Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Bishop.
Hi Scott, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in accounting, passed the CPA exam and started with Arthur Andersen in 1990. Shortly thereafter, I decided I wanted to get my MBA, so I moved over to an AA client that was willing to pay for my MBA (if I went at night). While I was going through my MBA, my father met with a financial advisor and asked me to come along to help with his decisions. When I saw the process, I decided to get into the financial planning industry.
It was hard to find a truly consultative approach as most seemed like “used car salesmen” to me at that time. Eventually, I found a firm that was called CIGNA Financial Advisors (CFA). CFA had around 12 offices around the country that did fee-based financial planning for wealthy families and business owners. That was what I was looking for…so I took the leap and started with them. CFA was later purchased by Lincoln Financial, with the CFA division being re-named to Sagemark Consulting – the high-end financial advisory arm of Lincoln. During that time I met my prior partner and we eventually peeled off and formed Sound Financial Solutions. In 2012, he and I split and my current partner Cy Cattan left with me and that is when we founded our 14 person team at a the firm now called Avidian Wealth Solutions.
Bottom line, I really wanted to help people, not sell to people and we have grown our team at a great firm with an outstanding service model.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Struggles and challenges….that made us stronger. It took me a while to find the right path (as I mentioned before with CFA). Since I entered the financial planning business I have seen many market gyrations: The “Tech Wreck” in the early 2000s, the Financial Crisis in 2008-9, the COVID Crisis in 2020 and now another bear market in 2022. I find that during times of financial struggles for many, our service model helps. As we are a group of MBAs, CPAs, CFPs and CFAs, we have the tools and experience to help those in search for sound advice.
Professionally, I had a large falling-out with my prior partner in 2012. That split up the firm and we had to find the path that led to the formation of what is now Avidian Wealth Solutions. Since arriving here, our strong financial planning background with a specialization in comprehensive financial planning, portfolio management (with access to private deals and alternatives…a strong part of our investment service offerings vs. our competition), tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning and business succession/exit strategies allows us to offer more services to our clients that many other financial service firms in our “weight class”. With our strategic relationships, we can also offer outsourced family office services to our clients that need them. To do that, we had to build our team, which is now the best, strongest and deepest that I have ever had at any point in my career.
That design and path has led to complexities given our diversified business offerings, but it has been an exciting path.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Avidian Wealth Solutions?
My team at Avidian Wealth Solutions is called the Vantage Financial Group. We specialize in many areas that I had mentioned before, but the areas we are very strong in are:
1) Business Success/Exit Strategies
2) Retirement Planning (I’ll send you my Retirement Survival Guide…recently updated)
3) Advanced Estate and Income Tax Planning (including charitable giving)
4) Investment Planning with a specialty in Alternative Investments and Private Deals.
Personally, I do a lot of writing, and lectures and I even have taught seminars for the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Wealth Management Advisory Board and the Executive MBA Program. I have had many articles written and./or interviews published in major media outlets (I can share if you like) and I am proud of my Retirement Survival Guide, where I have federally trademarked my process of Planning for Retirement the R.I.T.E. Way® (where RITE stands for Retirement Income Taxed Efficiently).
Who else deserves credit in your story?
In addition to a very supportive family on my journey, I have to give credit to my partner Cy Cattan and my whole team here at Avidian Wealth that has given me the support to offer the services the way we want…to give our clients a great experience and superior outcomes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://avidianwealth.com/team-member/scott-bishop/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottB_CFP
