Dodee Frost Crockett says that the secret to her remarkable success as an investment advisor is simple: she listens to her clients.

“My philosophy, which has not changed over the years, is that it’s not just about the money,” says the first vice president of investments and wealth management with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in Dallas. “If you go into this business thinking only about ‘I’m going to get the absolute best return,’ you really will miss the opportunity to care for your clients and to have what I think is a rewarding relationship for both parties.”

There’s no arguing with her record of success. Since 1989, when she became a full-time investment advisor, Frost Crockett and her team have built up a mega-book of US$1.1 billion in assets under management. She personally manages the financial affairs of about 120 high and ultra-high net-worth client families and foundations.

One of Frost Crockett’s premier skills is her ability to cultivate an impressive network of contacts and connections, and to leverage that network to serve her clients and, ultimately, her business. On any given day, she might help one client find an estate lawyer whose skills are perfectly matched to the client’s retirement plans; another client, a good nursing home for that client’s elderly parent.

“I look forward to those moments,” she says, “when someone is going to call me and ask for my help and my expertise.”

Frost Crockett has also developed a specialty in helping her clients identify and achieve their philanthropic goals.

“Everyone is interested in their legacy,” says Frost Crockett, who has a chartered advisor in philanthropy designation. “Our advi-sory team judges its success by how much money our clients give away. There’s no better endorsement of your skills than your clients being comfortable giving away money.”

Her clients appreciate that she is interested in what motivates them and in finding out what their priorities are in life, she says: “People want to know they’ve been heard.”

Frost Crockett, 51, has always had strong ties to Texas, and to the Dallas community in particular. Born in Oklahoma, she was raised in Dallas, where she attended Southern Methodist University, studying Russian and business. She also holds a master’s degree in theological studies from the Perkins School of Theology at SMU.

After working a few years for her father’s company, an in-bound call centre, Frost Crockett took a job as a compliance officer with Merrill Lynch in 1980 and has been with the company ever since.

“The only job interview I’ve ever been on was with Merrill Lynch,” she says. “They hired me that day, and I started two days later.”

In 1989, Frost Crockett made the switch from the compliance department to working as an investment advisor, slowly building a powerhouse business based on a strong client-first approach. Today, Frost Crockett is the leader of a team of nine, which includes three other advisors, one financial planner and four assistants.

“The practice is a philosophy,” she says. “So, there’s no one in this practice with me who doesn’t share that commitment.”

Frost Crockett sees her role as being not only a financial advisor but also a facilitator and a trusted confidant. She says that when clients see that you, as an advisor, are willing to give advice that might not necessarily be beneficial to your business in the short term — such as helping clients give away large amounts of money to their favourite causes — they feel a sense of trust in you that will pay off in the long run.

“You always want to be known as the person who does the right thing,” she says, “even if it costs you money, even if it costs you assets.”

Frost Crockett has also developed great skill in connecting people — clients and prospective clients — in many aspects of their lives. For example, a senior executive at a Dallas company contacted Frost Crockett recently to ask her if she could help the incoming CEO of the firm, whose family was relocating to the city, find a nanny. Frost Crockett reached out to some of her clients and contacts and was able to get four responses by that afternoon, thus providing the incoming CEO with options.

“So, when this person and his family do arrive in our town, I’ll have been the one who helped them potentially find a nanny,” Frost Crockett says. “We’ll get to have lunch and have a chat about connecting to our city, and ‘how glad we are to have you here, and how can we help you find what you need to be part of us’.”

@page_break@Frost Crockett takes a holistic approach to providing financial advice, emphasizing the importance of financial planning — including identifying life goals and determining risk parameters — as opposed to investment advice alone.

“If a client is too focused on ‘what should we buy’,” she says, “then maybe it’s better to let them go.“

For the investment portion of her clients’ portfolios, Frost Crockett uses third-party money managers, with her team overseeing how the managers perform.

“This way, I’m always on the same side of the table as my clients,” Frost Crockett says. “If a manager is not performing, we — the advisor and the client — are going to fire him or her.”

Frost Crockett meets weekly with her team to discuss everything from the economy and the market to what’s going on in the community — information clients might want to know. She also schedules periodic meetings to review every aspect of her business, relentlessly looking for ways to improve performance and identify opportunities. The business operates on a fee-based compensation model.

A few years back, Frost Crockett obtained a certified divorce financial analyst designation, and has developed expertise in working with divorcing couples through collaborative family law resolution, opening up many new opportunities for acquiring clients and building business.

“Fifty per cent of couples get divorced. That represents a huge amount of money in motion,” says Frost Crockett, who adds that a divorcing spouse often needs professional advisors who are different from those advising his or her spouse. That represents an opportunity for the financial advisor to put together a “dream team” of professional advisors for the client.

Because of Frost Crockett’s expertise in philanthropy and in divorce, she has also become a go-to person for Dallas media on these subjects. An advisor who becomes a recognized expert on a particular subject will get media interest, she says, which will raise his or her profile and attract business.

Frost Crockett also spends a lot of time on charitable endeavours, including the Dallas Social Venture Partners, a group that uses a venture-capital model to help non-profit organizations establish themselves and operate effectively.

Although Frost Crockett works in Dallas, she lives in Wimberley, Tex., just outside of Austin. On Sunday nights, she takes a 45-minute flight to Dallas and returns to Wimberley either on Wednesday or Thursday night, and works the rest of the week from her home office in the small town. She lives with her husband Billy Crockett, a recording artist and a songwriter. The couple owns and operates the Blue Rock Studio, a commercial recording facility and artist ranch on 19 acres of land.

“We have a great life; it’s wonderful,” Frost Crockett says. “It’s a right-brain, left-brain collision — in a good way.”

One of the greatest challenges facing young advisors coming into the profession is identifying a natural niche and being able to build a book of ideal clients, she says. Early on in young advisors’ careers, they generally have to build their books with whatever clients need their services, but those advisors should still look for ways to find a key focus.

“You have to come up with a philosophy, and you have to test every client relationship against that philosophy,” Frost Crockett says. “That’s what will make you want to come to work every day.” IE

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