of the firm. The requirement for becoming a client at Concierge Wealth Management is the desire to have a partner for long term financial success and we have to get along.

Throughout my career I’ve been lucky to work with and around dynamic individuals. I’ve always tried to look at these successful people and apply an aspect of their success to how I conduct business.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I started my career coming out of a down market that lasted from 2000-2002. People on average had just lost 50-60% or more of their portfolios as their stockbrokers had placed them in mostly growth stocks and mutual funds and didn’t practice asset allocation. At this time, the industry was changing from transactional buying and selling of stocks towards financial planning and looking at the long term and big picture approach to financial planning. Being 23 and asking people to trust you with all of their money could be intimidating but I found it exhilarating.

The next bump was the Financial Crisis/Great Recession where I learned how to manage people’s expectations about the market and the emotional side of money management. Many advisors retired or left the business to pursue other careers at this time but I continued to thrive and now by focusing on each client and their individual needs.

Currently there is another shift taking place. We are entering the 8th year of a bull market and people are getting used to seeing consistently positive returns on their statements. This leads to managing a new set of emotions and expectations for clients. Rather than focusing on the return of an index, I try to help people focus on the risk they are willing to take to achieve their many financial goals and objectives.

Further, in the bull market and with the advance of technology, human advisors are competing with computer algorithms or “Robo Advisors” that have never been tested in a down market.

The evolution of technology and the way people behave and want to conduct business keeps things interesting and there is never a dull moment. I’m constantly evolving and trying to stay ahead of the curve, whether it’s implementing new technology to make mine or my clients’ lives easier or pursuing advanced designations and education in the field of financial planning.

Please tell us about Concierge Wealth Management.
Always striving to stay ahead of the curve.

Act as a fiduciary for clients and put their needs before my own. Conduct myself in a professional manner at all times and respect the fact that people are handing you the keys to their financial well-being. That is a large weight to carry. It keeps me humble and thankful for the trust that so many individuals, families and small businesses have placed in my service.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
While not exactly business related, I consistently worked 60-85 hours a week in my 20s.

I ate poorly and didn’t focus on my health. I had a lot of confidence in myself and business was good but that didn’t change that I was making poor decisions with my diet and not exercising in a way that I saw results.

It wasn’t until 3 years ago (July 2014) when my favorite pair of pants didn’t fit that I stepped on the scale and was shell shocked that I weighed 280 pounds! I had thought my wife was shrinking the clothes in the laundry or that companies were just making clothing smaller as a fashion trend.

Needless to say, at that point I hired a nutrition and exercise coach and put 100% of my effort outside of work to changing my life. I started eating right, eliminating bad habits, and exercising effectively sometimes 7 days a week.

Today, I’m about 195 pounds and I spend 5 days a week at my local CrossFit affiliate.

So this is a long winded answer to say I wish I took better care of myself because clients notice little things and if I’m being disciplined about my health it translates to helping them have discipline in saving and spending.

Contact Info:

• Address: 346 Commercial St
  Boston, MA 02109
• Website: ConciergeWM.com
• Phone: 617-600-4676
• Email: jb@conciergewm.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/conciergewm
• Twitter: @conciergewm
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/julianbmorris

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