Karen Meinz & Sean Kernan Partnership

It is my honor to help Karen Meinz transition into her own retirement. I look forward to working together to help you accomplish your goals. I hope to continually earn the same trust and confidence that you have placed in Karen by working with her over the years.

When your financial advisor changes, for any reason, it can create uncertainty in your mind. You chose to work with Karen and it is natural to ask “what does this change mean for me?” I want to answer that and provide some background on how Karen and I got to know each other.

Karen and I met in 2011 through mutual ex-Edward Jones advisor colleagues. She had recently moved to LPL to establish her own independent practice–which I had done eighteen months earlier. I was supervising and supporting other advisors at the time and in need of some help with those efforts. Karen had acquired the requisite supervisory licenses to run her own practice and we decided to join forces and collaborate. I have always appreciated her thoroughness and attention to detail.

Over the years, we have also shared client meeting spaces, talked shop over lunch on a regular basis (because we both live in Southlake), and discussed me being her successor when she eventually decided to retire. I know Karen takes the responsibility of caring for your money (and you!) very seriously. It was a weighty decision for her to step back and introduce someone else to take on that role. She is excited to remain available in more of a supporting role as she transitions into retirement.

So, besides working with a new advisor, what does this mean to you?

I have stepped into a retiring advisor’s shoes before, so I have experience in making a similar transition. I do my best to minimize change until I have my own direct understanding of what is most important to you and you feel comfortable that we can work well together. Karen’s notes and input are of course very helpful to me, but there is no substitute for our one-on-one conversations.

OK, sounds good (hopefully!)-–but you may still be wondering “What will change? What won’t change? Do I have to do anything?”

The most important thing that will not ever change is that you have an independent advisor working only for you, with your best interest in mind, without the outside influence of an employer or other third parties. Karen and I each ended up as independent advisors because we cherish the ability to give the advice that we think is best. We both use LPL for the back office support, so nothing about your accounts will be affected and you do not have to take any action. Your statements and online access will look the same, costs will be the same, all the historical data will remain intact including beneficiaries and links to move money to and from your bank accounts when you need to.

What will change right away or very soon: 1) my name will show up on your accounts online and on your statements and 2) you can now reach out directly to me for anything related to your money (at LPL or elsewhere). However, I will definitely rely on Karen for insights and context as needed.

There are several things that won’t change now, but may eventually. Karen will someday fully retire and not be as involved in the supporting role. While our investment approaches are similar, there are always nuances in advisors’ approach to money management. Because of that, the specific investments won’t always be identical over time. I try to use email and other digital means quite a bit to supplement communication. Hopefully you will find that to be only a benefit–it is not intended to be a replacement for talking directly to each other.

You can also read more about me here. I look forward to working with and for you.