sayra - winter 2016 publication

THE VOICE OF FEMALE FINANCIAL ADVISORSSAYRASAYRA

FROMFALL / WINTER 2015 VOL.1 NO.4

6STEPS TO SUCCESS

for Women Advisors > 32

COVER STORY > 4

BREAKING THE

GLASSCEILINGGOING THE EXTRA MILEGOOD FOR CLIENTS & FOR YOUR BUSINESS > 42

IRENE BERGMAN100-YEAR-OLD STOCKBROKER TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE ON WALL STREET > 34

KEN LANGONEEXPLAINS HOW YOUR PHONE IS ACTUALLY A MAGIC WAND > 18

WOMEN &THE COMING

WEALTH WAVE BY HEATHER PELANT > 22

COVER STORY > 4

BREAKING THE

GLASSCEILINGGOING THE EXTRA MILEGOOD FOR CLIENTS & FOR YOUR BUSINESS > 42

IRENE BERGMAN100-YEAR-OLD STOCKBROKER TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE ON WALL STREET > 34

KEN LANGONEEXPLAINS HOW YOUR PHONE IS ACTUALLY A MAGIC WAND > 18

WOMEN &THE COMING

WEALTH WAVE BY HEATHER PELANT > 22

SAYRA LEBENTHAL2 FALL / WINTER 2015

LEBENTHAL TEAM

Alexandra Lebenthal, Co-CEOLebenthal Holdings

[email protected]

Barbara Yastine, Co-CEOLebenthal Holdings

[email protected]

Andy Grillo, PresidentLebenthal Wealth Advisors

[email protected]

James B. Lebenthal, PresidentLebenthal Asset Management

[email protected]

SAYRA STAFF/CONTRIBUTORSEditor: Sydney [email protected]

Associate Editor: Bella [email protected]

Contributors:Eleanor Blayney CFP® Consumer Advocate for CFP BoardAdri Miller-HeckmanHeather PelantBella PatelKim Dignum CFP® ChFCJ.B. BryanElisha Porterfield CFP®

Design: Stark Designstarkdesignny.com

LETTER FROM THE CEOTHE GLASS CEILING

SAYRA is published quarterly by Lebenthal Holdings, LLC. Offices at 230 Park Avenue, Floor 32, New York, N.Y. 10169 Telephone: (877) 425-6006 Visit our Web site at www.lebenthal.com. © Copyright 2015 Lebenthal Holdings LLC. All rights reserved. SAYRA is a registered trademark of Lebenthal Holdings LLC.

Copyright warning and notice: It is a violation of federal copyright law to reproduce or distribute all or part of this publication to anyone (including but not limited to others in the same company or group) by any means, including but not limited to photocopying, printing, faxing, scanning, e-mailing, and Web site posting, without attribution and permission. The Copyright Act imposes liability of up to $150,000 per issue for infringement. Information concerning possible copyright infringement will be gratefully received. Please call Bella Patel at 212-490-4078 for reprint arrangements.Legal disclaimer: This magazine is not designed to and does not provide individualized investment advice, legal advice or regulatory guidance and to the extent it touches upon any such issues it should be used only in conjunction with the advice of your investment, legal and compliance professionals. Further, the opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author, interviewer or interviewee (as the case may be), and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Lebenthal. Therefore, Lebenthal carries no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon. Further, nothing herein constitutes a testimonial or endorsement of the authors or individuals interviewed herein by any client or Lebenthal.

Welcome to the latest edition

of SAYRA Magazine. It gives me great satisfaction

knowing that we are delivering a tool for the female

financial advisor that is not only useful but that

also reflects who we are as a group. By that I mean

colorful, savvy, hard-working, whip-smart, not stodgy

or beholden to any old-boy-network, client-centric

and empathetic. That is SAYRA, and that is you, the

female financial advisor.

We care about our clients, ourselves and our

communities, but we are also competitive as hell.

High heels, dresses and—for some of us—the

demands of motherhood do not slow us down.

Nevertheless, too often we are reminded about how

difficult it is to compete on a level playing field with

men in the financial services industry. Yes, we have

come a long way in this and other professions, but in

2015 we still are talking about the glass ceiling and

income inequality.

