Team Name: Musgrave Dunn & Associates
Firm: Merrill Wealth Management
Senior Members: Travis Musgrave, Timothy Dunn, Valerie Marshall
Location: Lexington, KY
Team Custodied Assets: $1.4 billion
Background: Travis Musgrave attended the University of Kentucky as a pre-med student before ditching medicine for money. After graduating in 1991 with a degree in accounting and finance Musgrave landed a role as a financial advisor. At first Musgrave focused on cold-calling prospects but ultimately moved toward financial planning, initially focusing on physicians and other professionals in the Lexington community. The team began as Musgrave and “half of an assistant,” but he steadily added people he believed could stay with the firm for their entire careers. His first full-time hire joined in 1999 and remains with the team today.
Client Relationships: Musgrave Dunn & Associates works with fewer than 200 households, a deliberately small client base relative to its headcount. Many clients are attorneys, physicians and business owners, with the practice increasingly focused on complex, high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth situations. “The more complicated, the better for us,” Musgrave says. “We enjoy solving problems and being proactive at doing that.” Rather than hosting large events, the team’s work is almost entirely one-on-one. “Clients want us in the office working, not out planning events,” Musgrave says. That focus allows the team to spend significant time on customized planning and problem-solving for each relationship.
Investment Philosophy: The team builds portfolios around each client’s specific cash-flow and growth needs, starting with ensuring clients won’t be forced to sell assets during market downturns. “If we can prevent having to sell something in a down market, we can remove the vast majority of the risk of owning stocks,” Musgrave says. That approach leads to an emphasis on simplicity. Portfolios are typically built around individual stocks and bonds—“good businesses” with strong profitability, cash flow and leadership—rather than complex structures. “We believe in keeping things very simple,” he says. ETFs may be used in smaller accounts, but the team generally prefers to own individual securities. Alternatives are used selectively for clients with longer time horizons and the ability to tolerate illiquidity, primarily through private equity allocations.
Market Outlook: Musgrave says portfolios are designed to work “in all times,” rather than being positioned for a single market outcome. He remains constructive on the economic backdrop, citing increased corporate spending, ongoing innovation and what he believes is a lower-rate environment. “All of these things tend to align themselves with an expanding economy,” he says. In that environment, the team favors thoughtful equity exposure, focusing on companies and industries that can adapt and embrace change. “You want to own equities in a thoughtful fashion,” Musgrave says.
Best Advice: Musgrave’s advice to clients starts with self-awareness. “Making certain that clients are honest and open with themselves and their advisor about their feelings toward money, risk and goals is critical,” he says. From there, consistency matters. “If you do the work and you are consistent, you’ll get the results.” He also cautions clients to remove emotion from decision-making. “It’s easy to come away from the holidays and say, ‘I have to own bitcoin,’” he says. “Just be careful to remove the emotional piece and stick with your gut.”
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