Financial Liberation Through eQRP: Unveiling Secret Roadmap to Retirement Plan

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In this episode, we dive deep into financial liberation with Parker Pursell, a true advocate for breaking financial barriers. Parker’s journey from corporate mentoring at Chick-Fil-A to a pivotal role at Pursell Farms, coupled with a newfound passion during the COVID-19 pandemic, led him to helm eQRP, a beacon for individuals seeking financial freedom.

Parker shares his inspiring narrative, illustrating how his personal journey informs his commitment to helping others become elevated versions of themselves. His servant leadership mindset shines as he empowers physicians, business professionals, and investors to discover their paths toward financial autonomy.

Central to our discussion is the Enhanced Qualified Retirement Plan (EQRP), a revolutionary system challenging the status quo. Parker sheds light on how the EQRP provides a robust retirement solution and invaluable education that has traditionally been withheld from the workforce.

He articulates how this system isn’t merely about retirement; it’s a gateway to a fulfilling, secure, and joyful life beyond one’s career. Throughout this episode, Parker emphasizes the importance of transcending limitations imposed by conventional retirement plans. He offers insights, strategies, and a refreshing perspective on achieving financial security and contentment in later years.

In This Episode

1. His journey from corporate mentoring at Chick-Fil-A and his shift towards guiding others to financial freedom through eQRP

2. Understanding the Enhanced Qualified Retirement Plan (EQRP) and its pivotal role in revolutionizing retirement solutions for professionals and businesses

3. The main difference between eQRP versus Self Directed IRAs

4. How to set up an eQRP tailored to individual and businesses

5. The importance of educating yourself, breaking free from financial constraints and achieving your financial goals.

Jump to Links and Resources

Welcome to another episode of Wealth Strategy Secrets. In today’s episode, we dive deep into financial liberation with Parker Pursell, a passionate advocate for breaking financial barriers. Parker shares his journey, from corporate mentoring at Chick-fil-A to taking on a pivotal role at Purcell Farms, and how the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a new passion that ultimately led him to the helm of eQRP — a beacon for individuals seeking financial freedom.

At the heart of our discussion is the Enhanced Qualified Retirement Plan, also known as the eQRP. Parker explains how the eQRP provides a robust retirement solution and offers invaluable education that has traditionally been withheld from the workforce. In this episode, we explore Parker’s path from corporate mentoring at Chick-fil-A to guiding others toward financial freedom through the eQRP. 

We also delve into the role of the eQRP in revolutionizing retirement solutions for professionals and businesses, as well as the key differences between an eQRP and self-directed IRAs. We hope you enjoy the show! Parker, welcome to the show. 

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate your time today and the opportunity to talk to your audience about such an important and relevant topic.

Today, we’re discussing the eQRP, which is fascinating because no matter what industry you’re in or where you are in life, at least 90% of us still have some form of 401(k), IRA, or government-sponsored qualified plan, and let’s face it — they’re not always the most effective. Exploring alternative strategies to maximize and leverage those plans is incredibly valuable. Can you help the audience understand a little more about your background and how you got into this field?

I grew up on a family farm in rural Alabama, and my family was involved in agriculture. We ran a successful business in fertilizer, but we sold it in 2006. After that, I ended up running one of the South’s leading hospitality destination resorts. But that’s another story in itself.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial environment, I had the chance to watch my dad and granddad come into a lot of resources. I was always observing but wasn’t taught the “how” — I was taught the values of hard work, showing up, being respectful, looking people in the eye, and shaking hands. But I wasn’t sure how to get to that next level.

I went to Auburn University, graduated in 2013 with a marketing degree, and began my business journey in hospitality at Chick-fil-A. As Malcolm Gladwell discusses in his 10,000-hour rule, I spent three years at Chick-fil-A, traveling the country, and participating in numerous grand openings with the corporate team. That’s really where I found my passion for business, pulling levers, watching things happen, and working on my leadership development.

My original goal was to be an operator, but then my father embarked on a visionary project in our family business as we started to transition into the hospitality space. I said to myself, “I want to take what I’ve learned here and help my father build his dream.” So, I stepped away from Chick-fil-A to help him build something for our family. I worked in the family business for about four years, serving in various roles, but then COVID happened.

For me, it felt like I hit a ceiling. I started to wonder, “What’s next for me?” We had to make a lot of cuts in the business, and I felt like I was at a pivotal moment. I loved our vision and the work we were doing—it’s family, and I’ll always love that—but I felt like there was something else out there, even though I didn’t know exactly what that was yet.