Take one example from this summer’s headlines. The

glorious USA Women’s National Soccer Team won

the World Cup and broke TV ratings records in the

process. The July 5th championship game between

the US and Japan was the most-watched soccer

game in US television history. And yet, while their

$2 million in prize money was twice as large as the

winning team received in the 2011 tournament, it

paled beside the men: In the 2014 men’s World Cup,

the winning German team received $35 million, and

a first-round loser still received $8 million. Egregious,

to say the least, but while professional sports is but a

small, high profile, instance of this problem (women’s

tennis is one of the only professional sports with

equal pay to men—thank you, Billie Jean, Steffi and

Serena!), it is mirrored throughout the American

economy. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics, women earn 82.5% of what men do.

However, the pay gap widens as women get older, as

young women aged 16 to 24 earn 92% of men that

age, while women aged 25 to 54 earn just 81% of their

male counterparts. The BLS records data for over

500 occupations, but as of 2014, women in just two

professions earned more than men working

the same job: “stock clerks and order fillers”

and “health practitioner support technologists

and technicians.” A sad state of affairs, to say

the least.

But here is where it hits home for SAYRA

readers: On the list of the jobs with the

largest pay gaps, Personal Financial Advisors

ranks as one of the worst, as the median

weekly earnings of a female advisor are just

61.3% of her male counterpart. (The BLS

defines Personal Financial Advisors as those

who “Advise clients on financial plans using

knowledge of tax and investment strategies,

securities, insurance, pension

plans, and real estate. Duties

include assessing clients'

assets, liabilities, cash flow,

insurance coverage, tax status,

and financial objectives.”)

Financial Managers isn’t much

better, earning 67.4 cents

for every dollar that male

managers earned. (The BLS

defines financial managers

as those who “plan, direct, or

coordinate accounting, investing, banking,

insurance, securities, and other financial

activities of a branch, office, or department of

an establishment.”)

It is unclear what accounts for this disparity—

do female FAs charge lower fees than men?—

but it may have something to do with total

assets under management. According to the

Wall Street Journal, research by Morningstar

shows that as of March 31, 2015, there were

7,410 US open-end mutual funds. 77.9% are

run exclusively by men, whereas 2.5% are

run exclusively by women; by assets, female

managers have exclusive control over less

than 2% of the $12.6 trillion of fund assets.

One reason for this may be that fewer women

seek to earn the credentials desired by a firm:

Just 37% of the M.B.A. degrees earned during

the 2013-14 academic year went to women,

according to the Association to Advance

Collegiate Schools of Business, and the CFA

Institute reports that in 2014 just 16% of its

61,282 U.S. members were women.

Could it also be that women just don’t want

the big jobs? Women comprise half of the

American workforce, but only 23 of the

S&P 500 companies have female CEOs.

Bloomberg reported on new research from

Harvard Business School that shows more

women aren’t in leadership positions because

3

“they just don’t want the jobs as much as

men do.” When asked to rank their current

position, their ideal position, and the highest

position they could realistically attain, women

generally listed lower ideal positions. As the

study explains, women have more negative

associations with power than men do,

including stress and time constraints. “Women

expect more stress, burden, conflicts, and

difficult trade-offs to accompany high-level

positions,” said Alison Wood Brooks, a co-

author of the paper and an assistant professor

at Harvard.

I don’t know about you, but I find that

conclusion hard to believe. I

just think that the systemic

under-valuation of women

in our society is difficult

to overcome. My 19-year

old daughter, Charlotte, a

sophomore in college, got

fired up by this report: “I hate

this. The reason women put a

lower ideal job isn't because

they don't want it, but rather

because they've been told for

so long that they cannot and

will not get that job. Additionally, women

fear any negative outcome from their peers

so they avoid seeking higher jobs. Finally, it's

not that women don't want it, it's just been

indoctrinated into our culture and society that

a woman can't have that job, so why even

imagine it.” We need more of her youthful

indignation and impatience.

Two women who clearly have not been held

back by society or blocked by a glass ceiling

are Mary Ann Deignan and Liz Myers. Mary

Ann and Liz are tops in their field—equity

capital markets—at two of the biggest

financial institutions on earth. My interview

with them (page 4) is illuminating for many

reasons, not least because of the surprising

lack of obstacles in their path to success in a

male-dominated part of our industry.

There’s so much more in this issue that I hope

you enjoy. As always, thank you for your

feedback and ideas, I look forward to staying

in touch.

