WEALTH TALK
INTERVIEW
MAPPING
FINANCIAL
SUCCESS
THE ART OF WEALTH NAVIGATION
T
by joe innace
The alphabet soup menu of certifications for financial advisors has grown to be quite extensive. According to a Kiplinger newsletter article some ten years ago, there were more than 100 types. Most observers agree there are maybe 125-150 designations nowadays. A recent account published in September 2021 by “U.S. News and World Report” listed the “10 Best Financial Certifications” for professionals. In no particular order, these were: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Financial Risk Manager (FRM). But talk to Richard Tegge, president and owner of Marquette, Michigan-based Wealth Strategy Group — and also an AIF® and PPC™ — and he will boil down that menu into simple terms. Tegge considers himself a navigator, first and foremost. “My dad, Richard Sr., was a decorated U.S. Air Force Navigator who successfully guided his crews to destinations around the globe, from the jungles of 10 / ADVISORS MAGAZINE
MAR 2022
Southeast Asia to the frozen tundras of the north and south poles,” Tegge writes on his website. “I inherited his passion for navigation, only I develop routes to desired wealth/financial destinations.” The entrepreneurial Tegge did not start out in the investment business. “Soon after college, I started a business with another gentleman when I was in Florida that dealt with field force automation,” he told “Advisors Magazine” in a recent interview. In short, field force automation leverages software, geo-tracking and assorted mobile wireless devices, allowing technicians in the field to collect data, sync it in real time with a central system and share the information with other users. After selling that business, Tegge moved back home to Michigan and entered the world of financial advice. He did two years with Edward Jones before being lured by Smith Barney, where he spent nine years running a satellite office as a financial advisor. Smith Barney closed the office in the fall of 2008. And Tegge started his own independent practice in January 2009. “A very interesting time to be launching out on your own as we were at the depth of the Great Recession,” he recalled. “There were many challenges, especially leaving a name like Smith Barney where I was doing a lot of institutional money management with several hospitals and other entities. And that business doesn’t roll over to an independent firm right away; it takes time.”
