Linde Murphy, President, M.E. Allison

In an interview with Invest:, Linde Murphy, president of M.E. Allison, highlighted the firm’s adaptability through recent market turbulence, pointing to continued growth fueled by innovation, especially in the tech sector. “San Antonio is a market of referrals and is our home base due to the strength and resiliency of the economy as well as the community,” she said, emphasizing the importance of relationships and reputation in driving business success.

Have there been any drivers for growth for M.E. Allison over the past year?

There has been quite a bit of turbulence in the last few months, and we’ve seen a lot of uncertainty in the market. However, it looks as though the market has overcome those fears and has continued to plow forward due to a lot of innovation in different industries, with quite a bit of focus on the technology industry.

We’ve had a lot of concerned customers and non-customers asking us what is going on in the world, what are the factors that are impacting the market, and how they can best approach their investment portfolio to reach their goals. 

How are you leveraging your presence in San Antonio as it continues to attract companies and people moving in, and what makes the region ideal for your firm?

San Antonio is one of the smallest big towns in the country. You are probably no more than two or three degrees of separation away from somebody you meet in San Antonio. It is a community-focused area that comes together quickly and also convenes and networks quite a bit. There are a lot of connections, word of mouth, and referrals in San Antonio. Our business depends on reputation and word-of-mouth referrals, which is something we’re quite strong at. We’ve had a fantastic reputation, being around since 1946. Our history and experience in the municipal markets, tied in with our investment and equity experience, are a fantastic resource for customers. When you do a good job for your customers, it helps because they tell their friends, and people talk. 

Any company that comes to San Antonio and builds a strong reputation and a strong client base will be able to grow. San Antonio is a market of referrals and is our home base due to the strength and resiliency of the economy as well as the community. 

Given the higher consolidation and partnerships among independent advisory firms, how does M.E. Allison stay top-of-mind?

There has been a lot of consolidation and a lot of migration. Many investment firms have gone away from the broker-dealer model, where clients pay commissions for trades. Many firms are now fully focused on the investment advisory model, where they charge a management fee no matter the number of trades performed. There are over 30,000 investment advisory firms in the country, whereas there are around 3,000 broker-dealers, and the number of broker-dealers continues to drop.  

There are situations where a customer is better suited for a commission-based account versus an investment advisory account. For us, being a firm that can work to truly achieve the client’s goals by giving them the best-suited type of account is critical to our customer service ability. 

Remaining an independent broker-dealer as well as an investment advisory firm means that we can give clients a choice. A good example is in a fixed income portfolio where a client may buy and hold bonds until maturity, so it may not make sense to be charged an annual fee that lowers the rate of return. Instead, we can put you in a commission-based account where you get charged one fee upfront that can be significantly lower than the years of advisory fees you would face by buying bonds through a fiduciary fee-based account. 

What trends are you seeing in company-sponsored retirement plans in San Antonio, and how is your team positioning to serve this expanding need?

We work with both parts of retirement: the savings part and the spending part. We work with many employer-sponsored retirement plans to help companies provide the tools employees need to save for retirement. On the spending side, we work with many clients who have retired and need guidance on their spending strategy. 

We see both sides, and it’s a great way to take the lessons that we learn from both angles. When clients reach retirement age, it’s time for them to start spending their hard-earned savings.  We help them create a strategy and assist when changes are made. We often work closely with their CPA as well.

On the retirement savings side, we work with companies to build a 401(k) plan suited for their needs, monitor it for improvements, and work to get more participants to use it. 

We’re seeing growth on both sides. Our 401(k) business is growing. We’re also seeing growth in our retail clients who are at or near retirement. 

There are a lot of people in this area who need help throughout all stages. 

What do you see as the biggest trends transforming the investment advisory and wealth management sector right now?

There is going to be turbulence in the markets. We encourage clients to stay focused on their goals while we continue to evaluate their portfolio’s alignment with their individual needs. We’ve seen so much turbulence this year and will continue to experience the ups and downs of investing. 

For those earlier in their investing journey, it’s a great time to look for opportunities. For those later in their investment journey who are getting closer to retirement, it’s always a good reminder to look at their portfolio and question themselves about their spending habits, asset allocation, and saving habits. 

What new tools or systems are you using to help your advisers provide better insights and service?

We love the technology advancements and the AI tools that are now at our fingertips. We are also aware of the concerns about these tools, and we make sure that the privacy of our customers’ information is well protected behind guardrails. There’s a give and take on AI that you need to understand: the concerns about the information that is being fed into these systems, and how that information is used by the systems for additional learning 

These tools can be helpful for content generation, for example, writing a post or generating a letter. Another time saver is analyzing public documents and producing a summary. 

It’s a growing time for us to learn and utilize these tools to make ourselves more efficient, and it’s also a learning time to make sure that we’re doing it the right way. 

How would you describe the talent pool for your industry in San Antonio and Texas right now?

The advisors who are in this business love the industry, but attracting new talent is challenging. It’s not a field that recent grads are clamoring to become a part of. Our niche is taking advisors that have strong experience (maybe 5 to 10 years of experience), bringing them on board and teaching them the next level, where we can dive in and go deeper into financial planning and investment analysis, especially in fixed income. 

The support staff level has grown; they’re coming in at a higher level, with the ability to learn quickly and efficiently. We’ve seen a great opportunity to bring on support staff at that higher level, with the potential of growing into financial advisors. 

When I look at my talent acquisition of advisors, it is challenging, but having a support staff with an opportunity to grow is key. 

How does M.E. Allison engage with the local community, and what impact does this have on your business and clients?

We do so much in the non-profit space, and we are dedicated to the community efforts here in San Antonio. Our local PBS station is one we’ve been involved in for about 10 years now, with an employee previously chairing the board. The San Antonio Missions Foundation is another one we’re involved with, as well as the San Antonio Botanical Garden. We support organizations through galas as well, such as the Zoo Ball for the San Antonio Zoo. We also have several golfers in our office, and we do a lot to support kids in golf through First Tee. 

The PTO’s (Parent Teacher Organizations) for our employees’ kids are also important. I have served on the PTO board for our local school and on the board for a local National Charity League chapter. 

Our community efforts are strong. A lot is going on in San Antonio and its surrounding area. We have been attentive to see how we can assist them. 

We need to help the next generation of investors learn about investing. One of our priorities is to make sure build relationships with the next generation of clients. We have client relationships that continue for 50 years or more. We need to make sure we work with their children to prepare them for the generational wealth shift. 

What has impacted the industry in the past years?

One major industry impact is the growing amount of regulation and disclosures that must be generated for clients. This adds time and affects our ability to grow, but it’s essential to stay compliant. We always want to do what is right for our clients and maintain compliance with the many rules and regulations governing our industry.