All the best,

Alexandra

I just think that

the systemic

under-valuation

of women in

our society

is difficult to

overcome.

http://www.starkdesignny.com

4 5SAYRA LEBENTHALFALL / WINTER 2015

BY ALEXANDRA LEBENTHAL

WOMENPOWERFUL, RESPECTED

I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the most powerful people in the capital markets—who just happen to be women. MARY ANN DEIGNAN is Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and LIZ MYERS is Head of Global Equity Capital Markets at J.P. Morgan. Their stories, different in detail but similar in outline, are instructive on many levels, not the least of which is for advisors to understand a little bit more about two of the professionals who bring new issues and secondary offerings to the markets. We finally got them in a room together last month, so here goes:

6 7FALL / WINTER 2015 SAYRA LEBENTHAL

ALEX: You are two of the most powerful

women in the financial markets. Would you

tell me how you got to where you are today,

and at what point did you know that this was

the business for you?

MARY ANN: Since it took many more decades

for me to get here, I’ll go first and give my

younger comrade in arms, as if it were, the

opportunity to follow. [Laughs] I would say

that it was obvious early on that this was the

business for me because I loved the hunt. I

loved the personal challenge. But there was

always a sense very early on, again, a long

time ago, that I was not going to stay in it.

And it wasn’t because of me, but because

I was a young woman. But I have staying

power in my DNA, and it was noticed every

year that I would still show up or still be in the

seat or get the next promotion. The second

thing that made it clear this was the right

place for me was that I actually met with

very early success, and I found that this is a

fantastic business when you do meet with

the upside of this industry, and for me I was

fortunate to meet that early on. Relishing

the personal challenges quickly intersected

with the professional successes, and so for

me it was kind of a perfect combination early

on which made me stick with it through the

tough times and has actually also been the

thing that makes it easy for me to continue to

recruit women in this industry.

LIZ: I was an economics major in college and

at the same time I was pre-med, so I had this

crossroads moment, “Do I want to become

a doctor or do I want to go into business,

finance, or something else?” My roommate

of four years helped me about halfway

through college when I was struggling with

the decision. She said, “I want you to close

your eyes and picture yourself in five years.

Are you wearing a lab coat or a business

suit?” And I said without pause, a business

suit, and she said, “That’s it, you’re done! No

more organic chemistry!” And so that’s how I

started to steer that way.

I grew up in a family where we didn’t talk

about politics at the dinner table, we talked

about companies, we talked about stocks, and

so that was just something that was sort of in

my blood. When I came to J.P. Morgan they

said, “Okay, we’ll give you a shot.” I did three

years in corporate finance/M&A and went

back to business school.

When I left for business school I wasn’t

sure that I would come back—not because

I didn’t love it, but because I hadn’t tried

anything else. When I started looking around

at these other companies that would visit

campus, it just became clear to me how

privileged I was to have had the experience

at J.P. Morgan. I started listing the things

I loved about my job: diversity of content;

working with smart people; an abundance

of mentors and role models; and being at a

respected institution. When I compared that

experience to the summer I had working at

a consulting firm, I realized that there were

different types of client service. I really missed

the energy, the pace and the deadlines of an

investment banking career. There is a sense

of accomplishment and fulfillment every day

when you’re delivering for the client, things

that are due every day, every hour, that sense

of achievement. It was really unique. That was

why I came back. When I returned I joined

the equity capital markets group which had

much more to do with stocks than my M&A

role, which also got me back to that little part

of my roots of enjoying the stock market. I’ve

been in the group ever since.

ALEX: Capital markets is obviously more of a

male-dominated business. Do you agree? Do

you think that the path was more challenging

because you’re women in capital markets?

MARY ANN: You have to have an opinion in

capital markets. You cannot get away without

having a point of view and at times you really

have to defend your opinion and your point of

view in a market that could prove you wrong

in a matter of minutes. So I think there is a

toughness and a little bit of a thick-skinned

quality that favors men, and men who are

not afraid to voice their opinion, to take the

microphone and really persevere over the

course of a transaction or a pitch or a career.

I do think there is a scarcity of women in

capital markets, maybe in part because of

that, but I also think that it’s a place where

a really thoughtful answer or a thoughtful

approach to something is differentiating

and accepted. It has allowed me—who is

maybe not the loudest person in the room, or

banging the table the most with respect to

my opinion—to prevail by expressing what I

think is the best thing for a particular client to

do. So I agree with you [that it is challenging],

but my experience has shown that there

are lots of ways to win and finding out what

works for you is really important—whatever

part of this business you’re in.

