Financial advisor pedals retirement planning expertise to pilots in FedEx’s hometown

Sept. 05--Memphis financial advisor Legacy Wealth Management has created a niche in retirement planning for FedEx pilots.

It all started when the brother-in-law of a Legacy employee commented about his lack of preparedness for retirement as his pilot career wound down.

The pilot shared that he should have started planning a decade earlier, because of a plethora of pension and retirement savings choices.

"That was the light bulb moment," said Jim Isaacs, president and chief executive officer at Legacy.

The 35-year-old firm fleshed out the idea by creating a database of FedEx pilots and drilling down into the union-negotiated benefits that affect pilot retirement income.

Eight years later, Legacy has made educational presentations to more than 400 pilots and recruited 91 of them as clients. It does regular presentations for them and targets them with billboards near the FedEx world hub at Memphis International Airport.

Pilots have grown to represent about a tenth of the client base at Legacy, which manages more than $1.18 billion in assets, Isaacs said.

Legacy, founded in 1982 as Middle South Advisory Corp. by John Ueleke, is an independent investment advisory firm that works with high net worth individuals such as doctors, lawyers, executives and entrepreneurs.

The home-grown overnight delivery company's pilot workforce was an attractive target because of the concentration of well-paid individuals and the relative complexity of pension options.

Legacy used Federal Aviation Administration public databases and social media to find about 3,000 of 4,200 FedEx pilots, including about 2,000 active and retired in the Memphis area, Isaacs said.

"Once we learned all the nuances of their retirement program, we said 'This makes a lot of sense.' We thought we could add real value to this group," Isaacs said.

Legacy managing director Duncan Miller added, "Once we figured out the database, it was an easily identifiable group of clients to go after."

Chuck Dyer, a FedEx captain who's a leader of its Air Line Pilots Association union group, said, "I have indeed heard of Legacy Wealth Management. They have been around for a long time marketing their services to FedEx pilots. I personally have not had any dealings with them, but I know some that have."

Commercial airline pilots have mandatory retirement at 65. Retirements have been increasing in recent years as the workforce ages out, leaving FedEx and other airlines scrambling to hire and train new pilots.

"The interesting thing about pilots is at 65, they're done," Isaacs said. "They really have to start thinking about it in their 50s."

Isaacs said Legacy advisors keep track of changes in the union contract that affect retirement income.

The pension is unusual because it contains at least 11 options, rather than the handful of choices in a typical pension. Legacy helps pilots figure out which pension option to take and how to coordinate with Social Security payments. It also advises on 401(k) investment choices and health savings account options under medical coverage.

The last contract amendment, signed in October 2015, changed the equation by allowing pilots to cash out banked sick leave. In some cases, sick leave payments would be large enough to affect a pilot's tax status unless other retirement income streams are adjusted.

Legacy reaches out to pilots with direct mail brochures and invitations to presentations made four times a month at the firm's offices in East Memphis. It promises there will be no unsolicited followups.

Isaacs said one client came in two years after a presentation. "He was waiting to see if the company would keep our word and not contact him," Isaacs said.

Legacy has 22 employees, 15 of whom are owners, following a vision of company founder Ueleke that "employee ownership was best for clients," Isaacs said. Isaacs' goal is to extend ownership to all employees.

Legacy recently notched places on a couple industry lists: Financial Times FT 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers and Advisory HQ Top-Rated Wealth Manager.

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