Marvin Mitchell didn’t plan to be a financial adviser originally. He was studying law when he came home to St. Louis to help take care of his grandmother who had been diagnosed with cancer. “She was a strong, independent woman, and that included how she dealt with her finances,” he says. “But when the market crashed, she lost money, and other funds had to go toward health care costs.” After watching his grandmother’s struggle, Mitchell was inspired to help other retirees. He became an adviser, and after working for large firms, he discovered that there was a better way to help clients prepare for retirement. That’s how Compass Retirement Solutions started.
“My grandmother played by the rules—she saved consistently in her retirement plan, didn’t overspend and avoided reckless risks,” Mitchell explains. “When she got sick, we saw what the traditional system actually does under pressure. I watched her lose 50% of her savings while being told she was ‘safe.’” Mitchell’s grandmother’s losses were accelerated by taxes, shrinking her portfolio with every withdrawal she made. He saw first-hand the impact of not having a long-term care strategy, tax diversification and structural downside protections. “A traditional retirement plan works fine—until it doesn’t,” he says. “I learned something that changed my life: It’s not how much you make. It’s how much you keep.”
Compass Retirement Solutions is the result of Mitchell’s dedication to finding the answer to helping retirees maintain their wealth through real-life events. “I found that successful retirement planning includes reducing unnecessary tax leakage, building protection before growth and structuring liquidity intentionally,” he notes. “Compass was built specifically for families who have already accumulated meaningful wealth and want to transition from accumulation to preservation.” The company specializes in helping individuals with substantial retirement assets coordinate income planning, tax strategy, downside protection and legacy design.
Mitchell designed Compass to offer an alternative to not only traditional retirement plans, but also the strategy of relying only on risky investments to fund the future. “Retirement isn’t about beating the market—it’s about making sure the market can’t beat you,” he says. “Many successful individuals discover too late that a large IRA is not the same as tax-efficient income, that a diversified portfolio is not the same as protected income and that growth without structure can unravel under pressure.” Compass advisers help clients engineer tax-efficient distribution strategies, create predictable income streams, build liquidity without unnecessary exposure and coordinate estate and legacy planning.
Through Compass, Mitchell is dedicated to using the lessons he learned supporting his grandmother to assist other families. He personally understands the costs of not taking the right steps to protect your portfolio. “My grandmother believed I would break a generational pattern, and founding Compass was part of that promise,” Mitchell notes. “Today, we serve families across St. Louis and beyond who value clarity, coordination and disciplined stewardship of their life’s work. Wealth isn’t built in one good year. It’s protected over decades of intentional decisions. If you’ve built something meaningful, the next step isn’t chasing more—it’s making sure what you built actually lasts.”
Compass Retirement Solutions offers personalized retirement services in the areas of income, investment, tax, legacy planning and health care. Pictured on the cover: President and CEO Marvin Mitchell. For more information, call 314.373.1598 or visit compassretirementsolutions.com.
Cover design by Julie Streiler
Cover photo by Tim Parker Photography
Pictured at the top: President and CEO Marvin Mitchell
Photo courtesy of Compass Retirement Solutions