At that time, I had a house and a family, and I started talking to my wife about it. I said, “I feel like God is calling me to step away, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” So, in the middle of COVID, while I was mowing fairways and doing all sorts of odd jobs for a few months, I decided to take a chance on myself and figure it out. I went on unemployment for about eight months and started pressure washing with a friend. It was a great opportunity to reflect and ask myself, “What do I want to do? What do I want to create?”

I had these amazing experiences with Chick-fil-A and the family business, but there was an underlying feeling—I knew where I wanted to go, but I just didn’t know how to get there. Then I came across the eQRP, and at the time, I had no idea what it was. I didn’t understand money principles or even what retirement accounts were. I had heard of them, but I’d never contributed to one.

I didn’t even know Damien at the time, to be honest. A friend of mine invited me to meet David, Damien’s partner, and said, “Hey, just come hear him out.” I thought, “Alright, it can’t hurt, right? I’m unemployed, who knows where opportunities are going to come from?”

During that conversation, David started sharing the vision of the eQRP with me. And for me, I just wanted to help build something. I’m an integrator—I’m someone who likes to take someone’s vision and make it happen. I feel like that’s my skill set. So, I joined the team and started helping to build this vision.

I met Damien shortly after I started, and as I built a relationship with him, he began mentoring me. He helped me challenge my paradigms around money. I can’t even fully explain it, but I kept hitting these barriers, and Damien would say, “You’ve got to do this,” and I’d think, “That’s scary. I don’t know how to do that.” He’d say, “Just trust me. I’ve done it.”

I started taking those steps. While I was helping to build the business, I was allowed to lead the company at the beginning of this year. Now, I truly feel like I’ve intersected my passion and purpose. Since diving in and fully committing to the mission with Damien and the community here, my life has been transformed. What’s cool is that I’m someone who’s directly impacted by the work we do. My life is changing because of this community, the mentor I’ve found, and the education I’m receiving.

Our goal here at the eQRP is to empower, educate, and support our members through financial transformation. Our goal is to create a centralized, turnkey experience where people can find what they’re looking for and get the tools they need. One of the ways we do this is in the retirement space, which is traditionally where people’s money is locked up. But most people don’t realize that this is a massive opportunity for them to take control. People are often told, “Just let me take care of it. I promise you’ll be fine in 30 or 40 years,” but that’s not the case anymore.

That’s the core of why we exist, and I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to be here and work with this company. My life has been changed, and now I get to champion this message for our members in this space.

That’s excellent, Parker. I’ve known Damien for many years, and I think it’s fantastic what you guys are doing—bringing this solution to investors and helping them. It aligns perfectly with phase 4 of our holistic wealth strategy, which involves repositioning assets from lower-performing to higher-performing assets. This structure is a great vehicle to do that, especially considering the current market.

If we look at the stock market, it was down 20% last year, and it’s going to be an interesting ride in the next 12 to 18 months, especially for anyone heavily exposed to equities. The traditional 60/40 stocks-and-bonds model is completely upside down right now. So, looking at alternative ways to diversify your portfolio is becoming increasingly important. Let’s dive into some tactics. First, could you explain to the audience what an eQRP is? Let’s start there and provide some context for those who might not be familiar with it.

The eQRP is essentially a self-directed 401(k) that gives you complete checkbook control and the ability to invest in almost anything you want, as long as it’s qualified. What we’ve found is that people are primarily looking for the tool to do what they want to do. The challenge is that most companies offer the tool as a commodity—like self-directed IRAs or 401(k)s—you can get those anywhere, but what they don’t provide is the support and education you need to use it effectively.

The reason we chose the self-directed 401(k) model is because it offers more freedom and flexibility, especially for self-employed individuals or people who have multiple 401(k)s floating around from different jobs. With the eQRP, you can consolidate everything into one account and take control of your money. Tactically speaking, a 401(k) is more lenient and generous than an IRA, allowing you to do what you want with it.

The reason we don’t focus on IRAs is that they involve custodians, which just adds another layer of complexity between you and your money. That’s one of the key differences between the eQRP and other options—it gives you more control with fewer hurdles. So, you can roll over existing retirement money into the eQRP, and now you have a single account. 

The next step is where we come in: we help people create a strategy and a game plan. We’re not financial advisors—we’re coaches. Our goal is to give you the tools and the education so you can make informed decisions on your own, without needing to come back to us for answers.

Can you explain the difference between a self-directed IRA and an eQRP?

