As we prepare to close the chapter on 2021, I love to set aside time to reflect on all that has transpired over the last year and refresh my goals for the upcoming year. I am extremely proud of how SMB is continuing to innovate to better serve our clients and I would like to share a few of the new SMB things you have to look forward to in 2022.
Continued Focus on Education:
In 2021, we launched a new educational webinar series covering topics such as Medicare, Social Security, Mortgages/Refi Options, Women Investors and Technology Apps. If you missed any of them, replays are available on our YouTube channel. These webinars were very well received and we are excited for the topics we have lined up for 2022!
I’ll share a sneak peek … To ensure you make the most of 2022, we are hosting two special webinars in January designed to bring you success and well-being. Be sure to the save the following dates:
- Tuesday, January 11, 2022: Learn the 3 C’s of goal setting – an exercise facilitated by a life coach.
- Tuesday, January 25, 2022: Marie Kondo methods to get organized for good!
New team member:
Allow me to introduce you to Lumina Gershfield – Cordova! Lumina joins the SMB team with a diverse background and a passion to learn. Makes sense, since she has a Master’s Degree in Education from Portland State University as well as a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Boston University. We are excited to share that she recently enrolled in Boston University’s CFP® program to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM!
I want you to know that I am extremely thoughtful when considering new team members and am excited for you to meet Lumina! Her personality, entrepreneurial spirit and teaching background are tremendous assets to SMB. Lumina and I also share a passion for serving communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in the financial planning industry and look forward to increasing our outreach in these communities.
You may be thinking – why am I building a team? And what does this mean for me as a client? Not much will change for you as a client because I will still be your servicing advisor. Moving forward, I will be your advisor with a team to support me in the day-to-day operations. To be candid, I am pretty close to bandwidth in terms of the number of clients I can work with and be able to serve at the level of care you have come to expect of me. (The great news is that you continue to refer me to your friends and family!)
On a personal note, developing a team gives me the opportunity to recruit, mentor and develop other women to the financial services industry - something I lacked when I first started my career as a financial advisor. Contributing to the Women in Finance movement – not just financial literacy and advocacy, but also encouraging more women to join this male-dominated industry, is a cause that I am very passionate about. I have partnered with LPL’s Diversity & Inclusion team as well as my alma mater, Boston University, to work on different initiatives with this goal in mind.
We are moving to Burlington! The new office is currently under construction, but we are very excited for the grand opening in Spring 2022! Stay tuned!
This is a huge milestone for SMB and it further demonstrates our goal of providing excellent client service. A few years ago, the industry was worried about the onset of “robo-advisors,” i.e., software platforms that provide digital financial advice based on mathematical rules or algorithms with minimal human interaction. Currently, all the buzz is about remote work and hybrid work schedules. In the financial services industry, some advisors have ditched their offices and adopted an all virtual approach. Not for me!
Don’t get me wrong, I know incorporating technology to improve the client experience is extremely important. And don’t worry, we will continue to offer Zoom meeting as a matter of convenience. However, building a trusted long-term planning relationship is my top priority, so I am betting on the importance of human interaction by investing in a new, larger office space.
As we head into 2022, my goal is to continue to build a team that is focused on meaningful relationships with our clients and their loved ones by providing outstanding client service and being a knowledgeable resource to answer questions and address concerns.
We’ve been fortunate to receive more introductions to friends and family members in the last two years than ever before! Some of these people have become clients and some just had a question or needed a sounding board. This really highlighted a need and an opportunity to add value to the children, siblings, co-workers, and friends of our clients. So we created a new service - a 20 Minute Ask Anything Session - where these individuals will have the opportunity to pick my brain about a topic they need more clarity on. As you connect with loved ones over the next few weeks, know that these sessions are available to them. They can schedule a time by clicking here.
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy