Buying into Firms: Fit, Structure & Culture
b"The financial planner\\u2019s career path is often thought of as very linear: go to school, get your CFP certification, begin working for a firm and work your way up, or start your own. However, you can\\u2019t plan for everything, and sometimes you\\u2019re introduced to opportunities you don\\u2019t expect.\\xa0\\n\\nLike many of our other guests on YAFPNW, Katie Seay, CFP\\xae, proves that life as a financial planner so often takes you in a different direction. In our latest episode, Katie talked to Hannah about what makes The Trust Company unique, how her career has evolved, the importance of firm culture, and more.\\nFrom Atlanta to Manhattan\\xa0\\nKatie went to the University of Georgia, initially as an international affairs major. When she came across family financial planning, her curiosity was piqued. She fell in love with the program and the work, and began working at Ayco in Atlanta, a Goldman Sachs company. After marrying her husband, Katie moved to Manhattan, Kansas, which was a big cultural change from Atlanta. However, it brought her to The Trust Company.\\n\\nA trust company shares similarities with normal financial planning firms, but a few things set it apart. An independent trust company is not owned by a bank, and it\\u2019s regulated a bit differently. Trust officers and financial planners are \\u201chands-on as well as multigenerational,\\u201d as Katie put it, working with grandparents, parents, and kids throughout their lifetimes. What you do at a trust is not that different from what you do at a firm.\\n\\n\\u201cWe really are part life coach...and part financial advisor,\\u201d said Katie. \\u201cI don't think the role is necessarily unsimilar to what a lot of financial advisors are doing with their clients, our just happens to be a more structured role.\\u201d\\nThe Trust Company\\u2019s unique structure\\nPart of what Katie loves about working at The Trust Company is how she\\u2019s helped it grow. The Trust Company has been around since the early 90s, so when Katie joined in 2012, the business was already established. What wasn\\u2019t established, however, was the financial planning services part of it all.\\n\\n\\u201cI've really gotten to create my own business within a business, if that makes sense,\\u201d said Katie. \\u201cAnd so it's been the best of both worlds for me. I've gotten to do my own thing, but have all the support and resources of an established business.\\u201d\\n\\nWhat has helped Katie grow her business within a business? Maybe part of it is the unique way The Trust Company is structured. The Trust Company has been majority employee-owned since its inception; every employee at The Trust Company has the opportunity to buy in. This allows everyone to have a seat at the table, and feel valued and proud of the company. Katie explained that The Trust Company\\u2019s structure adds to conversations with clients, too.\\n\\n\\u201cBeing still a small business, a lot of times we get questions about, \\u2018What are your plans? How do I know you're not just going to leave?\\u2019 Things like that,\\u201d said Katie. \\u201cAnd so it's a very easy conversation to say, \\u2018Well, I'm an owner of the trust company and here's how that works and here's why that's important to me.\\u2019\\u201d\\nThe importance of a firm\\u2019s culture\\nUnique structure aside, Katie also believes strongly in The Trust Company\\u2019s culture. When your firm\\u2019s culture resonates with you, you believe in what you\\u2019re doing. It\\u2019s much easier to \\u201csell\\u201d your services when\\xa0 you have confidence in where you\\u2019re working and the services that you\\u2019re providing, Katie explained.\\xa0\\n\\nThat\\u2019s why it\\u2019s so important for new financial planners to find a firm that aligns with who you are. It\\u2019s something Katie wishes she had paid more attention to when she entered the profession.\\n\\n\\u201cThese are people that you're spending most of your day with,\\u201d said Katie.\\u201dYou've just gotta make sure that you really believe in your company because that's ultimately how you are going to be a successful professi..."