With a self-directed IRA, you’re still dealing with custodians, and the contribution limits are lower. 401(k)s, on the other hand, are structured differently from a tax standpoint and fall under two separate tax codes. When it comes to contributions, you can put a lot more into a 401(k) than into an IRA. 

Interestingly, I was talking to a good friend of mine yesterday who said, “I can’t contribute any more to my IRA because I make too much money.” But with a 401(k), there are no income limits. So, for high-income earners, this tool allows you to contribute the maximum, which is awesome.

There are also different rules when it comes to using debt. A lot of people use real estate as part of their investment strategy, and the eQRP gives you more flexibility in those situations. It’s a big part of their portfolio in the alternative investment space. But IRAs can trigger UBIT and UDFI taxes. So, if you use debt, it negatively impacts your returns. But the 401(k) structure doesn’t have that provision, making debt a helpful tool when you’re investing in assets like real estate.

These are some of the big differences that most people need to understand. The control aspect is also crucial. Some companies claim you have control, but when there’s a custodian involved, you’re still asking for permission. With a 401(k), you can take control. You can invest directly with someone like Dave when you’re ready, and all you need is to know you’re making a sound investment.

Let’s break this down for people. Let’s say I wanted to set up an eQRP with you guys. What would be the logical steps involved?

First, we’d ask what you have access to—traditional IRAs, old 401(k)s, SEP IRAs, etc. We need to understand what you have. To qualify for a 401(k), the IRS just requires self-employed activity that could generate income. There’s no specific income requirement—just the activity itself. So, you could be a part-time influencer on TikTok or do something like that, and that qualifies you to have a 401(k). It’s about business activity, not how much you’re earning.

Once you’re qualified, we step in and handle the rest. You get out of the driver’s seat, and we make it a turnkey experience for you. When you’re new to this, calling your old 401(k) plan holder can be confusing because the people on the other end don’t understand what you’re trying to do. 

But we’ve done it thousands of times, so we know how to move quickly and overcome any barriers to get you invested. The process is simple: you understand what you have access to, or what you can contribute, and then we take care of everything for you.

Can you move money from a self-directed IRA into an eQRP?

Yes, you can. When you move money from one retirement vehicle to another, there is no taxable event. That’s a common concern, but you won’t get hit with taxes because you’re not taking the money personally. You’re simply changing the vehicle, and it stays within a retirement structure. You can move money back and forth between an IRA and a 401(k) as many times as you need to.

There is paperwork involved, but we handle all of that for you. Sometimes, custodians will issue it as a distribution, simply because they don’t understand the process, but we know how to navigate that for our clients.

Does your company provide a portal to track investments?

We’re working on that right now. The great thing about this plan is that it gives you complete control over your investments, but that can also be challenging. We’re developing tools to help our members better manage and track their investments. Right now, we work with some excellent partners to help with that.

In the meantime, the process is pretty simple. Most people are only investing in a couple of deals a year, so they can track it easily using a spreadsheet that we provide. It’s straightforward, and our members can focus on the investments without worrying about the details.

You’re not day trading, so you’re not going in there every single day making a bunch of moves. These tools help keep things organized. So, at the end of the year, when you need a report, whether it be a K-1 for your CPA, you’ll have everything in place that you’ve already been tracking throughout the year. 

Got it. How about business owners out there? Typically, they might be setting up and structuring a whole 401(k) plan for their company. Can you do the same thing with an eQRP? 

You absolutely can. That’s one of the cool aspects of what we do here. If you’re a business owner and, you know, recently there have been states mandating that employers provide a retirement solution for their employees. But business owners, who think a lot like we do, don’t want to put their money in a place where they don’t have control. We answer that with our safe harbor plan that we provide to our members.

So, whether you’re a solopreneur or bringing employees on, it’s super seamless for you to jump into a safe harbor plan that ensures compliance while still allowing you to self-direct your money. It satisfies all the legal and compliance requirements for your employees, so they, too, could self-direct if they understand the alternative market. But business owners are often the ones who want that control, and this plan gives them that ability.

That’s a great solution. Because we have a lot of entrepreneurs in our audience. And if they’re listening to this show, they know we’re biased toward real estate and alternative assets. We don’t want everything in equities exposure. Creating that opportunity for employees and team members is a huge benefit.

And for us, the community and member aspect is really important. We provide a place for our members to come together and learn from each other. Business owners can join the community, go in, and learn from others—like, “Hey, what are you doing?” What’s funny is that traditionally, retirement has always been seen as a 401(k) or IRA. But I look at it as more of a destination that people are trying to get to. There are a lot of different ways to get there.

