The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. That’s roughly 200 million decisions for me, but only a handful have charted the course of my life. A few of those were made after an appropriate discernment process: who to marry, what to believe, and domestic light beer of choice. The rest were almost random—life-altering decisions made as if choosing what to have for breakfast. My career will forever be shaped by three specific decisions, two of which were made on a whim, the other, with great care. I’ll tell you about each, but first, let’s talk about hakuna matata.
The best part of The Lion King is shortly after Simba meets Timone and Pumbaa. Devoid of any responsibilities they’re living the hakuna matata life; completely carefree, blissfully ignorant of the realities of the world. Then Nala shows up with a heavy dose of reality and the party abruptly ends. It was Spring 2015, graduation creeping closer, when Nala arrived in my world with a fury.
Seemingly overnight, I was surrounded by peers accepting jobs, and a few were preparing for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam in June. Already feeling unexpectedly behind, I decided to shortcut the arduous process of thinking and leapt directly into action. I registered for the CFA exam (unaware that it was a multi-year commitment with a series of three exams) and I took the first job I was offered, a corporate accounting role at Cardinal Health. A more contemplative 23-year-old would’ve spotted the potential for synergy in these two decisions (work somewhere that hires CFAs), and my failure to do so meant that my time at Cardinal Health was destined to be temporary. Cardinal Health was my first post-grad job, but embarking on the CFA track was the decision that began the rest of my career.
I was preparing for CFA Level II when I came to a new crossroads: Moving to Cincinnati to be closer to my then-girlfriend (now wife and mother of our children). I was ready to put some of my CFA knowledge to use, so the hunt for a new job in Cincinnati began.
After a few phone screenings at some large Cincinnati banks and asset managers, I connected with Katrina Hartsel, then-Director of HR at Truepoint (now Chief Operating Officer), which was an immediate plus. Having had a taste of working at a gigantic company, I liked the idea of trying something different. I didn’t exactly understand the open role, but it was in Cincinnati and Truepoint was seeking a CFA candidate, so it met my requirements. My decision was made, I’d take a chance on this small company. If it didn’t work out, there would be plenty of alternatives. The next phase of my career was underway.
It’s funny how unexpectedly life plays out. Twelve years of grade school and high school, four more of college, and thousands of hours of studying in between, but my career has been formed by a couple of haphazard decisions mixed with some luck. If I had known how grueling the CFA curriculum was, I might never have registered. If I had started my job search a month later than I did, Truepoint wouldn’t have had an open position. I’m extremely grateful for how these decisions worked out, given how lightly I made them. On the flip side, my latest decision, the biggest one of my career, has a great deal of intent behind it. To understand it, you need to understand a little bit about Truepoint.
I’m sure we talked about “culture” in my interview, but for my money, that’s the buzziest of HR words. That discussion went in one ear and out the other. In the seven years since, I’ve learned that what we’ve cultivated at Truepoint can’t be described in words, buzzy or not. Take a look at these photos or these photos and maybe you’ll be able to see it in my teammates’ faces. Giving back to the community and playing Pop-a-Shot during March Madness are good ideas, easily replicated. But there’s something here that goes much deeper than that.
Serving clients with technical expertise is table stakes in wealth management. If you don’t have the depth of knowledge of CPAs, CFPs, CFAs, and a detail-oriented client service team, you aren’t doing right by your clients. But the client experience at Truepoint extends far beyond that (don’t take it from me, click here to hear directly from them). It’s a relentless focus on understanding our clients’ needs and exceeding their expectations. It’s why we created the Aging Task Force to help clients with difficult aging-related issues they might be facing with their parents or themselves. It’s our commitment to bring the same quality investment management and financial planning to all individuals regardless of portfolio size via our Commas service offering. It’s our Innovation team working to reimagine the digital experience of a wealth management client. It’s a dozen other initiatives that we don’t often talk about in public because we’re busy delivering it to clients.
Finally, many Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are founded on a desire for independence. For 30 years, waves of advisors broke free from Broker-Dealers (BDs) or other massive institutions to start their own ventures. But today, remaining independent is increasingly difficult. You’re competing for growth with multi-billion-dollar businesses and their multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns. You’re competing for top-level talent that’s competitive and expensive. With these and other challenges mounting, remaining independent isn’t an option for many of the pioneering advisors over the last 30 years. Most firms don’t have a feasible in-house succession plan. Remaining independent is committing to an uphill battle, made especially difficult when approached by private equity managers and their limitless pile of cash. This isn’t a theory—industry data on consolidation proves it. But, once again, Truepoint stands apart. We’ve accepted the challenge and, undeterred by obstacles, will lean into our unique strengths.
A few months ago, I was faced with the biggest decision of my career—I was offered the opportunity to buy equity in the firm. I’ve been working hard for years in hopes of being faced with this decision. The stakes couldn’t be higher—becoming a shareholder means committing to Truepoint for the remainder of my career. It will also literally make-or-break my family’s financial future. But it wasn’t a difficult decision. Truepoint is a special place. Part of my job over the next 25+ years is to keep it that way.
Disclaimer: Truepoint Wealth Counsel is a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). Registration as an adviser does not connote a specific level of skill or training. More detail, including forms ADV Part 2A & Form CRS filed with the SEC, can be found at TruepointWealth.com. Neither the information, nor any opinion expressed, is to be construed as personalized investment, tax or legal advice. Any reference to an index is included for illustrative purposes only, as an index is not a security in which an investment can be made. Indices are unmanaged vehicles that serve as market indicators and do not account for the deduction of management fees and/or transaction costs generally associated with investable products.