Next Generation Planner: November 2020
The FPA community weighs in on who they’re grateful for in the financial planning profession.
“I think it’s certainly appropriate to mention Dennis Gurtz. He is a University of Maryland alum and brother of Alpha Phi Omega. Mentorship can evolve. I didn’t ask him to mentor me, but he took an interest in me. He encouraged me and supported me.
Here’s what he told me: ‘In this business, you have to know how to talk to people. You need to be able to know how to acquire clients. That’s important, but you need to know what to do to serve your clients. Always do what’s in the best interests of the client. Read, read, read. You don’t need to agree with everything you’re reading, but you need to read or familiarize yourself with what your clients are reading! Join FPA and become involved in your profession. Write. It takes time to write, but write to journalists and reporters and thank them for writing about x. If they missed something or a point needs to be clarified, don’t be negative. Still thank them.’”
Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®
Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ocean Global Wealth
www.linkedin.com/in/margueritacheng/
“My First boss, Kathy Muldoon. I was her assistant right out of college. I learned a ton from her and got to work with all kinds of clients and situations that most planners don’t see in their entire career. She lost her husband while I was there, and I felt like I really made a difference in her life. I still think of her fondly and would love to give her a nice shout out and tribute!”
Wade H. Chessman, CFP®, CKA
President, Wealth Adviser, Chessman Wealth Strategies
www.linkedin.com/in/wade-h-chessman-cfp%C2%AE-cka-a031995
“I am thankful to Adam Heinlein, CFP®, who agreed to be my mentor when I first entered the profession over 20 years ago. He shared his insights on how to network with CPAs and attorneys, weighed in with complex cases that I never could have managed on my own and encouraged me to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. I owe much to him and still consider him a good friend.”
Thomas A. McCarthy, CFP®, CPA
Registered Representative, Packerland Brokerage Services Inc.
www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mccarthy-cpa-cfp-15a2007/
“I am grateful to DeDe Jones of Innovative Financial in Lakewood, Colorado. When I was flailing about and not sure what to do in my career, she spent a lunch hour telling me exactly how she set up her business. She told me the software she used, the costs of setting up the business and [she] set expectations for building a client base. A pretty nice thing to do for a near stranger who is thinking of opening a competing business. I have tried to pay it forward by giving advice to other new planners I meet. Thanks, DeDe! You are the best!”
Kristin C. Sullivan, CFP®
Owner, Sullivan Financial Planning LLC
www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-sullivan-certified-financial-planner-tm-6362bb8/
“Stephanie James. From day one, we have worked together to build our careers over that last ten years at Wescott. I started about two years after Steph and she really laid the groundwork for me to be successful in my role.
She created a career path to help me and future advisers look forward to how our career could look if we worked hard and took advantage of opportunities that were available to us. Our conversations are always centered around the future of our firm and how we can always strive to further our career beyond just being advisers and helping to further our training and development of our next generation advisers.
We are fortunate to have a very supportive management team that encourages us to think outside of the box, but it is always great to discuss my ideas with Steph beforehand. When I think of the word ‘mentor,’ I think about an individual who supports you, guides you, pushes you and is your biggest champion during successes and failures. In my career, that has been Stephanie James.”
Christopher A. Cortese, MSTFP, CFP®
Senior Financial Adviser and Director of Next Gen Adviser Development, Westcott Financial Advisory Group LLC
www.linkedin.com/in/chris-cortese-mstfp-cfp%C2%AE-4132555/
“I am grateful for Taylor Schulte, CFP®, and Justin Castelli, CFP®, for launching the Advisor Growth Community™ and for every member for making it the gem that it is. The AGC is a collaborative community of 120-plus growth-minded financial advisers, sharing experiences, ideas and resources to support each other in our personal and professional growth.
What is really special about the AGC is the genuine camaraderie between its members and the generosity they show one another. From challenging client or work situations, to happy moments like birthdays, engagements and baby births, members are there for each other and there is always an outpouring of support or advice when anyone needs it.
I do not know the origin story of the AGC, how Taylor and Justin decided to form the community, but they have done an incredible job building and growing it, and I will be eternally grateful to them for doing it. I have finally found my tribe!”
Marina Hernandez, EA, CFP®
Investment Adviser Representative,
Swiss American Wealth Advisors
“My previous business partner and former boss, Eric Brotman, founder and CEO of BFG Financial Advisors in Baltimore. Financial planning is the only thing I have done in my career. From day one, I joined a boutique financial planning firm where Eric Brotman decided to make an investment in me. The word ‘investment‘ is key. He did not see me as a new hire and just an employee. He saw me as a young, talented and passionate professional and saw the opportunity to create a future business partner to help grow the firm for the future and to take great care of our clients. And he had three simple rules:
(1) Do not skip a step. I started learning portfolio reconciliation and investment reports, moved into investment operations handling accounts and trading, handled the phones, and eventually moved into an associate planner position as I passed my exams and obtained my CFP® certification. I learned the business from the ground up and that paid huge dividends.
(2) Provide the resources to be successful. Whether it was helping me financially with exam fees, or the CFP Board prep courses, or providing learning opportunities through what we called the ‘living classroom‘ (sitting in on client meetings and watching how he ran meetings, interacted with clients, positioned planning topics), he committed his own time and money to make me successful.
(3) It was up to me to take advantage of the opportunities. While he gave me every opportunity to succeed, it was up to me to take advantage of them. If I did, he gave more. If I did not, the investment would be reconsidered. It created a commitment culture and put me in control of my professional development and future. The good news is that I never took these opportunities for granted and eventually became his business partner when I bought in at the age of 28.
I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to call Eric Brotman my boss and business partner at various stages of my career. His coaching and mentorship accelerated my growth as a professional, and I hope more young professionals will have such opportunities in their careers. What I believe made us successful was our shared commitment to one another. I never asked, ‘What can I do for myself today?’ Rather, I would ask, ‘What do I need to do to help our firm get to where it needs to be?’ because I knew that Eric was committed to helping me get to where I needed to be as a planner.”
Brent M. Weiss, CFP®, ChFC®
Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist, Facet Wealth
www.linkedin.com/in/brent-weiss-cfp%C2%AE-chfc%C2%AE/