Many people need to know what they have access to and how they’ll get there. They might come in because of their retirement money, but what they end up learning are great lessons and paradigms they can apply outside of the retirement plan as well to help them reach their goals. That’s the cool part.

For business owners, you can offer your employees access to that space, where they can learn from others. I mean, that’s how I got to where I am, to be honest—it’s the education and being in an environment that continues to pour in great money tactics, different ways of thinking, and providing a place for people to ask good questions to others who have been doing this for a long time.

Can you unpack that a little further in terms of your support and education? Is it focused on how to use the vehicle, or are you educating people on different asset classes, or is the education-focused somewhere else?

As we’ve evolved as a company, we’ve realized that people come in with varying levels of sophistication when it comes to investing. What we’re building right now is a library of content for our members to learn about due diligence, how to vet sponsors and different alternative investment classes. It’s purely education-focused because someone like me might love real estate, but I’d like to learn more about gold and silver, or crypto, or whatever else it may be. We’re providing this content to our members so they can expand their knowledge.

As we grow, we’re building courses that give people a baseline understanding of different investments. It’s part of our Badger Tribe community, where we provide members with the tools to learn and grow. We also provide education resources to help people understand how to use their eQRP, and what they can and can’t do. 

But we like to offer that face-to-face, so we always encourage people to call us and talk to us because we think it adds a personal touch. In an automated world, we try to stay as human as possible. Anything we push or promote is education-focused, to empower individuals who come into our community. That’s our mission.

Anything that we’re pushing and promoting is gonna be education focused and helping empower the individual who’s coming into our community. That is our goal and mission.

Do you think this is where the financial services industry is headed?

I look at it like this: someone like me, who isn’t invested in any stocks. I’m not saying that I don’t believe in them. But when I look at our financial system as it stands, I think it’s an aspirational idea to believe that these companies are truly out there trying to help you. There are great financial advisors, though. 

I have many good friends who are advisors, and they do help us. They work with us because they’re like, “Hey, my client wants access to these things. Can you help them?” But I think it’s going to be smaller firms that can offer a very specialized, niche, hands-on approach. The big companies—I’m just not sure how they can create a solid community in a massive space if they didn’t start that way. 

Given that, our fundamental focus from the beginning has been to curate a nurturing environment. It’s like Chick-fil-A. I worked there, so I’ll use that as a reference. They create an experience, no matter how big they are—millions and millions of dollars—where you feel like you’re the only person in the room when you’re being served. The reason is because that’s how they started.

You can’t go backward when you’re a Fidelity or any of these other massive companies and say, “Today we’re going to create a one-on-one experience for our people.” That’s just not how they were built. In the future, maybe, but it takes time and effort. Thankfully, we’re still around, still serving people, and we’re seeing a lot of curated growth, with people coming into our community through referrals. That’s our highest growth metric: people saying, ‘I’ve got these people who are helping me do X, and this is how they show up for me every single time.’

We want to make sure that before we get bigger, we’re better. If we’re better, the bigger part will take care of itself, and we’ll still do what we want to do. From our perspective, we’re seeing a big shift in the industry, and more independent advisers—and even some larger firms—are recognizing that their investors want exposure to real estate and alternative investments. So, they’re starting to create lines of business to provide that exposure.

I also think that newer generations are beginning to see it differently. If they can get what a robo-advisor offers simply by parking their money in an institution and then paying all these fees for it, it might not make sense. They’ll end up taking on all the risk. So, they’re thinking, “Maybe I should look at some of these alternatives too,” and I think they’re starting to see the value in diversification in a new way.

It’s about exposure. Education exposes. The more educated people become—especially in an age where we can just Google something or ask ChatGPT to tell us X—they see the flaws in a system that’s been too simplified and filled with inefficiency. As technology continues to grow exponentially, people will take more and more control over their financial decisions because they have the tools they need. But they still need help.

You mentioned the three types of people: do-it-yourself, do-it-with-me, or do-it-for-me. The ‘do-it-for-me’ market is where the advisors come in. These are the people who just don’t want to think about it. They want a hands-off approach. But the ‘do-it-with-me’ market is where we’re serving the most people because they want to know they can do it themselves. We give them everything they need for their journey, but we’re also there, like a coach on the sidelines, supporting them while they’re out playing the game.

