Page 48 - Investment Advisor May 2021

THE NEW SCHOOL

By Caleb Brown

Through the Eyes of the Next Generation

Youthful exuberance can remind us of the importance of our profession,
and how it can improve.

e’ve had many ups and profession to build a unified identity to
downs as a country and in increase the amount of trust in advisory
W our business over the last relationships.
year, but one thing is certain: the resil- Anna has secured a summer intern-
iency and adaptability of our profession. ship with a local fee-only financial
It has been great to see advisors step up planning firm and plans to continue her
to lead. As important is recognizing oth- education after her expected graduation
ers — growing numbers who are opting in December 2021 by pursuing a Masters
to join the advisory ranks — who want to in Financial Planning with an emphasis
impact the profession. in financial therapy.
In highlighting this, I want to share Excited about the possibilities her
a story about one of my University of future profession can provide her, Anna
Georgia students, Anna Schermerhorn, shared what she is seeking from employ-
who aspires to do great things in our provides. A relationship-focused per- ers when she begins her job search:
profession. son, Anna thought it was a great fit. • A culture that matches her mantra
Anna is the winner of the 2020 of “Have fun, facilitate connection
New Planner Recruiting Tuition FINDING HER VOICE and promote wellbeing.”
Reimbursement Scholarship. The selec- Unfortunately, several people tried • A midsized RIA firm that is focused
tion committee, made up of Geoffrey to dissuade her because they did not on financial planning first and that
Brown, CEO of NAPFA, Michael Kitces, think she was cut out for it. Instead provides a high level of service to
founder of Kitces.com and XYPN and of being disheartened, she said those families, individuals, and small
myself, were pleased to award her comments motivated and pushed businesses.
$3,000 towards the cost of training to her — and helped her gain tremendous • The opportunity to work with cli-
become a certified financial planner. success already in a career that has yet ents. She is a self-described “front
Coming from a military family, Anna to begin. porch person” and would love to
moved around frequently while grow- Anna has seen firsthand first-hand roll up her sleeves and get in the
ing up. During that time she was able to the ravages of the lack of a financial trenches early in a support capac-
witness firsthand how the lack of per- safety net. In 2008 her father lost his ity, then work her way up to a more
sonal and financial wellbeing negatively job, which was an anxious time for the senior role.
impacted others. Focusing on the con- family. Although highly educated, her Also, she said one of her goals a few
cept of wellbeing, she initially planned parents did not have a financial planner years into her career is to start bringing
to be a high school nutrition teacher. (and still do not due to their distrust of in one client per month. She’s confident
But after watching those in that profes- the industry). she can achieve it due to her preference
sion, Anna realized the medical field One of Anna’s goals is to change that for front stage activities and a commit-
wasn’t for her. negative perspective of financial plan- ment to serving her clients at the highest
In an effort to find something that ning professionals. She equates much level possible.
affects all areas of someone’s life, not of it to a lack of unified identity, high- Congratulations, Anna, we are excit-
only the health component, she came lighting that we do not have a standard ed to have you in our profession!
across financial planning through a fam- definition of the various roles, such as
ily acquaintance. financial planning, financial planner, Caleb Brown is co-founder and CEO of
Fortunately, this person helped her and significant confusion surrounding New Planner Recruiting and hosts The
gain a better understanding of the ben- the various business and compensation New Planner Podcast which you find at Adobe Stock
efits a career as a financial planner structures. She wants to help shape the newplannerrecruiting.com/category/podcast

46 INVESTMENT ADVISOR MAY 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com