ICON in the News



Matt McKellar has once again been named to Seattle Magazine's 2009 list of "Five Star Wealth Managers: Best in Client Satisfaction" for the April edition. Seattle magazine formed a partnership with Crescendo Business Services, an independent research firm, to identify the “best in client satisfaction” wealth managers serving the Seattle area. In September, Crescendo surveyed, by mail and phone 40,000 high-net-worth residents in the Seattle area and subscribers of Seattle magazine. An additional 6,900 surveys were sent to leaders of financial service industry companies. On the surveys, recipients were asked to select only wealth managers whom they knew through personal experience, and to evaluate them based upon nine criteria: customer service, integrity, knowledge/expertise, communication, value for fee charged, meeting of financial objectives, post-sale-service, quality of recommendations and overall satisfaction.  Both positive and negative evaluations were included in the scoring, and only wealth managers with five years of experience in the financial services industry were considered. Next, each wealth manager was reviewed for regulatory actions, civil judicial actions and customer complaints as reported by FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and other regulatory agencies.  Then, before finalizing the list, wealth managers were reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel comprised of knowledgeable individuals from within the financial services industry.  The resulting list of 2009 FIVE STAR Wealth Managers is an elite group, representing less than 4 percent of the wealth managers in the Seattle area.  Thanks to our clients for nominating us, once again!

For a video description of the award, please visit here
 



  • ICON's Co-Founder, Matt McKellar, CFP® and ICON Consulting were recently featured in the November issue of Seattle Business Monthly, as receipients of the Five Star Wealth Manager award.  For additional information, please visit their publication online at:      www.seattlebusinessmonthly.com.
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In case you missed the article in Fortune Small Business, Bellevue was ranked as the #1 place in the United States to live and launch a business.  We chose to start ICON in Bellevue for a variety of reasons, many of which are listed in the article.  It has been an excellent community for ICON and our clients, and we plan on remaining here for years to come.  Here is an excerpt from the piece:


Are job worries tempting you to start your own company? We canvassed the country to find towns with the best mix of business advantages and lifestyle appeal.  The No. 1 champion: Bellevue, WA.  Like many of the places on our list, Bellevue is a city in transition: no longer a bedroom community, but not yet a crowded, expensive metropolitan hub. Bellevue has grown with unusual grace in recent years. Huge corporations exist symbiotically with startups, a booming downtown abuts healthy residential neighborhoods, and the rising skyline is tempered by an abundance of parks, as well as lakeside and mountain views. Flash retailers such as Neiman Marcus draw regional shoppers, but Bellevue's excellent healthcare and schools are key attractions for relocating families. While local businesses must pay the statewide Business and Occupations tax on their gross receipts, there's no corporate income tax. Businesses with less than $135,000 in taxable revenues (the highest threshold in the area) don't have to pay the B&O tax. Easy airport access and a highly skilled workforce make Bellevue an attractive option for startups looking to break big.

For the full article, please visit here



ICON's Co-Founder, Matt McKellar, CFP®  has
been chosen to receive the "2008 Five Star Wealth Manager: Best in Client Satisfaction” award that will be featured in Seattle Magazine.  The award is given to Seattle area financial planners who have been evaluated on nine different levels of service.  He will be listed in the Bellevue "Financial Planner" or "Financial Planning" section of the piece, and it will run in Seattle Magazine's April 2008 issue highlighting the area's "Best Wealth Managers".  For more information, view the publication at www.SeattleMagazine.com.

 

   


Matt McKellar and ICON Consulting were recently featured in a personal financial planning article on the front page of the Seattle Times' Sunday Business section on personal finance titled "Can you have your cake and retire too?"  The Times was doing a "Financial Makeover" series and was looking to feature a financial planner with the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM designation.  They profiled one of ICON's Founders (Matt McKellar, CFP®) during the initial stages of a financial planning and wealth management relationship with a local couple.  Here are a few excerpts from the interview series:



"Saving is important to this young couple, but they also dream of traveling to South America next year.  Smart planning can help them enjoy life now while providing for the future.  ‘Lauren likes to travel, and I like to do things that make her happy’ . . . Would it be wiser to invest that amount in a retirement plan, put the money toward home renovation projects, or save it in case they decide to have children?"

"Certified financial planner Matt McKellar analyzed what he called (their) financial DNA.  McKellar, who is President and Co-Founder of ICON Consulting in Bellevue, said Joe and Lauren are underfunding their retirement savings . . . 'Planning is a process of trying to bring the future into the present so we can do something about it,' McKellar said.  'They are doing great with short and midrange financial goals.  Now they need to focus on long-term investments."

"The biggest asset they have right now is their ability to earn a paycheck,' McKellar said.  'If that goes away for an extended period of time, all their hard work saving money is undone and they might never recover."

"Both were surprised McKellar was supportive of their Argentina plans . . . 'He kept telling us life doesn't start at 55 or 60 and we've worked hard for our money so we should take a vacation and have fun,' Joe added.  'That was unexpected.  I'm kind of getting excited about going."

For the full article in PDF reprint format, please click here.  For an archived link to the Seattle Times website, you will want to click here.


Matt McKellar and ICON Consulting were also featured in a related article in the Seattle Times about personal financial planning titled "Love, marriage and baking: 1 account or 2?"  Here are a few excerpts from the piece:

"I shouldn't have to ask for permission to get my hair done,' she said.  (They) are like a growing number of couples who keep their finances separate . . . Are separate savings and checking accounts a good idea?  Matt McKellar, President of ICON Consulting in Bellevue and a member of the Financial Planning Association, recommends a joint account."  

"From what I've seen through working with hundreds of families, it's more efficient to run all income and expenses from one account,' McKellar said.  'The most common problem with separate accounts is that one partner doesn't know what the other is spending or saving.'  Another advantage is many banks and brokerages offer better interest rates for higher balances, which are easier to maintain through a joint account."

For the full article, please click here.  Also, featured on Bride.net.  For an archived link to the Seattle Times website, you will want to click here.




WiserAdvisor announces that Matt McKellar, CFP® of ICON Consulting has been awarded admittance as a member of its directory of financial advisors.  Financial advisors are granted admission into WiserAdvisor based on their credentials and qualifications. All members offer their services to investors with a fee rather than solely with commissions, allowing them to assist investors with a variety of different investment options. All members are also properly registered with the SEC, FINRA or other regulatory organizations. Because of the strict standards that a financial professional must meet in order to become a member, WiserAdvisor only admits a select few high-quality financial advisors and financial planners. More than 600,000 professionals can provide insurance and financial advice. Less than 1% have been granted membership into WiserAdvisor. 

 
For additional information, please visit here for a demo of ICON's offerings.  For inquiries, questions, or to schedule a complimentary review, please click here.

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