In The Community Video: Calvert & Metzler Memorial Homes Interview of McBeath Financial Group
Calvert & Metzler Memorial Homes “In The Community” honored McBeath Financial Group with a spotlight interview!
Calvert & Metzler Memorial Homes is well known for their community outreach and support. In the past we've been honored to be a part of their annual McLean County Senior Expo as well as their Wine and Cheese Festival! Over the years, their Public Relations Director Chad Sparks has become a business associate, close friend and someone we truly admire. We've even featured him in our own videos in the past [click here to see]. This recent interview was born out of that special relationship. It wasn't just a blessing to be chosen, but we had such a great time, as you can tell throughout the video. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed filming it.
I've also attached the full transcript from the interview below.
Chad Sparks
I'm Chad Sparks in the community. And today we have a special treat. It's very rare that I get to come into a building this nice, by the way. This is amazing. We're going to shoot every in the community video right here in this room. It's rare that I get to come in and interview a published author. We're going to get to this, I promise. This is Krista McBeath. And Krista, I'm going to make sure I get all these titles right, because you do a lot of things and you have a lot of gifts.
Krista McBeath
Well, thank you.
Chad Sparks
Yeah, well, you do.
Krista McBeath
Well, thank you. I do wear a lot of hats here.
Chad Sparks
We know. And everybody in the community is going to find out today. We're going to know exactly what you do. So, Chris, you're the president of McBeath Financial group.
Krista McBeath
Correct.
Chad Sparks
We've known each other a long time.
Krista McBeath
We have.
Krista McBeath
Okay. And this is why we actually came in. So, folks, if you're watching this and you're saying, how do they seem to know each other so well, you brought me in. We did a video together in your office. I'll never forget it. I thought that was so much fun. And I said, we have to return the favor.
Krista McBeath
It's probably still on our website.
Chad Sparks
Okay, so now you're going to have a second video on your website. Probably backdrop better. This is a better backdrop. So this is great. We're here today because, Krista, you do so many things in the community, you help people. And this is the reason we go out to meet individuals like you, because we want to learn more about the skills that you possess and how you share those with the people in the community.
Krista McBeath
Thank you.
Chad Sparks
We come into this facility now. I'm used to it, but you weren't always here. This was kind of new to us when you moved, and tell me about that.
Krista McBeath
Yeah. So we used to be right down the street, about a block down the street across from Sherman's and back in 2017 or 2018, I lose track of time.
Chad Sparks
Me too.
Krista McBeath
That happens. We purchased this building here, and we renovated and we moved down here. So now we are directly across the street from Portillo’s.
Chad Sparks
I was going to suggest yeah. If you want to find this place, I know you will. When we're finished, just look for Portillos.
Krista McBeath
Or Los Potrillos Mexican Food!
Chad Sparks
Yeah. There you go.
Krista McBeath
We're a big fan of that.
Chad Sparks
Yeah. See, this is why we're here. We talk about food, we talk about financial services. All right. All the good stuff. All right. So this is where they're at. And again, we're grateful to be here. You fascinate me because you do so many things for families. We talk to people who come in and say, yeah, we know Krista. She's helped us tremendously with our finances and with financial planning and so on. I want to touch on those things. Again, you are a wealth management firm.
Krista McBeath
Correct.
Chad Sparks
All right. For a lot of people, they might say, well, that sounds great, but I don't know what that means.
Krista McBeath
Correct.
Chad Sparks
Okay, tell us about that.
Krista McBeath
Yes, because that term can be used very widely.
Chad Sparks
Right.
Krista McBeath
So McBeath Financial Group is a registered investment advisor. So we are an investment firm, but we like to refer to ourselves as wealth managers because we do so much more than just invest for our clients. So we are financial planners, but that is also a term that can be thrown around very loosely.
Chad Sparks
Sure.
Krista McBeath
Yes. So I would say to our clients, we have a very unique skill set, and so we do holistic planning. So, yes, we manage investments, but we dig a lot deeper for our clients. So we are looking more for more than just managing investments, more than just telling them whether or not they can retire and not outlive their money, but really digging in, looking at comprehensive tax planning, tax strategies to really help them increase their wealth over their lifetime, hopefully saving money in taxes, thereby creating more wealth, which often has a residual benefit for their family, their loved ones, or their charitable causes.
