Meet Charles Matthews

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Charles Matthews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Charles , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I believe I learned resilience from my mother who I was very close with growing up. I watched my mom face a number of challenges and setbacks along the way but she always seemed to find a way to manage and overcome them.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am fortunate to have found a professional home serving as a financial advisor with Edward Jones. Now in my 10th year, I specialize in assisting high net worth families many of which are small business owners manage their wealth.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe the three most important elements that have helped me along the way are discipline, respect for others and a strong sense of personal responsibility. I give full credit to my parents whom together instilled in me the a strong sense of pride in taking care of yourself and belongings. We were one of a handful of black families attending school in a predominantly Caucasian and Jewish community in upstate NY in the Hudson Valley area roughly an hour outside of NYC where I was born. My parents stressed the importance of us being good neighbors in that we would never be accused of bringing down property values! Hence our home was always maintained and presentable. Intertwined with this is discipline in that we were taught to do those things that we needed to do first so that we could do the things we wanted to do later. An example was ensuring we completed our chores and homework after school before going out to play. This was the routine for as long as I can recall and it helped me develop a discipline that I had shaped the way I approach my life ever since. I now have the responsibility to pass this knowledge onto my two children and this is the same approach I take with my clients. Lastly, on the matter of respect my parents once again modeled this in their words and actions towards everyone I can recall them coming into contact with. Everyone from the handyman to my dad’s supervisor were respected equally. I call this approach riding the elevator where I can connect on some level with someone who may be working in a blue collar profession to a CEO. I now recognize this ability as somewhat of a superpower that has allowed me to get a foot in and open many doors. My advice for others is to be respectful of everyone you meet. Apply the golden rule and don’t easily dismiss others as you never know who can help you. Remember many millionaires next door drive pickup trucks.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

In my experience, I have found that my ideal client is someone who values building a relationship with me and my firm over time. I specialize in working with individual investors, many of whom are small business owners organize, build, protect, and transfer wealth. I have a passion for working with small business owners with young children, as they tend to have more complex needs, and this provides an opportunity to recommend strategies that will have a positive impact across multiple generations. Many of my clients seek assistance in navigating the myriad of choices they have when planning for the future and appreciate the guidance we provide to help them identify a path and milestones along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/financial-advisor/charles-matthews
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-matthews-edwardjones