RIA Talent Advantage®

Schwab Resources

It's important to scale and grow efficiently, but it can be hard to know where to start. Find all the resources you need to assist with recruiting, hiring, and developing diverse talent for your firm.

Choose your topic of interest and we'll provide you with relevant resources.

FEATURED RESOURCE

The Opportunity in Diversity Infographic

Explore the Infographic : opens in a new window

Recruitment playbook

RIA Talent Advantage Recruitment Playbook

A resource created to support your effort to attract and retain diverse talent.

Open playbook

Prospecting

Resumes of students attending IMPACT®

Access the resumes of students who attended IMPACT who seek internships and permanent positions with RIA firms.

Student Resumes from IMPACT

Presentation: Careers in the RIA industry

These presentations explain the important role of an independent Registered Investment Advisor. Use them to help with recruiting and outreach efforts.

Ready-to-use and customizable PowerPoints

Job descriptions

Craft effective job descriptions to help attract the best diverse talent. Clicking on the links below will redirect you to the Talent Resource Center.

Talent Resource Center

RIA Intern Program

Schwab's RIA Intern Program selects top candidates from colleges and universities to participate in a summer intern experience. The RIA Intern Alumni Resume Book lists individuals who are now actively seeking employment. If you custody with Schwab, use this to help source your next hire.

RIA Intern Program Resume Book*

Interviewing

Simplify the interview process with these evaluation tools.

Candidate evaluation form Sample interview questions Candidate tracking form

Onboarding

Once you've found the right candidate, use these tools to bring them on board.

Sample offer letter Onboarding process checklist

Talent diversity

Examine the demographic trends that will be crucial to talent recruitment and development now and in the years to come.

Infographic: The opportunity in diversity

Learn more

Publications: CFP Board D&I Research

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Presentation: Why tomorrow's top RIA firms pursue gender diversity today

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Executive Brief: Action steps to advance women in the financial advice industry

Learn more

Infographic Part 1: The female imperative

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Infographic Part 2: How female talent can improve firm performance

Learn more

Checklist: Diversity recruitment strategies

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Video: Creating a diverse and inclusive culture within your firm

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Conversations with Advisors

Advisors share their perspectives on the importance of mentoring and diversity in their talent strategies.

I love what I'm doing. I think this is probably the best career on the planet because we get to make a difference in people's lives. I think this is a great career path for women for several reasons. First of all, it's our core skill sets. Women tend to be more empathetic. They tend to be very good listeners. And that is the key to understanding what's unique about an individual or their family.

It's an industry where we're dealing with people. And I often say to young female advisors, “If you're open and you're vulnerable and you're really getting to know your clients on a personal level, they can be amazing both clients and friends.” And it's not just about women as advisors, but also giving the men the ability to be more vulnerable and being able for them to have the flexibility they need. I think it's important that it's the culture of the whole firm. When I look at the success in our firm, we have a phenomenal team of both men and women committed to doing the right thing for the families that we serve. 

So, one of the things that we require of our relationship managers is that we go in with a male-female team. And it's really a benefit to the clients, number one; but also, to make sure that we have the right skill set in the room. Some women actually prefer to work with men. Some men prefer to work with women. But you won't know that until you walk in with a diverse team and see the interplay that goes on. When you have more than one person in the room, it just becomes a richer dialog around the family, a richer dialog around life experiences. 

There are several things that both Luma and Fairport are doing to attract more diverse culture. One is clearly when you have people at the top who get it in terms of work-life balance, then that permeates the culture. But in addition to that, we have really been out visible in the community, talking about what a great career this is, and also that we do give flexibility to our employees so that they can get the job done in a way that works for them and their family. 

I think the most important thing I'd want somebody to know that's thinking about moving into the RIA space is that it's not even so much about the demographics of the client, but it's about the psychographics. And more and more of these clients value advice over product. So, it's a great business to be in because you're having those dialogs around values, around gratitude, around family, and community. I have really focused on doing the right thing for the clients, and doing the right thing for my firm, and expecting that the financial rewards will follow. And quite frankly, they have.