But if you’re running into something, you call a timeout, run over, and we’re able to help. Then we send you back out on the court, and you keep playing the game. So you’re right. One thing that comes to mind, though, is the crypto market and Bitcoin ETFs. I don’t know if you’ve been following that, but people see a massive opportunity. I’m just using it as an example of an alternative market with a lot of market cap potential.

At one point, it was over a trillion-dollar market cap. And when I hear people say, “Oh, this is dumb. It’s fake,” I’m thinking, it’s a trillion-dollar market cap. It’s not nothing. There’s a trillion dollars in there. What’s happening now is that people are trying to figure out how they can keep padding their pockets with other people’s money. 

It’s going to seem like you’re getting what you want, but they’ll still take their cut. You’ll end up paying someone else to do what you can do yourself; you just need help knowing how to do it. If you could give just one piece of advice to our listeners about how they could accelerate their wealth trajectory, what would it be?

Take it from a guy who was unemployed just three years ago. I’m now on a path I never imagined for myself, but it’s all about education. It sounds simple, maybe too simplistic, but education has empowered me to get where I am.

My biggest advice is to set up a strategy for how you’re going to learn about the things you want to achieve. There are many ways to climb the mountain of wealth. For me, I’d consider myself wealthy compared to where I was. Some might look at a millionaire and think, “Wow, that guy is super wealthy.” The millionaire may look at a ten-millionaire and think the same thing. But for me, coming from a place where I felt hopeless and didn’t know how I was going to get to where I wanted, education has been the key.

Once I had the right education, it gave me a filter for everything that came into my view — from money to finances to my emotional response to money. It’s helped me set steps and trust that there is a way this works. Education saved me. But I also had to take those steps and do it myself. I’ve lost money, and that was tough, but I gained valuable experience. I’ve learned so much from those mistakes, and now I’m thinking bigger than I ever would have before, with a plan in place.

So that’s coming from a guy who was pressure washing three years ago and is now running a finance company. Just keep learning, and find a mentor to help filter the things you’re learning.

Sage advice, Parker. That resonates. We measure wealth in our community holistically. It’s not just about how many zeros are in your asset portfolio; it’s about the relationships you have, your mindset, and all those things that help you live a meaningful, fulfilling life. What’s truly important to you? I think you nailed it, and I appreciate you coming to the show today.

When I think about it, and just break it down simply, we have this merchant cash advance fund right now that’s performing at 3 to 4 times what the average market can do. Most people still have some IRA money or 401(k) from a previous job. It’s still there, so why not reposition it? There are trillions of dollars in these accounts.

Why not reposition it for exposure to higher-performing assets with lower risk and more diversification? The timing is right. I think we’re heading into a correction in the equities market, so having exposure to different asset classes will help weather the storm.

It’s about being nimble. The reason I love the eQRP is that it gives people the ability to be nimble. You can still do everything traditionally; you can still be invested in stocks. But people like you and I are watching and saying, “I better be ready.” You know, it’s like a ship heading into a storm; you’ve got to reposition the boat and adjust the sails. When you’re stuck in something that doesn’t allow flexibility, you get run over. That’s what we love about the eQRP — it gives you that flexibility, so you can keep doing what you want.

If you’re seeing something happen in the equities market, you could just cash out and then move your position into gold or silver if you wanted to. Or you could invest in different funds that you feel more comfortable with, and you can do all of that literally in a matter of seconds. But when you think about the traditional system most people are stuck in, if you come to them with this kind of concern, your adviser will say, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you taken care of. I’ll handle it.”

But it’s your money, and you should be able to do what you want with it. So, if you feel like you’re being stifled by your adviser, custodian, or whoever it may be, you need to reach out to us. We’re here to help you unlock that money and give you everything you need on your journey to financial transformation, which is what we all want.

If people would like to learn more about setting up an eQRP, whether personally or as a business owner, what’s the best place they can connect with you?

Just go to eQRP.com and schedule a time to talk. It’s super simple. Our team will help you navigate your situation. It’s not just a couple of checkboxes; we dive into your life holistically, including your businesses. You might have two or three businesses going on, and we’ll ask the right questions. But the easiest way to get started is at eQRP.com— just schedule a time to talk, and we’ll take care of everything from there.

Excellent. Thanks so much for coming on the show, Parker. Appreciate it.

Absolutely. Thank you so much. Hopefully, we’ll hear from a lot of people who need to unlock their money.

You bet.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Wealth Strategy Secrets. If you’d like to get a free copy of the book, go to holisticwealthstrategy.com. If you’d like to learn more about upcoming opportunities at Pantheon, please visit pantheoninvest.com. 

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