The Best Question to Ask Clients – And Yourself

By financial planning logo
February 28, 2019
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Written by: Chelsea Emery | Jeff Motske has one of the strongest ways to tease out client priorities I’ve heard in quite a while.

“What if?” Motske asks clients.

“What if one if your partner needs critical care? What if you want to move to Arizona? What if one of your kids starts a family on the other side of the country?,” the CEO of Trilogy Financial asks.

It’s deceptively simple, but an excellent method for getting at the heart of clients’ values and fears.

“These are critical questions,” Motske told me during a recent visit to Financial Planning offices in New York. “You want to ask them before things happen.”

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By Trilogy Financial
June 19, 2018

No matter how much you and your partner have in common, investing will uncover differences. Maybe one likes playing it safe while the other relishes risk-taking. One wants to invest every available penny, while the other yearns to live it up now. Or perhaps you disagree on when to retire.

Differences are inevitable, says Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, founder of KBK Wealth Connection in Waitsfield, Vermont. “That’s the nature of a partnership.”

But some couples don’t discover their differences until they fester into conflicts. You can avoid discord by bringing financial topics into the open, finding common ground and compromising.

“Learning how to talk about and work through conflict will make you stronger partners,” says Kingsbury, author of “Breaking Money Silence: How to Shatter Money Taboos, Talk More Openly About Finances, and Live a Richer Life.”

Click here to read the full story.

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October 20, 2026

Trilogy Capital, the wealth management firm headquartered in Irvine, California, announced the acquisition of Westminster, Colorado-based Mountain Capital. Mountain Capital had over $1 billion in total client assets. The acquisition represents Trilogy’s largest deal of the year and its second Colorado location.

“Mountain Capital is a perfect fit for Trilogy and demonstrates our commitment to intelligent inorganic growth,” said Jeff Motske, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Trilogy. “Mountain Capital shares our commitment to long-term client relationships, fiduciary advice, and thoughtful financial planning, so the cultural fit is exceptional. We are very excited to be able to attract high-caliber people to Trilogy.”

Mountain Capital was founded in 2011 by U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former airline pilot Brandt Burns, its CEO. The firm serves individuals, families and small businesses, with a focus on aviation professionals. Its advisors include current and former pilots, airline leaders and other industry experts. Trilogy said the advisors’ aviation experience informs the financial guidance they provide.

According to Trilogy, Mountain Capital will retain its brand, leadership team, advisors and staff, and client disruption should be minimal.

“Partnering with Trilogy allows us to maintain our firm’s personalized service and expertise, while enhancing additional offerings that matter most to our clients,” said Burns. “This important move for our firm will not replace what we’ve built. It will strengthen it.”

In addition to financial planning and investment management services, Mountain Capital offers tax preparation and consulting services…click here to read more.

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