[End of Audio]
Video Transcript

Why gender diversity works

I love what I'm doing. I think this is probably the best career on the planet because we get to make a difference in people's lives. I think this is a great career path for women for several reasons. First of all, it's our core skill sets. Women tend to be more empathetic. They tend to be very good listeners. And that is the key to understanding what's unique about an individual or their family.

It's an industry where we're dealing with people. And I often say to young female advisors, “If you're open and you're vulnerable and you're really getting to know your clients on a personal level, they can be amazing both clients and friends.” And it's not just about women as advisors, but also giving the men the ability to be more vulnerable and being able for them to have the flexibility they need. I think it's important that it's the culture of the whole firm. When I look at the success in our firm, we have a phenomenal team of both men and women committed to doing the right thing for the families that we serve. 

So, one of the things that we require of our relationship managers is that we go in with a male-female team. And it's really a benefit to the clients, number one; but also, to make sure that we have the right skill set in the room. Some women actually prefer to work with men. Some men prefer to work with women. But you won't know that until you walk in with a diverse team and see the interplay that goes on. When you have more than one person in the room, it just becomes a richer dialog around the family, a richer dialog around life experiences. 

There are several things that both Luma and Fairport are doing to attract more diverse culture. One is clearly when you have people at the top who get it in terms of work-life balance, then that permeates the culture. But in addition to that, we have really been out visible in the community, talking about what a great career this is, and also that we do give flexibility to our employees so that they can get the job done in a way that works for them and their family. 

I think the most important thing I'd want somebody to know that's thinking about moving into the RIA space is that it's not even so much about the demographics of the client, but it's about the psychographics. And more and more of these clients value advice over product. So, it's a great business to be in because you're having those dialogs around values, around gratitude, around family, and community. I have really focused on doing the right thing for the clients, and doing the right thing for my firm, and expecting that the financial rewards will follow. And quite frankly, they have.

[End of Audio]

Why gender diversity works

00:00:05 – LESLIE:
Hi everyone. I'm Leslie Tabor, Managing Director of Business Consulting and Education for Schwab Advisor Services, and this is Schwab @Home. 

At Schwab, my team focuses on creating programs and resources that help advisors attract, develop, and retain the best talent at their firm. We believe that talent is really what sets companies apart. In fact, we believe this so strongly that it's represented in one of our five Guiding Principles for Advisory Firm Success. That principle states "Your people are your most important asset."

00:00:41
Now joining me today to talk about the importance of mentorship and to attracting and retaining talent to build a sustainable firm is Allan Boomer, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Momentum Advisors. Hi, Allan. It's great to see you again. Thanks for joining me today.

00:00:59 – ALLAN:
Thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure.

00:01:02 – LESLIE:
Awesome. Well, Allan, can you tell us a little bit about your firm and your own leadership style?

00:01:08 – ALLAN:
Sure. So my firm is Momentum Advisors. We're based in New York City. We have clients all over the country. We started out with me, just by myself, in my parents' basement. And I'm super proud today, we're in two offices, we have about 10 employees, and we're managing just under $300 million. I started the firm after leaving Goldman Sachs, and my goal was to create a firm that would, number one, give you the caliber of advice that you get from a bulge bracket firm, but, number two, to do it in a fiduciary capacity, and, number three, to do it with people who are really on par with Wall Street, on par with any other kind of major firm, or maybe even a little bit better. Who knows?  You know, that… that was pretty much the emphasis of the firm.

00:01:54
My leadership style is leading by inspiration. I think that you can like show people what to do, you can tell people what to do, but you really need to inspire them because we're in a business that it's very subjective, it's very much a business that's about feel, not necessarily just about numbers. And so if we can inspire people to help people, and to really listen and inspire them to help these clients to express themselves through their money and their financial decisions, while making sure that they're hitting their financial goals along the way, we can't help but be successful.

00:02:33 – LESLIE:
I love it. That is so great to hear. It really sounds like you've created meaning for your employees. 

You know, a Deloitte study shared that retention is 25% higher for employees who have mentors that are actively engaged in supporting their development, and we know that highly engaged employees report finding meaning in their work, and it's those same employees that tend to be more productive and more creative, and, honestly, they just stay longer. Now, you and I have talked about mentoring a couple of times. Can you say more about your approach to mentoring and coaching and the lessons that you've learned?

