Matt Sheffield, a longtime Spokane-based financial consultant, has a new independent practice in downtown Spokane, dubbed Burlwood Wealth LLP, where he says he's working to support clients with the same attention and eye for detail that he applies to woodworking.

The name of the company, Burlwood Wealth, is a nod to Sheffield's amateur woodworking hobby. Burls typically have a unique and valuable grain pattern due to knots formed on some tree trunks and branches as a tree grows.

"Everybody has their own story with unique twists and turns. I see them as individuals and see what they're trying to accomplish and work with them," says Sheffield. "A burl is beautiful, it's resilient, and it's unique, and I feel that's what people are."

Burlwood is backed by San Diego-based independent brokerage LPL Financial LLC. Burlwood's affiliation with LPL Financial gives his company advanced resources and the capacity to grow clients while maintaining independence, he says.

"LPL's model is that you can both be a small business owner and ... you can still have all of the tools, technology, and backing that you need to be successful," he says. "That's been a really important factor for me."

About two-thirds of Burlwood's clients have already entered retirement and the remaining clients are actively planning for retirement, he says.

The key to serving retired clients is communication, he says.

Burlwood differentiates itself from competitors by being a consistent communicator and digging deep into risk and time horizon for client's savings goals, he says.

"The number one reason why people leave their current advisers is communication," he says. "You'd think it'd be investment performance, but a lot of people in my shoes are good at giving presentations, we're good at selling ourselves and our services to people and then sometimes the follow-up isn't there."

Flexible communication styles are necessary for Sheffield to make connections with clients. Telephone and in-person meetings are the norm for many of his older clients while Zoom meetings and secured messaging is the preferred method for younger clients.

"Some of our habits and communication styles seem to be generational," he says. "Consistent, regular communication actually helps people stay on plan."

Sheffield says he was ready to operate with more independence when he decided to launch Burlwood in May. Prior to the launch, Sheffield worked as a financial adviser with UBS Wealth Management USA for most of his 20-year career. 

"LPL takes a portion of my revenues to compensate them for all the resources they provide, but that's different from the typical big bank model ... where they own everything, and they control everything, and then they dictate to you," he explains.

Sheffield managed about $275 million in assets at UBS in late 2023, prior to changing his affiliation to LPL, according to a press release from LPL.

He declines to disclose the value of assets he currently manages or the number of clients he's serving.

"I'm trying to focus on helping individuals meet their financial goals, whether that's for retirement, saving for college, or just maintaining the money they've earned from a life of work," says Sheffield.

Burlwood has a staff of five including Sheffield, he says.

In the first three months of opening Burlwood Wealth, Sheffield is settling into a temporary office on the eighth floor of the Chase Building, at 610 W. Main. Tenant improvements are underway for permanent office space for Burlwood comprising over 1,000 square feet of space elsewhere on the eighth floor.

Spokane-based MMEC Architecture & Interiors LLC is the project architect, according to city of Spokane permit information. Newman Lake-based Carpita Construction LLC is the contractor for the renovations, which are valued at $40,000, permit data shows.

Completion of the tenant improvements is expected by the end of summer. Upon completion, Burlwood will have four offices, a conference room, and "a legitimate reception area," he says. 

"It's important to have an office because having in-person connection matters. There's certain meetings and discussions or problem solving that collaboration just happens best in person," Sheffield explains. "There's a lot of really great things about downtown Spokane ... and it's nice to be close to that."

Along with the office improvements, Sheffield intends to grow Burlwood by working with attorneys and accountants in the Spokane area for referrals, he says.

"My best source of growth would be happy clients and the second best would be the advisers that they rely on and trust like accountants and CPAs," says Sheffield.

Making connections is an area of strength for Sheffield, especially as technological advances make the industry increasingly impersonal. However, finding a balance for technology's role in financial planning and wealth management is needed to sustain future growth.

"I get to be involved in people's lives, and to me, that's very meaningful," Sheffield says. "I used to joke that I was like a goldfish swimming with a bunch of sharks, but the good thing is that I found that if I try to be myself and work hard, people gravitate toward that and you can connect and you're able to be successful."

The affiliation with LPL provides Burlwood with planning software that can account for and model variables that could impact a client's savings goals, which is growing in popularity as his clients are preferring to understand both the pros and cons of their investment path. Compared to 20 years ago, clients typically preferred to see the best-case scenario of their retirement planning efforts.

"I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to grow my business over a long period of time," he says. "Accolades are fine, but to me, what really matters is knowing that I can build up trust with my clients and that I can help them through difficult situations both within financial markets and also the twists and turns that life throws at us."