Marcel Q.
Founder/CEO at TQM Wealth Partners
Financial Services and Wealth Management
Education: Universidad Privada Boliviana - Investment and Wealth Institute
Marblehead, MA, USA
Biography
The common theme throughout my career has been working with people and organizations that have the ability to invest and are looking for ways to make a difference. I began my professional journey at FUNDES-Bolivia, a foundation for sustainable development, where I helped small and mid-size businesses access capital with the ultimate purpose of helping alleviate poverty through job creation. I was then asked to raise capital for a private financial fund (now "Banco de La Comunidad") who financed businesses under a for-profit model for reducing poverty by helping businesses grow and, as a result, increase employment opportunities. I then took a position at the largest and oldest bank in Bolivia, Banco Mercantil (now Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz), where I was first tasked with modernizing their customer service model. I then transitioned to regional head of commercial lending. In 2005, after living in Bolivia for 20 years, I returned to the United States and joined Morgan Stanley's Individual Investment Group, followed by a stint at Merrill Lynch's Private Banking Group. In 2009, I joined a private RIA, Capital Formation Group. Finally, in 2016 I started my own firm, TQM Wealth Partners, with the purpose of using a more human-focused approach to financial planning and wealth management. Because money is a vehicle for people to do what they need, want, and aspire to do. It is also an intimate and often emotional topic. Putting people at the center of the planning and investment process helps them feel safe to face their biggest concerns, gain a better understanding of their particular situation, and see the opportunities they have.
Passion
Making a difference in people's lives, mostly by giving them the confidence and knowledge they need to make informed decisions that positively affect their lives and the lives of those they care about the most. Helping people help others through the work that I do for them is something I am extremely passionate about. I do this by showing them what they need to do to take care of themselves first, and through the process help them find the most effective ways to live their legacies.
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I need my expenses covered - travel, hotel, meals, etc.
Topics
Best Story
You sold your business for twenty million dollars. What a life-changing event! It is only four years later and now you are concerned that you are going to run out of money. That was the situation a couple that I work with was facing when they began working with me.
Every day I have the honor and the privilege of working with successful people who value family and hard work. I know many of them more intimately than some of their own family and friends might know them. That is because I deal with an intimate issue: money. It never ceases to amaze me how money and finances stir such a vast range of emotions and drive such a wide breadth of actions.
When coming into a large sum of money not having an understanding of the connection between money and values can be costly. That is because a windfall produces a series of unexpected situations. All of the sudden you can "afford" not only the dream house and the private school tuition, but also the clothes, jewelry and gifts that you wouldn't have considered before. In addition, you can be the "savior" for a friend who needs capital for their start-up, or for the cousin who needs to pay their children's college tuition. You can even save the local church that was about to close its doors, or have a building in your name at your alma mater. You may also find your advisors are not prepared to guide you because they don't usually work with people who have your level of wealth, which means that your spending is not the only thing eroding your wealth. So are unnecessary fees and taxes.
Most of these things had happened to the couple I mentioned at the beginning of this story, and if they had kept spending like they were before they called me, they would have burned through the twenty million in about twelve years. By taking them through a process that helped reign in their spending, develop a comprehensive financial plan, invest based on that plan, and undo some of what was hurting them financially, they now have a healthier relationship with each other and with their money. The process began with discussing what is most important to them and what kind of legacy they want to live. This is why financial freedom is not about money. It is about understanding what matters most to you .
Origin Story
Throughout my career in the financial services industry, I have dealt with successful executives, professionals, and organizations. The core of my work has been money, whether on the lending side, raising capital, or in financial planning and investing. Throughout the years, what I noticed was missing when it came to money was the human element. Numbers don't mean anything if we don't understand the impact they have on the people behind them. Specially when it comes to wealth management, why are so many organizations focused more on gathering assets than on gathering a deep understanding of the drive and emotions of the people who own those assets. Likewise, why are so many women spoken down to or ignored in the investment and financial planning conversation? This is why I started TQM Wealth Partners. To provide guidance that resonates with people's values in ways that recognize their hopes, dreams, and fears. There are important and valuable strategies that people can implement to protect and grow their wealth but they are not one-size-fits-all. Helping people use their financial wealth to enrich their human, social, and spiritual wealth is the ultimate goal.