Crystal Garrett, Senior Vice President, Tiras Wealth Management
In an interview with Invest:, Crystal Garrett, senior vice president of Tiras Wealth Management, highlighted how building good relationships and artificial intelligence create higher-quality services for the clients. “Every quarter, we have a live market call with our clients and prospects, where we talk about what has happened over the last quarter, and the things we’re paying attention to,” Garrett said.
What recent changes have had the greatest impact on your firm?
The election and changes in Washington created uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve System, tariffs, and inflation, as well as the tax rate changes, since our current tax provisions expire at the end of 2025. The current situation has created uncertainty for corporate America and, therefore, created uncertainty in the markets.
How do you maintain the momentum as one of Forbes’ best-in-state wealth management teams?
The monthly webinars and newsletters for our clients are engaging, containing not just market data points, but also what goes on with our team, including the charitable work we’re doing. We also use different media to reach out, from printed features to email. One of our most popular webinars is on ChatGPT and how clients can use it in their everyday lives. We try to have some content every single month, like financial planning for the next generation. It comprises how we can get the clients’ children engaged in saving for retirement and financial planning. Kids don’t like to hear it. Their parents might preach it all the time, but when they hear it from us, it comes across differently. We get the young adults engaged when the parents’ words fall on deaf ears. Other topics not directly related to wealth management have been sleep studies, brain health, and cybersecurity. Engaging with the clients every month builds the expectation that they can look to us for those discussions, as well as the financial planning and wealth management work. Every quarter, we have a live market call with our clients and prospects, where we talk about what has happened over the last quarter and the things we’re paying attention to.
What makes Houston an ideal location for business growth?
While having a high concentration of energy businesses, Houston’s industries have become diversified, featuring companies in healthcare, real estate, fiber optics, and internet suppliers. People are drawn to the low cost of living and the affordable and diverse housing market, despite commuting challenges. We have built a niche in the industry by becoming experts on big oil company benefits, helping clients understand their compensation packages, investment options, and retirement options. Our practice is also a big believer in AI, and AI needs are increasing globally. The energy demand from AI is so significant that there are a lot of opportunities in Houston’s energy businesses, whether from clean energy, coal, natural gas, or oil, especially with all of our energy employers being global leaders in this space.
What are the biggest opportunities in Houston?
It’s all in energy, with a vast amount of demand from AI, which is an advantage for Houston. We’ve seen corporations dependent on energy struggling with green energy initiatives. They wanted to move in that direction, but needed to figure out how to still make money at the same time. It was difficult. Now, with all energy sources needed for supply, it allows an avenue for green energy to potentially stay in the mix, even when all the other sources stay as major players in the industry. Another area that AI will affect is the healthcare industry in Houston. There are drugs invented through AI, and there are rare diseases tackled with AI. People are going to live longer, and Houston is becoming a global hub for healthcare, because AI is helping to solve many issues, from clinical research to therapies. We’re also going to need more healthcare services towards the end of our lives, so that’s creating even more opportunities for Houston.
How do you see the evolution of private equity and other wealth management solutions?
We provide private equity investments for particular higher net worth clients, since it’s illiquid and a long-term investment. We are interested in the secondary private equity market, which has become popular for initial investment over the last couple of years. It’s not an exit strategy for existing clients, but it creates an opportunity when private equity needs an exit strategy, and when others want to invest. We’re also seeing a lot of demand to continue the current strategy of utilizing low-cost investment platforms, like index funds, coupled with proactive advice. Clients want to make sure that they’re not missing anything, and our job is to prevent them from making mistakes or missing opportunities. We have been able to provide our expertise through multiple avenues, including webinars where we share a charitable strategy or financial planning for the next generation.
How do you attract and retain top talent for your firm?
We’re a small business of just over 30 employees, but we keep job postings for our key roles up all year round. We’re always looking for good talent, and unemployment is low because the job market is strong. We rely on recruiters when it comes to specific jobs, but we also keep our job postings on major boards, like Indeed and LinkedIn. If someone talented comes across our desk, even if we’re not hiring, we want to find a place for them.
The Houston Business Journal has provided an outlet for mentoring, which I participated in this year. It was similar to a speed dating platform. Individuals could read about us and the work that we did in advance, so they could ask questions in front of a group of talented women from diverse backgrounds: from government, healthcare, wealth management, or real estate. I also mentored women through Dress for Success and did some work with the University of Texas. We are now hosting six interns, providing them with hands-on experience. It can be hard for a small business to have that many interns, but the team has rallied together to build future talent.
How does the firm leverage technology and innovation to elevate client services?
Ameriprise has leveraged advanced analytics and AI for years, and the firm is exploring and implementing capabilities with client service and data security at the forefront. Within our practice, we see ways AI will help us serve clients better, faster and stronger. One example is making us more efficient, so we can spend more of our time working directly with clients.
What is your outlook on the current sentiment among business owners and investors?
The elevated interest rates remain a hurdle for small business owners. Financing deals have been a challenge with those lending rates. The news surrounding the markets and politics continues to be an issue. It creates uncertainty and anxiety for the clients. While there has been increased market uncertainty this year, the markets have done well.
What are your top priorities for the next few years?
Getting the team on board with leveraging our latest technology is a priority. It makes things easier for each other and easier for our clients, in terms of communicating ideas and learning. We’re using technology to tweak our procedures and to prompt questions that will support our growth. It will keep everyone at the pinnacle of what we do, and keep all of us on the same page, because the reason I hire staff is for leverage. I need people to help me, and I need them to do it in the spirit of delivering excellence to my clients. Finding that consistency as we grow the team is important. Our ability to attract and retain talent is important for us because we’re only as good as the team that we’ve built.