00:03:12 – ALLAN:
Absolutely. Well, for one, I'm sitting here as the product of some great mentoring and coaching. If it weren't for the folks that were helping me throughout my process, I would not be here right now. And so I think, number one, mentoring is a great opportunity to just give back just for the sake of the other person, even if it never benefits you at all. You know, I think the definition of mentoring, in my mind, it's to give someone advice and guidance in a way that benefits them with no benefit back to you at all. It… it's very similar to the fiduciary relationship that we share with our clients. If you can help people, you'll be rewarded.

00:03:51
Also, it's sort of a way of recruiting, if you will. Like there are… when you're mentoring someone you really get to know them really well, they really are grateful for the advice and guidance, and even if they don't join your firm one day, they'll probably have such a great experience with you that they'll tell a friend and you'll recruit in that way. But at the end of the day, mentoring is all about giving back. It's all about the other person. It's not about you at all.

00:L04:17 – LESLIE:
I love that. Sign me up. So… you know, we're so lucky to have you, Allan, joining our new DEI Advocacy Board to help select the recipients of our RIA Talent Advantage Scholarship, and to serve as a mentor to one of the winners. 

00:04:32
Speaking of new talent in the industry, how have you found ways to bring in new and younger talent to Momentum Advisors?

00:04:40 – ALLAN:
First of all, I'm really excited about joining this effort because I think our industry really needs diversity. You know, when you think about the world, you know, talent is evenly distributed throughout the world, but opportunity is not. And opportunity is what these folks need and our industry needs, and I'm super excited to be a part of that.

00:04:59
Our approach to recruiting and bringing in talent really centers around just exposure. We constantly are in the public and we're just attracting both clients and also people who want to work for us. We have a very popular podcast called The Momentum Advisors, where we talk about financial literacy, and wealth, building and entrepreneurship. And we do it in a very kind of kitchen table-type of way, and it really attracts a ton of people. We're also really active in the financial literacy community, writing for magazines, such as Financial Planning magazine. We go on TV a lot on places like CNBC and Bloomberg. And by elevating the profile of our firm, it also helps to bring in more eyeballs and more people who want to work here.

00:05:43 – LESLIE:
I love it. I've had a chance to catch a couple of your podcasts and it is very much the kitchen table conversation. And what I love is it's a chance to get to know you personally. You're bringing forward a lot of critical topics, but getting to know you and your partners at your firm comes through, as well. 

00:05:59
So thank you so much, Allan, for joining me today and sharing your insights. I appreciate you and all that you're doing for your firm and our industry, and I really look forward to speaking again when we start working together at the DEI Advocacy Board.

00:06:13
And thanks to everybody for listening from all of us at Schwab Advisor Services. I'm Leslie Tabor, and this has been another edition of Schwab @Home.  Be well, everyone.


The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey: Winning over the next generation of leaders
Momentum Advisors is not owned by or affiliated with Schwab, and its personnel are not employees or agents of Schwab. This video is not a referral to, endorsement or recommendation of, or testimonial for the advisor with respect to its investment advisory or other services.
Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisors and includes the custody, trading, and support of Schwab.

Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with, or supervised by Schwab. For informational purposes only.

©2021 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") All rights reserved. Member SIPC.

0521-179S
 
Video Transcript

Mentoring talent

00:00:05 – LESLIE:
Hi everyone. I'm Leslie Tabor, Managing Director of Business Consulting and Education for Schwab Advisor Services, and this is Schwab @Home. 

At Schwab, my team focuses on creating programs and resources that help advisors attract, develop, and retain the best talent at their firm. We believe that talent is really what sets companies apart. In fact, we believe this so strongly that it's represented in one of our five Guiding Principles for Advisory Firm Success. That principle states "Your people are your most important asset."

00:00:41
Now joining me today to talk about the importance of mentorship and to attracting and retaining talent to build a sustainable firm is Allan Boomer, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Momentum Advisors. Hi, Allan. It's great to see you again. Thanks for joining me today.

00:00:59 – ALLAN:
Thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure.

00:01:02 – LESLIE:
Awesome. Well, Allan, can you tell us a little bit about your firm and your own leadership style?

