The Eclectic Associates Story

By Carl Lachman, MBA, CFP®

We are often asked why we call ourselves “Eclectic Associates”. It’s a good story.

Financial Advisors Often Use Their Own Name

Before I explain where our name came from, it is important to understand why our founder Bill Camp did not use his own name as part of the company name. Why didn’t he call it, “Bill Camp & Associates”?

It is a rather common practice for a financial advisor to use their name, their initials, or at least their last name, as part of the name of their financial planning firm. In Fullerton alone there is a Montagna & Associates, a Hall Wealth Management, a Clark Group Asset Management, and a variety of others. It is a pretty common approach, it is rather dull, and it is not too creative.

But Bill Camp wasn’t trying to be exciting or particularly creative. Rather, he did not use his name for a different reason: he wanted his firm to continue when he was gone. Bill wanted the firm he started to last a long time past his life and that of his son, Carl Camp. He wanted his firm to grow, develop, innovate, and continue for years and years to come, without being stuck with the name of a founder that was no longer around. Bill didn’t want his firm’s name to be good for only a short time. His decision to name the firm the way he did is a good example of why he was a good financial planner: he was always planning for the long term, trying to make the best long run decision.

Bill, Anita, and a Dictionary

Bill Camp and his wife, Anita, decided on the company’s name in early 1984. Over a number of days they considered a lot of different names, but finally decided on the word “eclectic” while searching out words in the dictionary. They were particularly drawn to one definition of the word “eclectic” which means “chosen from among the best”.

Chosen From Among the Best

What does it mean to be “chosen from among the best”? The following may not all have been in Bill’s and Anita’s thoughts in 1984, but it is what we try to do today to live up to our company’s name.

We try to choose our employees from among the best applicants.
We try to choose investments from among the best available.
We try to choose our financial planning strategies from the best the industry has to offer.
We strive to be chosen by our clients from among the best financial advisors in Orange County.

Planning for the Long Term

We are hired by our clients to help with important, long-term decisions, so it should be reassuring that our company was founded on decision-making that was made with the long-term in mind. Bill Camp and his son, Carl Camp, set the example of making good long-term decisions, which we continue to follow today. There are many fads and short-term ideas that come and go in the financial industry every year, but because of the way these founders taught our first advisors, we continue to keep a long-term perspective.

Eclectic Continues with the Same Values

Today, we still hold close to the values and methods that Bill and Carl Camp instilled into our company’s fabric from the start. We are still a fee-only financial advisory firm. We are not stockbrokers, we don’t sell insurance, and we don’t receive any compensation from investments we recommend or professionals we suggest to our clients. We are still held to the fiduciary standard, giving advice that puts our client’s interests before our own.

If you know someone who should consider using our services, please send them our way. We are happy to meet with anyone for a free, no-obligation meeting. Have them call us at 714-738-0220 to schedule a meeting, or they can click here to schedule an introductory call with one of our advisors.