Marco Melero is a multicultural education strategist and retirement plan consultant with Qualified Plan Advisors and Prime Capital Wealth Advisors. He focuses on managing and servicing employer retirement plans like 401(k)s for employers by specializing in providing culturally relevant employee education. In addition, he enjoys working with individuals to implement financial plans to help them meet their personal life and financial goals by discovering ways to enhance his clients’ wealth.

While still offering services that retirement planning professionals are traditionally associated with, he adds another layer, offering culture-based education and transcreation, allowing clients, prospects and individuals to understand the modern financial system in the context of their own language and home country. Born to two parents from Mexico, he knows the distrust that exists between the banking and financial systems and those who must participate in them, and his goal is to instill confidence through education, guidance and understanding.

Those same principles apply to his clients who speak fluent English and are simply looking for an advisor willing to provide education-based services. Marco enjoys showing, not telling, clients and prospects where his value lies, believing that if he can manage the funds in retirement plans, he is also capable of managing personal funds while working toward each individual client’s unique lifestyle and creating custom plans to bring idealistic views of the future to life.

He now works with individuals throughout the country, using modern technology and tools to provide services in more than a dozen different states. Nearly half of his client base exists outside of Texas, and Marco works to ensure that no obstacle, such as distance, time zone or technology, keeps him from offering his custom assistance to anyone, including the participants of the retirement plans he manages, no matter their primary language.

“I manage retirement plans and offer services to the participants, but my clients come from everywhere and have different roots and employers,” says Marco. “I’m also extremely passionate about providing culturally relevant education to companies with a retirement plan and a large Spanish-speaking population. Just like my parents, so many employees from Spanish-speaking countries have a lack of trust in their financial and political systems. I offer information and education that helps them understand how these systems work in America, ideally instilling confidence and faith that allows them to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.”

Growing up in Dallas, Marco’s mission started when he and his parents would go to the bank on Saturdays. After originally coming along for the free donuts, he continually saw the stress and frustration on the faces of his parents as they attempted to comprehend what the bankers tried to explain to them. And it wasn’t just in his family; that frustration resonated with all of his neighbors, even those who spoke English fluently. It compelled him to begin working his way into the banking industry, and he’d go on to attend the University of North Texas where he studied business finance and graduated debt-free.

Now he’s a multi-faceted advisor, consultant and communicator, working with clients from all backgrounds and walks of life. In addition to managing retirement plans for businesses and their participants, Marco helps individuals by analyzing their various retirement and investment vehicles. He believes that every element of a person’s financial situation figures into the greater whole, and a big picture view can only be brought to life by ensuring that the various components are organized and secured. With a thorough understanding of a person’s unique situation, he can then find solutions that are specifically tailored to solve complex problems, whether that be with investments, insurance policies or alternative methods of growing and protecting wealth.

“I look at employer-sponsored accounts, IRAs, life insurance policies, investment accounts, pensions and more, then I weigh those against current and projected expenses,” he says. “Once I’ve gathered all of that on a single piece of paper, we use an objective-driven approach to determine a distribution strategy that will make that money last. With a firm grasp on someone’s short, mid- and long-term goals, I can come up with an asset allocation that fits them, all while incorporating strategies to mitigate tax obligation.”

A natural-born educator, he’s also deeply committed to helping spread financial literacy, which oftentimes begins with the basics. Marco says, “My family history gives me a distinct perspective when it comes to education. When we used to go visit my grandfather in Mexico, he would always give me money and tell me to put it under my mattress for safekeeping. Now, as an advisor and consultant, I can see where all of the issues lie with that strategy.”

With nearly two decades of experience in financial services, Marco now feels more confident than ever in his abilities and is excited about future opportunities to work with clients with all levels of investing and saving expertise. After initially being hired in an advisory role out of college, he moved into the banking sector, which he felt was more secure after the economic crisis of 2008. Then, while working as a multicultural educator, he continued to learn the tools of the trade under experienced and valued retirement planners. He has since acquired his C(k)P® and AIF® designations as well as his Series 66 registration.

Marco’s C(k)P® makes him a Certified 401(k) Professional®, meaning he has demonstrated proficiency as a retirement plan advisor. It also helps him manage retirement plans for businesses large and small as well as the funds for participants in those plans. His AIF® designation makes him an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, giving him the opportunity to partner with clients on a fiduciary basis and work with their needs at the forefront of his mind. He’s also currently a candidate for his CFP® certification, which would make him a Certified Financial Planner™ and show that he has demonstrated mastery of more than 100 topics and strategies for asset managers.

In his free time, Marco enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. “Being a multicultural educator, it’s so important for me to develop context for clients from other corners of the world. I love traveling so much because it gives me the opportunity to do just that,” Marco says. “It also helps me get a better understanding of the people and circumstances in other countries. I am addicted to learning, and while I enjoy the North Texas area and the opportunities I’ve been afforded here, I can’t help but be fascinated by the way other cultures operate and experience life.”

He’s also extremely proud of his family, including his son who is in grade school and his daughter who was born in 2021. Marco says, “When they ask, I always tell people that my son is my favorite athlete and that the team he plays on, the Bearcats, are my favorite team.” Though his daughter is still very young, he and his wife are already so excited to see everything she’ll undoubtedly go on to achieve. He and his wife have been married for nearly two decades, and they rely heavily on each other’s unrelenting support to achieve both their personal and their professional goals.

His passion for giving back to the community also comes to life each day, no matter if he’s in the office or just at home. For his clients, he typically opts to donate to a charity of their choice instead of sending out annual gifts, which he truly believes is much more meaningful. He also takes pride in his pure desire to educate, and he’ll work closely with individuals who aren’t yet clients to come up with strategies that may be able to help them achieve their goals. “It’s the reason I entered financial services,” Marco says. “I always wanted to help, and now that I have the position and the platform, I have no intention of wasting my opportunities and blessings.”

Learn more about Marco at https://pcianorthtexas.com/.

Advisory services offered through Prime Capital Investment Advisors, LLC. (“PCIA”), a Registered Investment Adviser. PCIA: 6201 College Blvd., Suite #150, Overland Park, KS 66211. PCIA doing business as Qualified Plan Advisors (“QPA”) and Prime Capital Wealth Management (“PCWM”).

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