00:01:08 – ALLAN:
Sure. So my firm is Momentum Advisors. We're based in New York City. We have clients all over the country. We started out with me, just by myself, in my parents' basement. And I'm super proud today, we're in two offices, we have about 10 employees, and we're managing just under $300 million. I started the firm after leaving Goldman Sachs, and my goal was to create a firm that would, number one, give you the caliber of advice that you get from a bulge bracket firm, but, number two, to do it in a fiduciary capacity, and, number three, to do it with people who are really on par with Wall Street, on par with any other kind of major firm, or maybe even a little bit better. Who knows?  You know, that… that was pretty much the emphasis of the firm.

00:01:54
My leadership style is leading by inspiration. I think that you can like show people what to do, you can tell people what to do, but you really need to inspire them because we're in a business that it's very subjective, it's very much a business that's about feel, not necessarily just about numbers. And so if we can inspire people to help people, and to really listen and inspire them to help these clients to express themselves through their money and their financial decisions, while making sure that they're hitting their financial goals along the way, we can't help but be successful.

00:02:33 – LESLIE:
I love it. That is so great to hear. It really sounds like you've created meaning for your employees. 

You know, a Deloitte study shared that retention is 25% higher for employees who have mentors that are actively engaged in supporting their development, and we know that highly engaged employees report finding meaning in their work, and it's those same employees that tend to be more productive and more creative, and, honestly, they just stay longer. Now, you and I have talked about mentoring a couple of times. Can you say more about your approach to mentoring and coaching and the lessons that you've learned?

00:03:12 – ALLAN:
Absolutely. Well, for one, I'm sitting here as the product of some great mentoring and coaching. If it weren't for the folks that were helping me throughout my process, I would not be here right now. And so I think, number one, mentoring is a great opportunity to just give back just for the sake of the other person, even if it never benefits you at all. You know, I think the definition of mentoring, in my mind, it's to give someone advice and guidance in a way that benefits them with no benefit back to you at all. It… it's very similar to the fiduciary relationship that we share with our clients. If you can help people, you'll be rewarded.

00:03:51
Also, it's sort of a way of recruiting, if you will. Like there are… when you're mentoring someone you really get to know them really well, they really are grateful for the advice and guidance, and even if they don't join your firm one day, they'll probably have such a great experience with you that they'll tell a friend and you'll recruit in that way. But at the end of the day, mentoring is all about giving back. It's all about the other person. It's not about you at all.

00:L04:17 – LESLIE:
I love that. Sign me up. So… you know, we're so lucky to have you, Allan, joining our new DEI Advocacy Board to help select the recipients of our RIA Talent Advantage Scholarship, and to serve as a mentor to one of the winners. 

00:04:32
Speaking of new talent in the industry, how have you found ways to bring in new and younger talent to Momentum Advisors?

00:04:40 – ALLAN:
First of all, I'm really excited about joining this effort because I think our industry really needs diversity. You know, when you think about the world, you know, talent is evenly distributed throughout the world, but opportunity is not. And opportunity is what these folks need and our industry needs, and I'm super excited to be a part of that.

00:04:59
Our approach to recruiting and bringing in talent really centers around just exposure. We constantly are in the public and we're just attracting both clients and also people who want to work for us. We have a very popular podcast called The Momentum Advisors, where we talk about financial literacy, and wealth, building and entrepreneurship. And we do it in a very kind of kitchen table-type of way, and it really attracts a ton of people. We're also really active in the financial literacy community, writing for magazines, such as Financial Planning magazine. We go on TV a lot on places like CNBC and Bloomberg. And by elevating the profile of our firm, it also helps to bring in more eyeballs and more people who want to work here.

00:05:43 – LESLIE:
I love it. I've had a chance to catch a couple of your podcasts and it is very much the kitchen table conversation. And what I love is it's a chance to get to know you personally. You're bringing forward a lot of critical topics, but getting to know you and your partners at your firm comes through, as well. 

00:05:59
So thank you so much, Allan, for joining me today and sharing your insights. I appreciate you and all that you're doing for your firm and our industry, and I really look forward to speaking again when we start working together at the DEI Advocacy Board.

