Meet the Partners! An Interview with Michelle Tucker,
J.D., CFP®, CPA/PFS

June 4, 2020

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Meet the Partners! An Interview with Michelle Tucker, J.D., CFP®, CPA/PFS

Today, we interviewed Partner Michelle Tucker, the founder of 3D Wealth Advisors based in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.

Michelle joined Chicago Partners in 2020, bringing with her knowledge and experience creating great wealth management strategies for her clients. While she leads the wealth management business out of Honolulu, she is also a Partner of Sterling & Tucker, a group of estate planning attorneys also based in Hawaii.

Michelle also regularly appears on various news outlets that value her insights on current trends in the wealth management industry.

We asked Michelle a few questions to learn more about her, her wealth management philosophy, and advice she gives to investors.

Q: How did you get into wealth management?

MT: I became a CPA in 1977, an attorney in 1981, and an estate planning law specialist in 2000, but given the choice wealth management would have been my first. 

What was missing for me was an investment solution that I could trust, because without that, a financial plan is not worth the paper its written on. In the late 1990s, I attended an estate planning law conference and learned that the Prudent Man Rule was falling out of favor, replaced by the new Uniform Prudent Investor Act.  I dug into the origins of the Act, feeling very skeptical about lawyers passing statutes espousing a new investment strategy deemed prudent by lawyers, and my research lead to some very smart investment professionals  – not lawyers – and to investment professionals who have something in common with both CPAs and lawyers, namely, a  fiduciary relationship with the clients they serve.  

The combination of a prudent investment approach and a fiduciary relationship laid the foundation for a professional career in wealth management.  I formed a Registered Investment Advisory firm in 2000, and became a CPA/PFS in 2001.  In 2006, I added the CFP® credential, but it took a several years before my law firm and CPA firm could survive without me and for me to be able to spend most of my time serving wealth management clients.

Q: How would you describe your investment and wealth management philosophies?

MT: It is all about risk.  For some people, investing is a career – taking investment risk is their primary source of wealth accumulation.  Most of my clients are in retirement and I am responsible for their retirement savings – hard earned money so to speak.  For these people, preservation of principal is a very high priority.   They understand the importance of investing but do not want to lose their money

In investing, there are no guarantees, all investing involves taking risk, but not investing involves risk also.  A big part of my job is to understand each type of risk and manage it.  Another big part is to educate my clients, give them alternatives and explain the risk/reward trade-off of each, and help them make informed decisions.  Another part is to associate with people with impeccable credentials and values and hold myself to that same standard.

Q: What is the number one question you receive from clients, and how do you usually respond?

MT: What do you recommend?   

My clients think I know them very well and trust me to recommend what is in their best interest, in my best judgement.  I give clients enough information to make their own informed decisions, but ultimately, they want me to decide because “that is why they pay me”.

For me to make a recommendation, I need to know them, and how they feel about their family; their dreams and values, hopes and fears; their values and priorities; their financial goals not only for themselves but also for those that they love and for their friends and community; and I need to know a whole lot more than they ever will about wealth management.  Then I need to help them get what they want out of life with the least amount of risk.

In short, I recommend what is best for them.

Q: What is the single most important things for investors to keep in mind?

MT: Be wary of investments that are too hard to understand and cannot be easily explained.

Q: What do you like to do outside of being an investment advisor?

MT: Walk on the beach, bike around town and the marsh, swim to flat island, hike up the mountain, read a book, watch the sunrise or the moonrise or the sunset, cook a simple meal, help the family.


Important Disclosure Information

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC (“CP”), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this commentary will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this commentary serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from CP. Please remember to contact CP, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. CP is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the commentary content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the CP’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request.

June 4, 2020

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Meet the Partners! An Interview with Michelle Tucker, J.D., CFP®, CPA/PFS

Today, we interviewed Partner Michelle Tucker, the founder of 3D Wealth Advisors based in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.

Michelle joined Chicago Partners in 2020, bringing with her knowledge and experience creating great wealth management strategies for her clients. While she leads the wealth management business out of Honolulu, she is also a Partner of Sterling & Tucker, a group of estate planning attorneys also based in Hawaii.

Michelle also regularly appears on various news outlets that value her insights on current trends in the wealth management industry.

We asked Michelle a few questions to learn more about her, her wealth management philosophy, and advice she gives to investors.

Q: How did you get into wealth management?

MT: I became a CPA in 1977, an attorney in 1981, and an estate planning law specialist in 2000, but given the choice wealth management would have been my first. 

What was missing for me was an investment solution that I could trust, because without that, a financial plan is not worth the paper its written on. In the late 1990s, I attended an estate planning law conference and learned that the Prudent Man Rule was falling out of favor, replaced by the new Uniform Prudent Investor Act.  I dug into the origins of the Act, feeling very skeptical about lawyers passing statutes espousing a new investment strategy deemed prudent by lawyers, and my research lead to some very smart investment professionals  – not lawyers – and to investment professionals who have something in common with both CPAs and lawyers, namely, a  fiduciary relationship with the clients they serve.  

The combination of a prudent investment approach and a fiduciary relationship laid the foundation for a professional career in wealth management.  I formed a Registered Investment Advisory firm in 2000, and became a CPA/PFS in 2001.  In 2006, I added the CFP® credential, but it took a several years before my law firm and CPA firm could survive without me and for me to be able to spend most of my time serving wealth management clients.

Q: How would you describe your investment and wealth management philosophies?

MT: It is all about risk.  For some people, investing is a career – taking investment risk is their primary source of wealth accumulation.  Most of my clients are in retirement and I am responsible for their retirement savings – hard earned money so to speak.  For these people, preservation of principal is a very high priority.   They understand the importance of investing but do not want to lose their money

In investing, there are no guarantees, all investing involves taking risk, but not investing involves risk also.  A big part of my job is to understand each type of risk and manage it.  Another big part is to educate my clients, give them alternatives and explain the risk/reward trade-off of each, and help them make informed decisions.  Another part is to associate with people with impeccable credentials and values and hold myself to that same standard.

Q: What is the number one question you receive from clients, and how do you usually respond?

MT: What do you recommend?   

My clients think I know them very well and trust me to recommend what is in their best interest, in my best judgement.  I give clients enough information to make their own informed decisions, but ultimately, they want me to decide because “that is why they pay me”.

For me to make a recommendation, I need to know them, and how they feel about their family; their dreams and values, hopes and fears; their values and priorities; their financial goals not only for themselves but also for those that they love and for their friends and community; and I need to know a whole lot more than they ever will about wealth management.  Then I need to help them get what they want out of life with the least amount of risk.

In short, I recommend what is best for them.

Q: What is the single most important things for investors to keep in mind?

MT: Be wary of investments that are too hard to understand and cannot be easily explained.

Q: What do you like to do outside of being an investment advisor?

MT: Walk on the beach, bike around town and the marsh, swim to flat island, hike up the mountain, read a book, watch the sunrise or the moonrise or the sunset, cook a simple meal, help the family.


Important Disclosure Information

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC (“CP”), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this commentary will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this commentary serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from CP. Please remember to contact CP, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. CP is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the commentary content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the CP’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request.