Chad Sparks
When we talk to you, there's this level of conviction. It's like, are we doing the right things? Do we need to even look at this even further? Because I know you're the expert, and so many people would say,”We need an expert. We don't know how to manage this. And especially in the time frame that we're in.” I'm guessing you're hearing a lot about this.
Krista McBeath
Yes.
Chad Sparks
Okay, so when people come in, and especially when they're looking for a financial planner, someone who can really help them, and they come in and they seek your services out and I know they do, what do you feel like, Krista? Is the number one reason or the number one thing that brings them to this beautiful office?
Krista McBeath
A lot of people who are seeking us out are in a position where they are aware that they are going to run into some problems later in life with taxation and some other issues that start to arise when they get hit with having to take distributions from their retirement accounts. But what we typically find through that planning process is that they have no idea how bad it's actually going to be. So most of the people that come in have a pretty good idea of the things that they think they should be concerned about. They might think that they're doing a pretty good idea of managing their wealth on their own. But through this process, we're able to open their eyes to all the things that they don't know, and we should be able to. Like, that is our profession. We are professionals in this area, and we should know more than they do.
Chad Sparks
Oh, that's a great point. And that helps because, again, so many times people will try to navigate these waters in a ship that can't sail. You handle investment strategies, you cover tax strategies. And you just mentioned that. And that's important because a lot of people, I think, are in that position, especially when winter hits, it's the reminder that tax season is coming. Right. Never a fun time. All right. And then also, you help families. This is big for us. You help families because we do, too. Calvert Metzler Memorial Home is all about family, all about community values-oriented. You're the same way. And I think that's why we had such a strong partnership is because we kind of look at things the same way. You help people with their future and their legacy, and I need you to maybe touch on that.
Krista McBeath
Yeah. So we do that in a lot of different ways. So obviously, the planning that we do typically, first and foremost when people come in is they just want to know that they're going to be okay, that they and their spouse specifically are going to be okay in the event of a premature death. Right. There's changes of income in the household, typically pension and Social Security change. So typically their primary concern is for themselves and their spouse. And then it can kind of expand from there. So if we've shown them they're taken care of, there it is. Then we can build upon that for their children and their loved ones. Or sometimes we have clients who don't have children, but they have causes that are very important to them. And if we can help show them how we can save them money over their lifetimes and also create more for the causes that they're passionate about, it's a win-win.
Chad Sparks
Your business is growing, and I have to do this. I mean, this is kind of my shout out to your husband Robert, one of my favorite people. I love the man, so he gave us a brief tour. And I know that your building is expanding. Right. So that's something else. But tell me about your growth. What do you attribute it to?
Krista McBeath
So, over the last several years, we have strategically made some changes here within the firm as far as our areas of focus. So I think that that has had a tremendous impact on it. But we have also been very blessed over the last several years to have been voted the number one with Pantagraph Reader's Choice for Financial Planning and Investment Firm every year.
Chad Sparks
Yeah, I don't know that you've ever missed a year.
Krista McBeath
I think for the last four or five years. Robert says six years, so I lose track.
Chad Sparks
Six years? Are you running out of wall space? You just can't put any more up.
Krista McBeath
I have plaques that are not put up yet, let's put it that way.
Chad Sparks
I love that.
Krista McBeath
So that has helped. And then word of mouth referrals, and I think just the level of planning. And I think people have just become more concerned about their money and the changing tax landscape. Back in 2019, there were some big changes that happened that changed how people's retirement accounts actually passed down to their children and how they're taxed. And it's been a huge concern to people, big concern for us as planners. So we've seen, I think, a lot of planning and people seeking out wealth management revolving around that as well.
Chad Sparks
It makes sense, and especially when we consider the fact that we talk about changing landscape, you're growing here, but everything's changing in the world, and especially from a financial viewpoint. And so I think having that advocate, that person that says, yeah, we're aware of it, where I know about it, because I'm guessing people would walk in and say, have you heard about this? And you're the one that says, I already knew about it.