00:06:13
And thanks to everybody for listening from all of us at Schwab Advisor Services. I'm Leslie Tabor, and this has been another edition of Schwab @Home.  Be well, everyone.


The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey: Winning over the next generation of leaders
Momentum Advisors is not owned by or affiliated with Schwab, and its personnel are not employees or agents of Schwab. This video is not a referral to, endorsement or recommendation of, or testimonial for the advisor with respect to its investment advisory or other services.
Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisors and includes the custody, trading, and support of Schwab.

Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with, or supervised by Schwab. For informational purposes only.

©2021 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") All rights reserved. Member SIPC.

0521-179S
 

Mentoring talent

Conversations with students

As part of Schwab's advocacy efforts to promote careers in the RIA profession, we invite students to attend Schwab and other industry events. Recently, we asked some student guests what they've learned about the RIA industry and what they seek in a potential employer.

What have you learned about opportunities in the RIA profession?

I was really surprised by the variety of career paths that are available through RIA. I spoke with several different people, several business owners, but also talked to an event planner, someone in communications and marketing. So, this industry has a variety of career paths for any individual that's in it.

[End of Audio]
Video Transcript

Lauren Eagan – Loyola Marymount University

I was really surprised by the variety of career paths that are available through RIA. I spoke with several different people, several business owners, but also talked to an event planner, someone in communications and marketing. So, this industry has a variety of career paths for any individual that's in it.

[End of Audio]

Lauren Eagan – Loyola Marymount University

College student Lauren Eagan expresses her surprise over the numerous career paths found in the RIA model.

Jane King:
My name is Jane King, and I'm president of Fairfield Financial Advisors. I've been in the investment business all my professional life. The investment business is very entrepreneurial, so I always knew someone who had gone out on their own. I needed to have earned my own financial independence before I felt I had earned the right to give advice. Once I became financially independent myself, I felt it was the right time for me to start my own independent registered investment advisor firm.

Caroline King Hedges:
My name is Caroline Hedges, and I am the client relationship manager at Fairfield Financial Advisors. I started my career right out of school at a large Wall Street firm which then fell victim to the market volatility in 2008. I think that was a pretty eye-opening experience for everyone who worked in finance, and it really taught me that smaller is definitely more manageable and more adaptable. Since then, I've only been at smaller firms. Obviously, seeing how fulfilled my mom was in starting her own business and the work-life balance that she was able to attain was really attractive to me and was totally convincing to join forces with her.
Video Transcript

Dan Costigan – University of California, Irvine

Jane King:
My name is Jane King, and I'm president of Fairfield Financial Advisors. I've been in the investment business all my professional life. The investment business is very entrepreneurial, so I always knew someone who had gone out on their own. I needed to have earned my own financial independence before I felt I had earned the right to give advice. Once I became financially independent myself, I felt it was the right time for me to start my own independent registered investment advisor firm.

Caroline King Hedges:
My name is Caroline Hedges, and I am the client relationship manager at Fairfield Financial Advisors. I started my career right out of school at a large Wall Street firm which then fell victim to the market volatility in 2008. I think that was a pretty eye-opening experience for everyone who worked in finance, and it really taught me that smaller is definitely more manageable and more adaptable. Since then, I've only been at smaller firms. Obviously, seeing how fulfilled my mom was in starting her own business and the work-life balance that she was able to attain was really attractive to me and was totally convincing to join forces with her.

Dan Costigan – University of California, Irvine

College student Dan Costigan discusses the opportunities he sees in the RIA model.

00:00:05 – LISA:
Hi, everyone. I'm Lisa Salvi from Schwab Advisor Services, and this is Schwab At Home. One of the things that I love that I get to do in Business Consulting and Education is work on programs that generate awareness of the RIA industry and a pipeline of high quality talent for advisory firms to hire. And one of the ways we've done that over the last eight years is through our RIA summer intern program, where our goal is not to hire the interns at Schwab, but to have them go on to work in advisory firms. 

00:00:34
I'm so pleased today that I have one of our 2020 interns, Cassidy Farar from BYU, Idaho, joining us today to share a little bit about her thoughts on the industry. Welcome, Cassidy.

00:00:45 – CASSIDY:
Hi, Lisa. Thanks for having me.

