I am an independent investment advisor, which means that I help people manage their investments and am not affiliated with any bank or brokerage. Investment advisors, such as myself, have a legal fiduciary duty to act in our clients’ best interest, and we are heavily regulated to ensure that we do. It’s a great feeling to truly serve our clients, rather than being just another Wall Street hustler.

I have two key responsibilities: managing our client relationships and their investment accounts. The world of investing can be intimidating, so a big part of my job is to help our clients navigate their finances. I’m always ready to answer questions about brokerage accounts, market news, long-term investment strategy, and even finance trivia and gossip. Opening an account can be a big step, and I spend plenty of time with clients every step of the way.

My typical day

My typical work day is split between investment research and client service.

When I’m not communicating with clients, I spend most of my time researching new and current investing ideas. Typically this means keeping up with an endless stream of financial news and analyst reports. Once an idea appears to have potential, I’ll examine the financial reports in fine detail and conduct valuation analysis. This can range from simply looking at PEG ratios to a very thorough DCF analysis. If we detect material changes in an investment’s outlook, we’ll scan our client portfolios to see if any changes need to be made. If so, we’ll execute a block trade for all portfolios that need adjusting and allocate the trades in a way such that each client receives the same price.

Client service involves conversations with clients to understand their individual financial needs and then to adjust their portfolios to match.

I love what I do, but there’s a lot of compliance paperwork. Because we are heavily regulated, I’ve had to design robust procedures to ensure the firm is compliant. This work isn’t as interesting, but it’s necessary for everyone and helps to keep the whole industry honest.

Pros

• Helping clients achieve financial outcomes that would otherwise be out of their reach
• Potential to increase earnings based directly on performance (both sales and investment management)
• An opportunity to learn about a huge variety of industries and business models
• Dedicated time to keep up with world news
• Being one of the few “good guys” on Wall Street who isn’t out to hustle anyone

Cons

• Inability to unplug; the markets don’t take vacations
• Stress from overexposure to sensationalist news headlines
• Impossible to satisfy perfectionism
• Bear markets are inevitable and always stressful
• Non-clients ask for casual investing advice, but it’s not okay to give it

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