Family is everything to Sean Lee.
He even shares a birthday with his son. On the website for his practice, SPL Financial, his wife speaks about what she feels sets Lee apart from other advisors. The love for his family is apparent in his voice, especially when he discusses his daughter's soccer games.
Family is why he decided to start a career in finance, too. Growing up in Wyoming, Lee watched his grandparents lose a significant amount of money due to a subpar financial advisor. After obtaining a degree in corporate finance, he launched his career, which eventually led him to start his own practice in 2012 focusing on seniors.
Here are his thoughts on education, challenges and how his career in baseball has shaped his practice.
On educating his clients The most important part of my practice, hands down, is education. Before someone has an opportunity to hear about specific products, we spend five to six hours educating and informing them on all the tools, options and choices they have. In essence, we're painting a picture of what is happening in the entire universe of investing and how that can or cannot fit for them. One of the first clients I worked with as a 22-year-old kid chose us because we spent time educating her and actually teaching her about her financial decisions. I still work with her today. We take a lot of time, and we're patient to make sure we build the right plan. There's no rush.
On creating a process For us, it's not about a product. It's about a process. I read a great quote that said, "If you don't have a map, all roads lead you to nowhere." Unfortunately, in our industry the focus is sell the product first; plan second. By flipping that around, the products just filter in. I think what differentiates our firm is that we educate people to make sound, financial decisions and then we let those vehicles and tools all trickle in. I'm a big believer in education.