00:00:47 – LISA:
So, Cassidy, you and I first met back in April. We, at Schwab, of course, were having to rethink our usual intern experience given the COVID situation and knowing we wouldn't be gathering together in person or having you guys go to independent advisory firms. Could you just share a little bit about the feedback all of your… all of you and your intern class gave to us during that call?

00:01:07 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I was really grateful to have the opportunity to even still have this internship with everything going on. And it seemed that all the interns really wanted to be a part of it, even if it was virtual. So I was really excited. We were all able to kind of pitch in our input on what we wanted to do this summer.

00:01:24 – LISA:
Yeah, and we were excited, too, because we were hoping you guys would still want to have an experience even if it was going to look a little bit different. 

00:01:30
So maybe we could just start today by having you share a little bit about how you found out about the RIA industry. What put it on your radar?

00:01:38 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, so I have a family member who works at Schwab, and so I… I had an initial interest in the company from that, and so I looked up their internship. I was applying for that and saw the RIA internship on there, as well. And wasn't really sure what it was, so I started looking into RIAs and realizing, 'Oh, this is exactly what I’m looking for,' and decided to apply for that one instead.

00:02:00 – LISA:
What kind of appealed to you about the RIA industry as you did that research?

00:02:04 – CASSIDY:
So I've been applying… interviewing with some other firms that were a lot commission-based, a lot sales-based, and I didn't really… it kind of turned me off of all of that. And so when looking into RIAs and I saw that it was all based on the client's need and giving advice solely on what is in their best interest, I really liked the idea of being able to reach out and help people for them and not for me.

00:02:29 –LISA:
Yeah, that's just such a foundational part of this industry, and it really does resonate when people hear about that. You know, if there's advisors out there who want to help tell that story with young talent, like you and at your university, what are some things that they could do to help come in and share the word about the RIA industry?

00:02:46 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I think reaching out to universities is a great first step. I know a lot of universities have different organizations. I'm in my Investment Society. We have an Econ Society, Wealth Management Society. Reaching out to those organizations, being able to come in and introduce themselves, talk a little bit about what they do, that's put a lot of different companies on my radar while in college, and I think that would help a lot to get the word out about the RIA industry.

00:03:11 – LISA:
And I've heard from a lot of students that lunch is important, like pizza is a really good strategy to get attendance. Would you [absolutely] say that that's…

00:03:20 – CASSIDY:
…always bring food. [laughter]

00:03:22 – LISA:
The more food, the more students will show up, is that about right?

00:03:24 – CASSIDY:
…Exactly. [laughter]

00:03:27 – LISA:
What about as you're looking at job opportunities in the future, what… what kind of things would make an advisory firm stand out to you? That's a question I get from advisors just all the time.

00:03:36 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I like being able to look ahead and see where my growth within the company would be. Where am I going to start, and what's my… what are my next steps to move up? What's my career path going to look like? And what are my opportunities? How are they going to help foster growth that I can move forward within the company?

00:03:52 – LISA:
Yeah, I hear that from students all the time, that just knowing that there's a career path within an advisory firm, and that they're going to get training and experiences really resonates and helps firms stand out a great deal.

00:04:04
So my last question for you today, Cassidy, is just as you have been going through this unique virtual internship experience, how do you think that's going to help you in the future as you start to look into joining a firm someday?

00:04:18 – CASSIDY:
You know, I've really learned to be flexible through this whole experience, being trained online every day, having online webcasts meetings, and working with a team that I've never met in person, and it's all been really unique. And I'm hoping that I can take that flexibility and that growth with me wherever I go. And so I'm hoping that that's something that my employers will look at and realize that I'm able to be flexible. I’m able to learn in different environments.

00:04:44 – LISA:
Job skills of the future. Well, Cassidy, thank you so much for joining me today and for joining our intern program. The future of the industry is clearly very, very bright. I'm Lisa Salvi, and this has been another edition of Schwab @Home.


Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisors and includes the custody, trading, and support of Schwab.
Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with, or supervised by Schwab. For informational purposes only.
©2020 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") All rights reserved. Member SIPC.

