Shari Bevan

Shari Mattingly Bevan, founder of Bevan Wealth and Tax Strategies, is an attorney, Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) who has worked in the areas of financial advising and estate planning since 2000. Her focus is trusts and estates for individuals, as well as asset protection planning and small business development. Ms. Mattingly Bevan also provides private fiduciary services and serves as trustee and executor of estates, and attorney in fact for incapacitated persons. Shari is also a successful comprehensive Wealth Advisor.
Ms. Bevan has assisted over 550 clients with estate and tax planning matters. Shari has a reputation of providing excellent service to her clients because of her commitment to them and her attention to detail in all areas of her practice.
Throughout her career, Shari has worked on several complex and nuanced cases where she has prevailed, for her clients. One such case involved Shari securing a $2 million judgment for her client that was defrauded by the client’s brother-in-law. This first case took place in California. In the second case, Shari prevailed against a large investment bank that had fraudulently induced her client into an inappropriate investment.
Shari graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from California State University Fullerton. Her credentials include obtaining a Juris Doctor (law degree), with an emphasis in taxation in 1998, a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) in 2015 and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) in 2016.
Shari also regularly contributes to many philanthropic endeavors. She is a consistent contributor to Greenville County Animal Care (GCAC), a no-kill shelter for animals dedicated to promoting the compassionate treatment of animals in the community through adoption, education, and affordable spay/neuter and veterinary care. Other organizations that Shari Mattingly Bevan supports are Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian organization that meets the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine; Refuge House of Prayer, which is a local North Carolina ministry; FOTET.org another South Carolina Christian ministry, Meals on Wheels, and Best Friends’ Animal Sanctuary.
Shari was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Southern California. After spending 22 years in Southern California, Shari moved from the west coast to South Carolina where she currently resides.
Shari Mattingly Bevan is a very professional and well-respected financial expert. Her devotion to helping others extends beyond her work into all that she does. She cares deeply about doing all things with high moral standards and with the purpose of enriching her community.

Where did the idea for Bevan Wealth and Tax Strategies come from?

During law school, I worked in the areas of retirement planning and insurance services, so it was a natural progression to become an estate and tax planning attorney after graduating from law school. I chose to work in the area of comprehensive wealth advising after relocating from California to South Carolina because I enjoy this line of work, and in part because I still assist clients with estate planning matter. I enjoy all aspects of financial planning, investment, risk management planning, retirement income planning and estate planning. Although I still help clients with the strategies in their estate plans, I no longer draft the estate planning documents for them. Rather than drafting these documents, I now refer my clients to a local estate planning firm, whom I work collaboratively with.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My day is usually filled with client meetings, phone calls, client servicing and working on financial strategies for client. I spend a significant amount of time researching tax and estate planning issues for my clients. I stay productive by adhering to a schedule and utilizing my email management system, which allows me to prioritize my clients and servicing them as best possible.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I document the general outline of my strategies, including specific benchmarks and deadlines, in order to hold myself accountable for progress. Then I set goals for each benchmark or deadline I have set. This helps me stay on target until the idea/ project has come to fruition.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The increased use of technology in financial management to provide streamlined reporting and tracking systems is exciting. This technology has provided more transparency, which allows clients the opportunity to see the results I as their advisor am achieving for them. This advancement also provides advisors with more accurate information to measure results. This makes it easier for clients to see the value we are providing for them.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I am always looking for ways to improve my business, whether it be implementing new technology or learning something new about financial management matters. Learning about other professionals that complement my practice for the benefit of my clients is also a very valuable utilization of my time.

What advice would you give your younger self?

While I don’t have any regrets about my career path, I would offer myself more guidance about opening a law practice and the management of staff. There were many times when I needed coaching on how to handle staff matters. Thankfully, I had a wonderful business coach for this purpose.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I absolutely love the tax code! It is complex, but I enjoy learning about how it works and applying that knowledge to help my clients understand their planning opportunities.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I read every business book that my schedule allows, and I maintain a disciplined schedule. This allows me to learn new strategies that I can apply to my business. It also helps me stay up to date on industry changes and the views of other successful entrepreneurs.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

The one strategy that I find most helpful to my clients, and thus to growing my business is utilizing my background in financial, tax and legal matters to advise clients comprehensively. There are many financial advisors that offer services limited in scope to clients, but my background and credentials allow me to offer a breadth of services to my clients. In addition, I really focus on client service to each individual client. As a result, I have grown my practice through referrals from existing clients.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

When my law practice was growing at a tremendous rate, I was hesitant to employ another attorney to assist me with the increased case load. Once I overcame the financial concern of doing so, it allowed me to continue to grow my practice to scale and be far more efficient. I wish I had hired help sooner rather than later. I would encourage anyone with a growing business to hire the necessary assistance to run a business well and efficiently.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I would encourage any business owner with a growing business to hire the necessary assistance to run a business well and to utilize technology to run the business efficiently. With that written, client service is the number one priority, otherwise the other two factors will be moot.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Each Thanksgiving I purchase, from a specialty pie company, a gourmet pie for each of my clients and send it to him/her/them prior to the holiday for him/her/them to enjoy with their family. Each pie costs me almost $100, but it is worth every penny because of the way my clients respond to receiving them. An example of the flavors I sent this year are cranberry, orange and white chocolate, as well as blueberry and lemon pies.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I rely on technology to make my work more efficient. I use an app called TSheets, which helps me manage time for all of the different tasks in my practice. It allows me to enter task start and finish times, view employee progress toward billable hours and send updates to clients about project statuses.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I am an avid reader and love most books I read. I generally read non-fiction business oriented books. One of my favorite books is entitled “Money: Master the Game” by Tony Robbins. Although Tony Robbins is not a financial expert himself, he spent 4 years interviewing 50 of the brightest financial minds in the world, and this book a compendium of those opinions. In my opinion, it is a must read for everyone.

What is your favorite quote?

“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston

Key Learnings:

• Find ways to make your work more efficient
• Always serve client well
• Make yourself an expert or consult with other professional who are experts
• Successful entrepreneurs need to continue to learn and seek new strategies that can be applied in their businesses