Krista McBeath
Yeah. And it's really interesting. What we try to impress upon people is we build very robust plans that look beautiful on paper and we can present and show people the value in it to them. But the second we build them, two months from now, they could change drastically because tax law changes or something else changes.
Chad Sparks
By the way, Chris, everybody who's watching this right now, their heads are nodding. We agree.
Krista McBeath
What we try to impress upon people is we're very relationship driven.
Chad Sparks
Really? I never knew that. I joke that's what brings us here.
Krista McBeath
Yeah. So when people seek us out, we are looking for people that want to work with us for the long term. Because last year – we have a major employer in our community, as you know and – and there was something that happened to a lot of employees there in terms of one of their investments that created a lot of tax impacts for them that undid a lot of the tax planning that we had rolled out for our clients that year. So every year, even though we have a long-term tax strategy for our clients, every single year we have to go back and re-analyze. And honestly, we pivot almost every year based on the tax landscape. So our existing clientele keep us very busy because we are always having to pivot and adjust based on what is going on.
Chad Sparks
The landscape is always changing. We see this in our industry. We understand that. And as a matter of fact, we host seminars talking about that. One thing that's really interesting in our worlds intersect. And I don't want to say they collide, but in a way they do. Because we know that oftentimes people are going to come see you at a time when they're grieving. They've lost a loved one. Maybe they don't know what to do. Maybe they don't have a good grip on their finances or a really good understanding of it. They come in to see you and you kind of sort out all of that amidst the fog of grief you've written about this. You have a passion about this. I got to ask you about it. Tell me about it.
Krista McBeath
Yeah. And ideally, that is something that I would like to help people avoid. Typically, we see a lot of people who are coming in before anything that could go wrong does. And we know in life, something always does, right. The inevitable always comes. So ideally, you want to plan for these things ahead of time. So we see a lot, and we plan for that for our clients. Another time that clients seek us out is maybe when something is a little bit more imminent. I met with a client last week who's been diagnosed with cancer, and so he not necessarily that it's terminal, but again, they just want to review everything and make sure that everything is in order. But it's another great time to review those things. And then the harder part is when someone has lost somebody and they're having to make decisions at a time when, quite frankly, that's the last thing they need to be dealing with. Making those decisions when you are grieving is hard. And quite often, a lot of times, maybe it's one spouse that has maybe handled the financial affairs, and a lot of times they're just kind of left in an upheaval, and now they're seeking somebody out that doesn't know anything about them or their affairs and trying to piece it all together.
Chad Sparks
It's the serious side of our businesses. It's what we do, and that's why we get that. We talk about we're locally owned. We're family operated. We're values oriented. That's kind of what we do. And we know that at that time, we understand that our expertise has got to be in that particular area. You do the same thing, and you come in when they're struggling, when they're grieving, when they're hurting. I think it's important for the community to know that you have that at your disposal. You have that you're able to help those people. And I will tell you, you have a huge heart. This is something that's very dear to you, I know, and I've seen you I've seen you respond to things like that. And again, it just creates that warmth and kind of knocks down a lot of walls, I think, that are out there, because I think a lot of people come into a financial situation and they say, I don't know, can I trust this person? Can I really get on board with this person? Krista, it's easy to do with you.
Krista McBeath
Yeah.
Chad Sparks
All right. So we cannot end this without talking about the book. It's the book, which, by the way, I've read the book. I was actually so excited when I received it, and I said that was my first order of business, by the way, was to read it in its entirety. I did. Loved every part of it. It was very helpful for me. So I'm going to hold this up. We have props! So this is called the Generational Wealth System. A holistic approach to preserving your wealth and legacy. And I'm going to hold this up. I've never written a book. I read a lot, but I couldn't write one. Tell me what went into this.
Krista McBeath
So that was really a labor of love, I think that I would say. So we are very good about putting out educational content and newsletter and blogs, and ultimately, we cannot help everybody that we would like to be able to help. So we thought, what better way to kind of consolidate and put something in a book. There's a lot of great stories in there. It's a very easy read.
Chad Sparks
It was a great read.