0720-0WCE
 
Video Transcript

Cassidy Farar - Brigham Young University - Idaho

00:00:05 – LISA:
Hi, everyone. I'm Lisa Salvi from Schwab Advisor Services, and this is Schwab At Home. One of the things that I love that I get to do in Business Consulting and Education is work on programs that generate awareness of the RIA industry and a pipeline of high quality talent for advisory firms to hire. And one of the ways we've done that over the last eight years is through our RIA summer intern program, where our goal is not to hire the interns at Schwab, but to have them go on to work in advisory firms. 

00:00:34
I'm so pleased today that I have one of our 2020 interns, Cassidy Farar from BYU, Idaho, joining us today to share a little bit about her thoughts on the industry. Welcome, Cassidy.

00:00:45 – CASSIDY:
Hi, Lisa. Thanks for having me.

00:00:47 – LISA:
So, Cassidy, you and I first met back in April. We, at Schwab, of course, were having to rethink our usual intern experience given the COVID situation and knowing we wouldn't be gathering together in person or having you guys go to independent advisory firms. Could you just share a little bit about the feedback all of your… all of you and your intern class gave to us during that call?

00:01:07 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I was really grateful to have the opportunity to even still have this internship with everything going on. And it seemed that all the interns really wanted to be a part of it, even if it was virtual. So I was really excited. We were all able to kind of pitch in our input on what we wanted to do this summer.

00:01:24 – LISA:
Yeah, and we were excited, too, because we were hoping you guys would still want to have an experience even if it was going to look a little bit different. 

00:01:30
So maybe we could just start today by having you share a little bit about how you found out about the RIA industry. What put it on your radar?

00:01:38 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, so I have a family member who works at Schwab, and so I… I had an initial interest in the company from that, and so I looked up their internship. I was applying for that and saw the RIA internship on there, as well. And wasn't really sure what it was, so I started looking into RIAs and realizing, 'Oh, this is exactly what I’m looking for,' and decided to apply for that one instead.

00:02:00 – LISA:
What kind of appealed to you about the RIA industry as you did that research?

00:02:04 – CASSIDY:
So I've been applying… interviewing with some other firms that were a lot commission-based, a lot sales-based, and I didn't really… it kind of turned me off of all of that. And so when looking into RIAs and I saw that it was all based on the client's need and giving advice solely on what is in their best interest, I really liked the idea of being able to reach out and help people for them and not for me.

00:02:29 –LISA:
Yeah, that's just such a foundational part of this industry, and it really does resonate when people hear about that. You know, if there's advisors out there who want to help tell that story with young talent, like you and at your university, what are some things that they could do to help come in and share the word about the RIA industry?

00:02:46 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I think reaching out to universities is a great first step. I know a lot of universities have different organizations. I'm in my Investment Society. We have an Econ Society, Wealth Management Society. Reaching out to those organizations, being able to come in and introduce themselves, talk a little bit about what they do, that's put a lot of different companies on my radar while in college, and I think that would help a lot to get the word out about the RIA industry.

00:03:11 – LISA:
And I've heard from a lot of students that lunch is important, like pizza is a really good strategy to get attendance. Would you [absolutely] say that that's…

00:03:20 – CASSIDY:
…always bring food. [laughter]

00:03:22 – LISA:
The more food, the more students will show up, is that about right?

00:03:24 – CASSIDY:
…Exactly. [laughter]

00:03:27 – LISA:
What about as you're looking at job opportunities in the future, what… what kind of things would make an advisory firm stand out to you? That's a question I get from advisors just all the time.

00:03:36 – CASSIDY:
Yeah, I like being able to look ahead and see where my growth within the company would be. Where am I going to start, and what's my… what are my next steps to move up? What's my career path going to look like? And what are my opportunities? How are they going to help foster growth that I can move forward within the company?

00:03:52 – LISA:
Yeah, I hear that from students all the time, that just knowing that there's a career path within an advisory firm, and that they're going to get training and experiences really resonates and helps firms stand out a great deal.

00:04:04
So my last question for you today, Cassidy, is just as you have been going through this unique virtual internship experience, how do you think that's going to help you in the future as you start to look into joining a firm someday?

