Serving the underserved, local financial services group thrives

Weymouth resident Ralph Mitchell finds clients where other financial advisors do not deign to go. The army reservist signs up fellow weekend warriors and their families for the services of his company, Carthage Financial Group. He helps those of modest means as well as more affluent people to grow their assets.

Whereas most financial advisors serve predominantly white customers, Mitchell and his employees have a clientele that is roughly half white, 30 percent black and 20 percent Latino.

The diversity of his customers reflects the wide range of venues in which Mitchell advertises his services. From military bases to church gatherings where he is invited to speak to the flock about financial planning, Mitchell has gradually built up his business since he founded it in 1992.

The Braintree-based company now has three employees besides Mitchell. Carthage manages approximately $36 million in assets.

So what is the secret ingredient to Mitchell's success? Drive.

"Going into business for myself was something I'd always wanted to do," said Mitchell. "The funding came out of my personal savings."

Mitchell grew up in Columbus, Georgia. After graduating from Columbus College (now Columbus State University) with a degree in finance in 1977, he served in the army for six years, working his way from lieutenant to captain.

Mitchell came to Boston soon after, working as a sales representative for Hershey's Chocolate Company and a pharmaceutical representative for Johnson & Johnson before earning his Master's in Finance at Suffolk University.

From there, Mitchell jumped into the world of financial management as a stock broker for Meryl Lynch, in their now-defunct Boston office, he said.

The apparent unfairness in promotions at Meryl prompted him to launch his own business.

"I got frustrated when I saw people bringing in less money, who were less educated, getting told about in-house training programs and getting promoted, then going to tell me I need to work harder when, when they were at my level, I ran rings around them on a regular basis," he said.

Fed up, Mitchell founded Carthage, working out of his house and building a clientele at first from friends and family.

"You put together a list of 100 people you know, friends, family, former classmates," he said. "Anybody who might have a little bit of money. No people deeply in debt."

Gradually, he expanded, utilizing his broad range of investment knowledge garnered through his schooling and experience at Meryl.

"A lot of people who do what I do, you'd be surprised," he said. "They only have a high school diploma. They went out and got their insurance license and call themselves financial advisors. But they only have a limited number of products they can provide."

Mitchell invests his clients' money with insurance companies, mutual fund houses, brokerage houses, real estate investment trusts, equipment leasing programs and oil and gas partnerships.

The type of investment depends on the level of risk each client is willing to take. Generally, the greater the risk, the greater the potential return on an investment.

Mainly, clients are investing as a way of increasing their savings for occasions such as weddings, retirement, vacations or the education of their children or grandchildren.

"A person in my line of work will sit down with them and say, "What are your different life events coming up?'" he said. "My job is that come that day on the calendar, there's sufficient cash available to make it a reality instead of a pipe dream."

African Americans tend to have less inclination to invest, according to Mitchell, due in large part to family history. But he urges them to join in on the asset-building game that white people have been playing for generations.

"A lot of what I have to tell people, people of color have been left out of the loop for a long time," he said. "Prior to civil rights laws being passed, a lot of Southern states had on the book that a person of color could not have a life insurance policy that amounted to more than $500. They paid a lot more in terms of a premium than the plan would ever pay them or their families."

The scams created a wariness or ignorance about investing in many families.

But many black families do invest, a fact which has helped Mitchell grow his business. And he hopes to continue growing it.

"I always wanted to have something to do until I'm an old man and senile," he said. "I'm not drawing in millions personally each year. I'd like to at some point."

For those wishing to start their own financial advising businesses, Mitchell recommends they get a college degree and become certified public accountants.

"CPA you'll always have as a safety net," he said. "Then, if you want to get your insurance broker's license or get a license to do securities trades, you can."

But most of all, he says it takes good organizational skills and the ability to carry out a plan to become a successful financial advisor.

"You have to be organized," he said. "You have to sit down, plan an agenda. You can't do it off the cuff. Then, you need to have the discipline to carry out the plan you just worked on."

Article copyright The Bay State Banner.

Photograph (Ralph Mitchell)