Jim Friddell thinks the term “financial planning” might sound like a cliche but he thinks his company is a little different than many because Opus Group puts the planning first.
The company had their official ribbon company in Platte City recently.
Friddell and his partners started Opus in Virginia Beach, Va. in 2011. When they decided to expand a few years ago Friddell began looking for office space in the Kansas City area so he, his wife and four children could be closer to his wife’s family in Lathrop, and his family in Illinois.
Contributed photo
Jim Friddell, far right, with his wife: Tricia and children, Noel, Karrington, Julian and Blake.
As he walked out the front door of Bee Creek Cafe and Bakery in Platte City one day after negotiating on an office space in Kansas City he noticed a big sign that said, “Lease available” at 236 Main Street.
“I walked over and I saw hot pink walls on the inside of the building and old carpeting but the building had this window where you could see in from the street and I thought just being in a small community and being on old town Main Street and having the history of this building sounded more inviting and more comfortable,” Friddell said.
“So we ditched negotiations for the KC office space and started negotiating with a family that owns the Platte City building.”
Friddell’s interest in financial planning was spurred when his dad, who was an airline pilot began talking to a stockbroker about investing for the future. The big-box financial firm advised him to put more than half his money in a company’s stock. When that company went bankrupt he lost a significant amount.
“He never received any guidance on the best ways to invest and he never got a call or a letter suggesting he come in and talk about planning and reallocating his money,” Friddell said. “He was 70 years old when he lost half his money. That’s a tough time to lose that much money when you think you’ve made it. That got me into the industry.”
At the time he was in the Marines and didn’t know what to suggest to his dad.
“Economics teaches you a lot of things in school but in the school of life things are different,” he said. “I wanted to change how things were done. And so I became an investment advisor and when I work with people I promise them we’re going to talk at least twice a year and we’re going to talk about how they have invested and we’re going to talk about how it will react to certain market conditions. They need to know those outcomes in advance.”
The market collapse of 2007 and 2008 led Friddell to two years of study to become a Certified Financial Planner because he knew that as much as he had learned about investing there is still much more to the financial world than stocks and bonds. He also knew since he didn’t know every detail of economics he needed to get partners to fill the gaps.
“That’s where the design of the Opus Group came from,” Friddell said. “When you’re younger risk is easier to accept but the reality is invest in things you know and if you’re just really limited on what you know find somebody to help mentor you whether it’s an investment advisor professional or a family member, the most important thing is when you’re young to save. Just putting money away is 90% of the victory. That other 10% should be invested in Disney or Google etc. or mutual funds. But know what you’re putting your money into because there could be ramifications like fees or penalties.”
He also recommends for older people who have money to spare they consider ways to look ahead for a few generations and find investment possibilities that will benefit their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“It’s always goal-oriented and what makes you feel good,” Friddell said. “Do you want to help your son or daughter out. Is there a charity we should set up or a family charitable trust. We put the money in there and then we get to educate the whole family on how to save.”
He lets people know he’s not the guy to come to for stock tips since there are a lot of online services that deal with that. The organization and development of wealth is his focus.
“The more time I spend researching stocks the less time I have to work with clients,” Friddell said. “You can look all day on sites on the internet and wonder if you really gained traction and if you really feel that compelled about this one out of 80 stocks that you’ve researched.”
Being cautious with penny stocks is also important to Friddell and he warns that a great amount of discipline is needed by buyers, while the risks are high since they go down as fast as they go up.
The Opus Group focuses on what each client is trying to achieve and what they need, along with finding solid, individual plans best suited to each client’s needs. “There’s no right or wrong answers for clients, it’s really what fits the client the best,” Friddell said. “So when it comes time to take money out of the account there’s just a lot that goes into it like market risk, inflation risk, medical expense risk, taxation risk - just a lot of things that can eat away at a portfolio. So we look at all of that and we wonder if there are any gaps in your plan that we need to worry about and the best way to fill them.”
Getting to know clients takes time and Opus’ mission is to get to know their goals and help them achieve them while also making them aware of the stumbling blocks that may be ahead on their timelines. Flexibility is key and Friddell said if a person is just saving money in a retirement account it doesn’t mean that five years from now a client won’t have a life-changing situation and need that money, in which case a retirement account could prove to be damaging. Accessibility to the client’s money is something that clients are encouraged to think seriously about when investing.
“I wish it was as easy as ‘hey let’s just toss your money into a stock,’ but the people that do that are not really looking for the best interest of the client and our goal is to know the client before we do anything, ”Friddell said. ”We want to educate our clients. We find that an empowered and educated client makes better decisions than one that is just saying ‘whatever you think.’ When we can make good decisions together we can see that success is more achievable.”
The Opus Group also started a new company last year called the Money Initiative, a consulting and financial coaching program that help people who want to learn to budget better. They work with the YMCA on educating people on the pitfalls of not planning for financial matters as soon as possible.
“We work with groups like Hillcrest Transitional Housing to do free education for those that need it in their group,” Friddell said. “One of the initiatives we took on last year was working with their young adult group, 18 to 24 years of age who are in between life experiences. When we work with the YMCA one of the biggest struggles in budgeting is spending money on fast food and eating out. It’s not only not healthy, it adds up. We can teach them the budgeting thing but we need to take it to the next level and teach them how to cook. So the YMCA Board and health coaches now provide a cooking course. We have a program called the Millionaire Road Map. This teaches them how to save. They can use the budgeting resources we have to manage their meal prep and achieve their goals and get out of Hillcrest. So for women who are leaving bad situations with their kids or ending up homeless for whatever reason we’re providing free resources but you have to stick to our program, you have to have a job, you have to learn how to budget and save so that you’ll be with us from three to six months and then you’re going to go and get your own apartment, move on in life and live your best life.
“If nobody’s taught you even how to budget how can you begin to save? We tell them in order to work with us you need to learn how to budget and you’re going to hate it at first but you’re going to thank us later. We’re trying to change the world one person at a time.”
When he lived in Virginia Beach on the 11th floor of a high-rise building his view consisted of other high-rises, but one of his favorite things about his new office work space on Main Street in Platte City is looking out the window in the front of the building and having passersby wave at him.
“I feel like I’m a part of it all here,” Friddell said. He loves local football games, networking events and working with other professionals in the area.
“The old saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ I feel like this is the village that’s willing to help. We get a lot of help from our friends and neighbors here. If we ask they’re always willing to help and I love that.”