00:04:18 – CASSIDY:
You know, I've really learned to be flexible through this whole experience, being trained online every day, having online webcasts meetings, and working with a team that I've never met in person, and it's all been really unique. And I'm hoping that I can take that flexibility and that growth with me wherever I go. And so I'm hoping that that's something that my employers will look at and realize that I'm able to be flexible. I’m able to learn in different environments.

00:04:44 – LISA:
Job skills of the future. Well, Cassidy, thank you so much for joining me today and for joining our intern program. The future of the industry is clearly very, very bright. I'm Lisa Salvi, and this has been another edition of Schwab @Home.


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Cassidy Farar – Brigham Young University – Idaho

College student Cassidy Farar shares what stands out to her about RIAs and how advisors can help drive more awareness of the profession with students.

What do you look for in a potential employer?

Walter Brugman:
Primarily, it's a culture that is very welcoming but, at the same time, very challenging, so that I would enjoy working there but, at the same time, grow. The second thing that I look for in a potential employer is the employer must be performing at a great level. What I mean by that is, they're performing because they have a edge to them; they have a secret to them; they have a trade to them that I would love to learn and ultimately utilize in my career. The last thing that I look for−it may be a little bit forward, but it's compensation, competitive compensation. I'm going to be working for this company; I'm going to be giving my all to this company, and I would like to be rightfully compensated for that. So, those are the three things that I look for when choosing a firm.
Video Transcript

Walter Brugman: Selecting an Employer

Walter Brugman:
Primarily, it's a culture that is very welcoming but, at the same time, very challenging, so that I would enjoy working there but, at the same time, grow. The second thing that I look for in a potential employer is the employer must be performing at a great level. What I mean by that is, they're performing because they have a edge to them; they have a secret to them; they have a trade to them that I would love to learn and ultimately utilize in my career. The last thing that I look for−it may be a little bit forward, but it's compensation, competitive compensation. I'm going to be working for this company; I'm going to be giving my all to this company, and I would like to be rightfully compensated for that. So, those are the three things that I look for when choosing a firm.

Walter Brugman: Selecting an employer

Dan Costigan:
One would be an employer that really stays ahead of the trends in the industry. So, they aren't simply reacting to changes within an industry, they're proactive and they're seeing those changes happen before they actually do.


Dan Costigan:
Two, I really would love an employer that challenges me to think more critically about issues that are facing my business or my firm's business, and to really ask the why questions because that's really how you can uncover opportunities and overcome challenges.


Dan Costigan:
Finally, I would love the idea of working for a firm that would promote growth within the organization. So if I respond well to those challenges that there are opportunities for me to take on greater roles and greater responsibilities within the firm.
Video Transcript

Dan Costigan - Selecting an employer

Dan Costigan:
One would be an employer that really stays ahead of the trends in the industry. So, they aren't simply reacting to changes within an industry, they're proactive and they're seeing those changes happen before they actually do.


Dan Costigan:
Two, I really would love an employer that challenges me to think more critically about issues that are facing my business or my firm's business, and to really ask the why questions because that's really how you can uncover opportunities and overcome challenges.


Dan Costigan:
Finally, I would love the idea of working for a firm that would promote growth within the organization. So if I respond well to those challenges that there are opportunities for me to take on greater roles and greater responsibilities within the firm.

Dan Costigan: Selecting an employer

Lauren Eagan:
For me, I'm an economics major, so finance has always been an interest of mine, but I love working with people. I love the idea that in RIA, you're working face to face with so many clients, families, individuals, also institutions, and you're ultimately helping people achieve goals by providing financial services for them. You're creating a peace of mind for people that are going through life stages or planning for a life stage. That could be anywhere from a state planning or planning for retirement, or putting a kid through college. These are things that almost everyone experiences.
Video Transcript

Lauren Eagan: Selecting an Employer

Lauren Eagan:
For me, I'm an economics major, so finance has always been an interest of mine, but I love working with people. I love the idea that in RIA, you're working face to face with so many clients, families, individuals, also institutions, and you're ultimately helping people achieve goals by providing financial services for them. You're creating a peace of mind for people that are going through life stages or planning for a life stage. That could be anywhere from a state planning or planning for retirement, or putting a kid through college. These are things that almost everyone experiences.

Lauren Eagan: Selecting an employer

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