Ashley Ott, CFP®, AIF®, with Commonwealth since 2013
Ashley Ott, CFP®, AIF®, companion at Vantage Level Monetary, joined her agency in 2012 in a brief function as a shopper companies supervisor. Being on the time a latest graduate with a psychology diploma from Harvard College, she shortly realized she beloved working with purchasers and was delighted to transition to a full-time worker. Vantage Level Monetary, a agency devoted to gender stability, purchasers’ schooling, and impartial monetary recommendation, was the proper match for Ashley’s targets and keenness for serving to folks. With the help and mentorship of Vantage Level’s president and founder, David Griswold, she launched into an academic journey in economics, finance, and investments, ultimately incomes her trade designations and partnership function.
When talking with Ashley, I discovered that her ardour for partaking with folks nonetheless runs sturdy, each professionally and personally. Beneath, she shares her experiences as a lady and next-gen adviser and the way her agency has managed by means of the continuing pandemic.
Q: What strengths do you convey to the desk as a lady and next-gen advisor?
A: Millennial girls are beginning to take management of their monetary futures and handle their very own cash and property. I see this mindset in my present shopper base, which might be about 15 p.c millennials. A lot of my next-gen purchasers are girls who’ve quite a bit in widespread with me. They’re shopping for properties, having youngsters, and beginning to deal with the monetary safety of their households.
Being a lady advisor who shares these experiences is a big bonus in onboarding purchasers and creating long-term relationships. Many ladies, whether or not youthful or older, are extra snug talking with a lady advisor. Total, in my expertise, our girls purchasers discover it empowering to work with one other lady.
Q: What’s an important recommendation you’d give to a younger advisor?
A: To anybody beginning on this enterprise, I’d say don’t be afraid to fail and take each alternative to satisfy folks. After I entered the workforce 10 years in the past, I used to be afraid of failing and hesitant to leap at alternatives. I used to be particularly afraid of public talking. A method I obtained by means of this was to show a category in fundamental finance as an adjunct professor at Boston College—one thing I did for a number of semesters. I instructed my college students that standing up there and speaking was a nerve-wracking expertise. Telling my college students that with all honesty whereas standing in entrance of them helped me work by means of my fears.
Q: How does your enterprise mannequin assist you to stability work and household life?
A: I actually love what we do as advisors—serving to purchasers obtain their targets. However I additionally love the flexibleness this enterprise offers. A number of years in the past, I opened a department workplace in Seattle, Washington, to enhance our principal workplace in Boston, Massachusetts. My objective was to spend extra time with my husband, who performs soccer for the Seattle Seahawks. Now, I make money working from home not solely due to COVID-19 but additionally so I can see my seven-month-old son all through the day. After I took break day for maternity depart, our purchasers had been excited and cheered me on. Since then, I’ve turn into much more keen about my work and the chance to assist younger households make sensible, assured, and educated monetary selections.
Q: How did the pandemic have an effect on your enterprise?
A: Surprisingly, our enterprise thrived—2020 was the agency’s strongest progress yr thus far. From the beginning of the pandemic, we noticed elevated demand for monetary planning. For a lot of purchasers, the lockdowns had been a chance to take a great take a look at their funds. They lastly had the time to sit down down and make a monetary evaluate a precedence. Many consumers even loved it! Regardless of the uncertainty, they appreciated the prospect to trace how they had been doing financially in opposition to their targets and actually dive into total planning.
Q: Did your agency’s use of know-how change in 2020?
A: As a consequence of our enterprise mannequin, my colleagues and I had been already snug utilizing Zoom effectively earlier than the pandemic hit. We’ve got places of work on each coasts—I’m primarily situated in Seattle, and my companion relies in Boston. We’ve got a license to function in 26 states, so Zoom know-how was excellent for connecting with our associates and purchasers throughout the nation. We started to make use of Zoom greater than three years in the past. So that you would possibly say our agency was as prepared as attainable for the massive shift to digital.
One change, although, is that I’m beginning to do digital networking and prospecting. Earlier than the pandemic, I organized Finance 101 conferences for teams of 5 to 10 girls at somebody’s house. We’d have wine and cheese and get to know one another. I’d share suggestions and fundamental data about monetary planning, with no questions thought of too easy. Due to the pandemic, I’ve began holding conferences like this on Zoom. It’s a great choice for now and would possibly generate purchasers similar to the in-person conferences did.
Q: How did your purchasers reply to the modifications final yr?
A: Earlier than the pandemic, nearly all of purchasers most well-liked to satisfy in individual. With the lockdowns in place, convincing purchasers to make use of Zoom obtained quite a bit simpler, after all. However as soon as they obtained began, Zoom’s comfort and ease made a variety of converts. I’m certain some purchasers will need to proceed assembly nearly.
Q: How do you keep linked along with your neighborhood?
A: I used to be a hockey participant when rising up and all through school. Earlier than the pandemic, I loved supporting younger folks within the sport by teaching youth hockey at two native faculties. And, additionally pre-pandemic, I saved my aggressive hearth up by taking part in an area males’s hockey league, which has just one different lady participant. The camaraderie I’ve skilled with my teammates has been an actual eye-opener, demonstrating how a lot males get pleasure from sharing tales about their households and private considerations. It’s a standard misperception to assume solely girls are concerned with exploring their emotional sides.
Q: Why do you stick with Commonwealth?
A: I can sum that up in a couple of phrases: the Commonwealth neighborhood. Commonwealth does an incredible job of fostering relationships. Our neighborhood is exclusive as a result of it’s not aggressive—folks need to collaborate and share greatest practices. As an advisor, you may be anyplace within the nation and work with different Commonwealth advisors to have a bigger presence. After I first got here to Seattle, I reached out to different Commonwealth advisors, and the response was, “How can I assist you to?” I really like with the ability to move on that neighborhood dedication.
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