If you’re a client, you’ve likely heard me refer to “my team” in emails and conversations.
Today, I’d like to give you a better idea of the wonderful people on my team…
Who they are and why I couldn’t do a fraction of my work without their support, guidance, and expertise.
Operations
I interact multiple times a day with my Operations team. They are Kimberly, Linda, Holly, and Dominique. And they’re led by Brandy.
Anytime you request an address change, an IRA distribution, a new account, transferring in funds from another account, sending a wire transfer, or linking your bank account to your Schwab account(s), my Operations team jumps into action.
And having recently moved my clients’ accounts from Fidelity to Schwab, my Operations team did 99% of the heavy lifting. Without them, there’s no way I could’ve managed - or survived - that undertaking.
This is only a small glimpse into all they do for me - and ultimately for you, my clients.
Planning
Tae leads our planning team, and he’s an indispensable resource to help me develop and/or review my clients’ financial plans.
When it comes to financial planning, things can quickly become complex with a lot of moving parts between people, goals, timelines, dollar amounts, risk levels, priorities, and more.
I value having Tae there to look over my shoulder as needed and provide an additional set of eyes to make sure I’m delivering the best planning and advice to my clients.
Trading
Brandy also oversees my trading team which is comprised of Nick and John.
When clients make a deposit that we want to invest, Nick and John get it done accurately and efficiently.
But don’t think all they do is enter trades to invest your money.
They also help me when clients are “dripping” a chunk of cash into the market over the course of several days, weeks, or months.
They monitor and strategically rebalance your portfolio so you don’t drift too far from our asset mix target which can lead to higher risk exposures.
They help with tax loss harvesting.
They can even help accommodate special circumstances for clients which might be anything from a low-basis, concentrated stock position to an illiquid investment that was received as part of a divorce settlement that we have to sell over the course of multiple calendar quarters.
Compliance
Kimberly and Jim are my compliance team.
They provide guidance and expertise to keep me out of trouble with industry regulators.
While I don’t ever do anything to push the envelope in this area, Kimberly and Jim have to review and approve anything I create for public consumption.
This includes the newsletter you’re reading right now as well as blog posts, podcast episodes, and anything else that I develop that is sent to or will be consumed by more than one person.
While I enjoy writing and creating other content, I couldn’t do it if my compliance team wasn’t so flexible and supportive of my efforts.
Billing
I’m not running a non-profit here, and so the fees my clients pay need to be collected accurately and consistently.
That’s why I’m glad to have Preston and Frank on my Billing team.
They make sure clients’ fees are accurate and have systems and processes in place that help make sure client agreements are fulfilled.
And they help with new clients who come in during the middle of the calendar quarter to make sure they’re billed accurately for the remainder of the quarter, after which they’ll then be on the quarterly billing cycle.
Everyone Else
I couldn’t list everyone else on My Team, but a few others are:
Alicia - project management
Shantese - marketing
Matt - Executive
Ron, Ken, & Marc - investments
Eric & Morgan - technology
Quentine - accounting & human resources
and many more.
And here’s the thing…
While I consider each of the teams above to be mine (and yours), they also support other advisors at our firm.
So not only are they a joy to work with, they are world class jugglers as they manage different advisors, each with their own group of clients.
I don’t know how they do it.
I just know that I’m lucky to have them supporting me as I work to support clients like you.
And they do all this remotely!
Thank goodness for email, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, phone calls, and all the other ways we can keep in touch and on top of things.
I really wanted to take this opportunity to share what a great group of professionals are there every day helping me do better work than I could ever hope to provide on my own.
It’s truly a team effort!