What Your Financial Advisor Relationship Should Really Feel Like

Hosted by Johnathan Burgess & Luke Maloney-Grimes

What does a marriage have to do with financial planning? More than you might think. In this episode, Johnathan Burgess and financial advisor Luke Maloney-Grimes explore what a 14-month client relationship taught them about the true value of a good advisor — and why AI, market volatility, and data security are reshaping what it means to protect your retirement.

The Client Who Made $242,000 — and Still Needed a Better Plan

Johnathan opened with a story about a physician client who had come to Big Money about 14 months earlier with around $1 million, an active trading philosophy, and a desire to maintain higher risk even in retirement. At their third meeting, the account had grown to $1.283 million — a gain of $242,000. But Johnathan noticed the client had not taken any meaningful withdrawals and was about to travel to Europe for three months.

“I said, we made $242,000 last year. Why don’t we take everything we made and put that into a safe account? It was the first time we had implemented a guaranteed strategy for them — and their response was immediate: this is the most common-sense thing we needed to hear.”

Johnathan Burgess

Why the Best Financial Relationships Feel Like a Marriage

Johnathan drew a parallel he believes defines great advisory work: I have been married for eight years, and I still do not fully know my wife. I never will. That is the exciting part. And that is how I approach our relationship with clients too. Great advisors do not arrive at a first meeting assuming they know everything. They show up curious, ask good questions, and keep learning.

“You have what — an hour or an hour and a half with them, twice a year? It takes time. You are always discovering new ways to help that person. It just gets better.”

Luke Maloney-Grimes

When Life-Changing Events Bring People to a Financial Advisor

Most people do not wake up one morning and decide to review their financial plan. People come to advisors in moments of change: a market downturn, an inheritance, a spouse’s death, a retirement date on the calendar. Luke shared a recent example of a widow who found them after her husband passed away. The team was able to help streamline the financial transition and reduce the stress of an already painful situation.

“Your financial advisor belongs in the same short list as your pastor and your doctor — the three people you trust most when life gets hard. Do you truly have a relationship with your financial advisor? Can you really trust that person and that team?”

Johnathan Burgess

AI, the Market, and What It Means for Your Retirement

Luke brought the conversation to the rise of artificial intelligence — one of the most significant developments since the internet itself. Each new product release is moving the market in a massive way, creating both opportunity and risk for retirement portfolios.

For Johnathan, the AI revolution raises a critical question: how safe is your financial data? Big Money Retirement Solutions has invested in becoming SOC 2 compliant — the highest cybersecurity standard available to advisory firms — not because it is required, but because it is the right way to protect client assets in an increasingly digital world.

What Does a Great Advisor Actually Do?

A great financial advisor is a sounding board, not a dictator. Someone who listens more than they talk. Someone who calls before a review meeting and asks what is on your mind, what you are excited about, what goals you are working toward. And above all — someone who gets better at understanding you over time. Just like a marriage.