Why are you starting Steward?

My mom recently asked me why I'm starting Steward. Two reasons: Gaps I've seen after working in wealth management for ten years. And seeing her struggle.

‍Professional:

There are two trends I’ve seen time and again over the years working with the c-suites of many of the world’s largest financial service companies (investment banks, asset managers, insurance providers and sovereign wealth funds) as a wealth management consultant, and then directly as a wealth advisor to high net worth families:  

(a) a pressing need for holistic financial planning:

many families start to collect a whole cast of characters working on individual pieces of their puzzle - an investment guy (or app!), a tax guy, a mortgage guy, an insurance guy, an estate planning guy, etc. This whole mess is:

• Complicated:  It's a hassle and time-suck just staying in touch with all of them.
• Uncoordinated:  It leaves money on the table, since the right hand isn't speaking with the left hand.
• Not Comprehensive: With each individual firm pushing their own product, families aren't receiving objective and holistic advice.

(b) an aging set of financial advisors

who aren’t well equipped to help them since they are:

• Mad Men Era: They don't understand and empathise with a new generation of high income not yet rich house holds and dual career couples, or worse…
• Tech  Dinosaurs: They aren't using the latest tech to bring down costs or improve the experience for their clients, or worse…
• Snake-oil Salesman: Explicitly saying they’ll put their own interests ahead of their clients (see this John Oliver sketch), and not even educated on the topic (less than 25% have taken the Certified Financial Planner Exam, which requires taking 6 courses and a 7-hour board examination). To put it in medical terms, it would be like getting medical advice from a doctor who has never taken the MCAT, and is getting paid by a pharma company.  

Personal:

I hadn’t found the right place, time, or courage to pursue this passion.

Then, my Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was shocked to find out that my Mom, a whip-smart doctor, didn't have a clue about our family's finances. After seeing what she was going through, I started asking my friends and family about personal finances. I found that even those in “high finance” jobs like private equity, hedge funds, and investment banks, weren’t sure how to approach their own household’s finances.

In other words, even the most financially sophisticated individuals, didn’t know much about personal finance. Worse yet, many felt “dumb” to admit they didn’t know and as a result often didn’t seek out help.

In this blog, we’ll listen to your personal finance questions, and share the distilled answers, as ideas, inspiration, and food for thought.  

No dumb questions.  Plain-talk answers.

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