In today’s complex financial landscape, choosing the right financial advisor is crucial for securing your financial future. With so many options available, ranging from independent advisors who solely focus on investment to large financial firms that can at times be intimidating, the decision is typically a daunting one. However typical is not a word we use to describe our #scouted financial expert, Silas Parker.

From leaving a hard situation at home, to going out on his own at 16 and traveling with rock bands, to calling Austin home since 1993, Silas is our quintessential Austinite. His feel for the Austin environment is unmatched. He’s seen the change in culture, while still remaining unjaded, celebrating the success of it. He’s seen the music scene change dramatically, yet still believes in it enough to be a member of two bands, one which is a Led Zeppelin tribute band…we love that fact. 

Silas’ experiences have molded him into the exact person we’d want managing our finances. He’s a balance of smart and calculated, yet personable and down to earth. While he and his associates can manage millions of dollars, he also knows what it’s like to not have any money at all, making him a unicorn in the finance world. He and his team have an approachable and hard-working attitude. That’s one thing we think any level of income can respect. 

At SP&A, their team uses a fiduciary relationship approach. You hire them to build a plan that helps you accomplish your goal through a comprehensive holistic approach. This might include investing, but it also might not. You’re working with them to “create a happily ever after”, a term that Silas Parker & Associates holds close to his heart, and one that serves as the firm’s tagline. It stems from Silas’ love of great stories – George Lucas’ Star Wars to be specific. In various books and movies, viewers are shown a window into a hero’s journey and the many stages a protagonist might flow through before they reach their big moment of achievement, before they climb the castle wall, conquer evil, etc. Whatever the movie or character may be, the larger plotline is usually the same. Silas sees the client journey this way. His clients are heroes and he wants to play a role as their guide in helping them look ahead making sure that any gaps in their stories can be rewritten in plenty of time to ensure success. 

Often, when people enter their introductory meeting with Silas Parker & Associates, they might not even know what their own version of happiness is. The onboarding and first year with the firm provides helpful direction here. Through their clear and transparent process, they not only serve as your financial advisor, but they walk with you through life and all of the bridges you have to cross to enter the next phase. In our opinion, they are the best kept secret in financial planning. 

From a high level, SP&A starts with every client in a safe, no-pressure meeting that consists exclusively of asking and answering questions. If this meeting moves to more communication, the firm will then organize an agenda for an onboarding meeting that will guide a client through the goals and objectives the client may have mentioned in that original “get to know you” meeting. Here, Silas and his team will discuss their process and also quote you a fee. Their fees are supported by a pricing matrix which looks at annual income and net worth, the complexity of a portfolio (corporations, trusts, real estate) to assign a point value. This point value then aligns with a more specific fee. From there, you will meet with Silas a few times throughout the first year, and then as years go on and trust and understanding builds, less frequently. During great economic times and more trying times, it’s helpful to have someone you trust by your side helping you prepare for the best and worst-case scenarios. 

This award-winning firm is consistently ranked in the top 200 in the nation when it comes to best financial advisories. This status grants them access to the Nautilus Group. Within his group—which we’ve dubbed the ultimate back office any expert should have—Silas Parker & Associates can regularly consult with lawyers, tax specialists and others in the industry on various affairs that come and go over the course of someone’s life. This could look like a client who is experiencing loss and working through the death of a family member. Grief is hard enough, but managing wills, trusts, etc. is another layer itself. With Silas, his team can seek professional advice and recommendations and then share that advice with you. While it doesn’t remove the situational need to have good legal help, it does lower the cost and amount of times you might need to go to that expert out of pocket. The Nautilus Group alone is a huge value add for a client. With this access, a financial advisor has a dream team of advisors themselves feeding them information that clients wish they could have on retainer, but is often cost-prohibitive. 

To close our interview with Silas, we asked him what the most important thing he wants clients and potential clients to know about the team he’s built… His response was that with his firm, “you will have a team that really cares what happens to you in life, and that team is also backed by accountability.” As they’ve requested feedback and an assessment of their services, SP&A commonly hears the following feedback…

“Silas Parker & Associates consistently goes above and beyond what any other financial planner would typically provide”, and “Silas Parker & Associates are a “one-stop shop” that helps them accomplish their most important financial, investment, business, and estate planning objectives”. 

Through two years of photoshoots, various networking engagements and general day-to-day encounters (like when Silas’ wife, Marjorie handed me a much needed beer at mile 12 of the Austin half-marathon as Silas and the band played for runners on Enfield), we are confident in putting The Scout Guide name behind this local firm. 

If you are looking for someone who can provide wealth management and tailored financial planning inside of an authentic relationship, then Silas Parker & Associates may be just the right firm for you. Visit them at www.silasparker.com, you will not regret taking an information meeting to find out what your happily ever after might look like. 

To see the full list of businesses featured in The Scout Guide Austin’s latest edition, view our Directory here.