Krista McBeath
Yeah, it's a great read. Probably the stuff that most people would have got really bored with, where it would have got really analytical would have been the tax piece. I could have written a whole book on the tax piece, I think. So it's not real tax heavy because, honestly, that's our job.
Chad Sparks
In fairness, I found it to be interesting. And of course, maybe I'm strange that way, but I thought it was very interesting and engaging.
Krista McBeath
There's a lot of great personal stories in there. One thing I will point out about the book, several months ago, I had a gentleman call and he said, “you know, I read your book. It was a great book. But I'm not sure we're a great fit, because one of the things that you talk about a lot in the book is the generational aspect and planning for the children and how this is really what drove your passion for the book. And that's not really our passion.” And we actually have this a lot people where people just want to enjoy life and spend every last cent. Honestly, the people that we plan for typically probably aren't going to spend all their money if they tried.
Chad Sparks
Sure.
Krista McBeath
But I just reiterated to him kind of what I said to you in the beginning. Our primary responsibility is always to our client to improve things for them, make sure that they're taken care of, make things better for them. And it is the residual benefit of making things better for the people that they care about. And you really can't say no to that.
Chad Sparks
There were some accolades. I remember when this came out, I was so excited. I thought, I know a published author. It felt so good to say that. But it was an Amazon best seller.
Speaker 2
Yeah, we did hit Amazon bestseller, I think, the first week, which is a big thing. Yeah. So it is on Amazon for purchase. But honestly, if you call our office and I think that they should have to mention Chad Spark. Yeah. If you call our office and mention that you saw this video on the Calvert Metzler website, we will actually send you an awesome book package that will actually have a free book in it along with some other really awesome goodies.
Chad Sparks
We've never done this before, so this is unusual. And by the way, that was not planned until like, what, just now?
Krista McBeath
Yes, yes.
Chad Sparks
Okay. That's right off the cuff. So that's what we do. So here's your chance to get a free book. You watch a video, get a free book. And by the way, it is generational, I mean, this will help you in generations beyond. And so well done on that. With regards to this, I want to make sure that everybody understands. Obviously, you have a website, very functional, very easy to use, and that is mcbeathfinancialgroup.com.
Krista McBeath
Correct.
Chad Sparks
A lot of good stuff on there. If you say we want to call, we want our book, we would love that, too. 309-808-2224.
Krista McBeath
Correct.
Chad Sparks
Okay. And I want to say, as far as coming out and doing it in the community, spending time with you and Robert, always a blessing for us and for our business. We love working with you at Calvert Metzler Memorial Home. Like we always say, it's always about family, community. We care about family. We care about community. And we are values-oriented. That's critical. That brings us together for several reasons because we know you are, too. Yeah, that's great. Krista, thanks for inviting us into your expansive, beautiful office.
Krista McBeath
Thank you for having us.
Chad Sparks
Yeah, what a pleasure it's been. And we've been looking forward to this. So, yes, this was a day that was really anticipated. And again, if you're watching this, just remember we're going to do this one more time. You can actually get your free book. And again, simply call 309-808-2224. Get your free book. And also you can learn about the many facets of financial planning that you do. And you do it well.
Krista McBeath
Thank you. And thank you for all that you do in the community as well.
Chad Sparks
Well, on behalf of Calvert Metzler Memorial Home, thank you so much for tuning in. Our friend Krista McBeath and her wonderful family, including her husband Robert. Tremendous people who do an amazing job serving the community and working in a field that you are considered an expert in. And I'm telling you, it's not just us that says this. A lot of people say this. And again, make sure to check out this great book. It will help you in so many different ways. And on behalf of Calvert Metzler Memorial Home, have a wonderful thank you for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you the next time in the community.
Krista McBeath is an Investment Advisor, Chartered Financial Consultant, a Licensed Insurance Advisor, a Fiduciary, and an experienced tax advisor who specializes in financial planning, investments, and insurance.
She utilizes advanced tools for in-depth calculations that analyze tax and retirement scenarios to help their clients avoid a future tax time-bomb. Whether this means enjoying more of your hard-earned money in retirement or passing along assets to loved ones with less tax burden, planning makes the difference.
Her new book, The Generational Wealth System outlines a holistic approach to preserving lifestyle, wealth and legacy.
