INTERVIEWER: Could you introduce yourself?
JOHN: Sure. Hi, I am John Tovar. I'm Managing Director at Schwab Advisor Services.
I'm responsible for different aspects of the Service organization, our specialty teams, our Advisor Services group, Service teams, and another group, Workflow Solutions.
INTERVIEWER: First item on your bucket list?
JOHN: I want to take my wife to see the Northern Lights.
INTERVIEWER: Your biggest motivator?
JOHN: To provide for my family.
INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?
JOHN: Twenty-three years now.
INTERVIEWER: What do you like most about Schwab's culture?
JOHN: Schwab's culture is very similar to the culture that I came from at TD Ameritrade. I think there's just a deep caring for each other as employees, and then just the laser focus on doing what's right for the client, making sure that advisors are successful.
INTERVIEWER: What three qualities do you most admire about your team?
JOHN: Dedication, passion, and integrity.
INTERVIEWER: What does great service look like?
JOHN: I think great service looks like every single touch point with our organization because we are doing what our advisors' clients expect us to do. We had a great client of ours at TD Ameritrade and she told me one time, ‘John, I never have a client walk in and say, ‘I want to beat the S&P.' They come in and say, ‘Am I going to be okay? Can I take care of my family? Can my daughter go to college?' And so it was just when I heard that was like, ‘Wow, these are the people I want to help.'
INTERVIEWER: How do you encourage advisors to approach you with ideas, questions, concerns?
JOHN: I try to make myself available and really try to stress, ‘I mean it. Contact me. I don't know what I don't know, and I want to help you be successful because if you're successful, I'm successful and we're all successful.'