LIZ: My response is definitely shaped by my

experience in capital markets at J.P. Morgan,

which happens to be one of our most diverse

areas within investment banking. That’s

always been the hallmark of our group. I’m

really giving credit to my former bosses for

engendering that type of inclusiveness, which

is why I think women have always felt very

comfortable in our group. It’s an area that

values analytic rigor in the thought process

and, as Mary Ann said, values insight. Being

a subject matter expert comes from being

diligent, thorough and insightful. If you can

find a role for yourself that values those types

of criteria, it works well for men and women,

black, white, etcetera.

ALEX: Are there more women in capital

markets today than when you both started?

MARY ANN: I think it’s about the same. In

any given year, I’ll observe, “Gee, it feels like

I GREW UP IN A FAMILY WHERE WE DIDN’T TALK ABOUT POLITICS AT THE DINNER TABLE, WE TALKED ABOUT COMPANIES, WE TALKED ABOUT STOCKS, AND SO THAT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT WAS SORT OF IN MY BLOOD. — LIZ MYERS

CANDID CONVERSATIONS WITHPOWERFUL, RESPECTED WOMEN


things have really come more into balance,”

when there’s either a big class of new recruits

or we’ve had a banner year of lateral hires.

And then another year, I’ll think, “Oh, we’re

slipping, what’s going on?” But as I look back,

on balance, I would say it’s pretty steady.

LIZ: I did notice that when we were

introducing our summer intern class this year,

I think we had nine interns and six of them

were women, which is very interesting and

encouraging.

ALEX: Do you make it a point to try and

mentor women that are in your group?

MARY ANN: I do, all in the spirit of being fair.

You know I have to be careful, and I’m sure

Liz does as well, in the roles that we have. We

have a big team everywhere in the world and

it’s important that everyone feels like they

have access to me, and no one has a special

place or special set of opportunities. But that

said, I recognize what many of these young

women don’t even recognize themselves yet.

They’re looking around and not really seeing

a lot of people who are just like them and

having to deal with being a young woman on

a desk, or in a seat, or in a group where there

just aren’t as many. I am always thinking, “If

you want someone to talk to or you want to

ask someone how to handle a situation, you

should just know I’m always here.” And it

extends actually beyond my team. I also do a

lot of that mentoring and coaching formally

and informally more broadly around the bank.

LIZ: What I’ve noticed is that the youngest

women in our group feel very comfortable

asking to meet with me. I do notice there

are two types of those meetings though: It’s

either, “I really love this business and I just

want you to know, and I’m eager,” which I love,

and then there are the opposite ones, where

they say, “I’m leaving.” I always feel like it’s

such a bummer because they’re making and

forming this deeper relationship with me on

their way out and I think that if they had just

come in for the first type of meeting, maybe

we wouldn’t be at this second one. There

was this one woman who worked in business

management in another part of the firm and

she said, “I’m leaving for this job in investment

banking at another firm.” I said, “Why aren’t

you staying with us?” and she said, “Well, this

job came up and it’s kind of what I wanted,

and it didn’t seem that easy to get it here.” I

thought: ‘if you would have just told me this

before we could have worked this all out’.

ALEX: How important have mentors been for

you and your careers?

MARY ANN: Extremely important. I’ve never

been one to have formal mentors; in fact, I’ve

always found that whenever there was an

intentional match, it never really worked. It

always felt a little bit artificial. But I think there

are a few people who come to mind today

who were influential in my career. I’m not

sorry to say they were all men but I actually

tell young women all the time, “Don’t think

you’re just going to learn how to be successful

in your career from another woman,” because

there are lots of ways to be successful and,

well, men are still more prevalent in senior

positions and are very often in the seat that

hands out the opportunity or the next big

role or their promotion. I think there were

two or three senior men who, at different

points in my career, took me under their wing.

My mentors were incredibly influential with

either how I carry myself in a good situation

or bad situation or how to become a better

manager, or how I learned to hire people

better or whatever it was. So it’s important to

have mentors and it’s important to be open-

minded about who that mentor is.

LIZ: I’ve definitely had a number of mentors,

in different phases of my career. Actually a lot

of them have been men, and some have been

women. I think of Jimmy Lee, of course, being

my most significant mentor, so his death was

a great loss for me, but I also think it gives

me a call to action, which is: how can I pay

that back to others? I think about not just the

mentorship, because you can get mentorship

from a lot of people, but the sponsorship, and

the advocacy that he had for me externally

with clients. If he was sending an email to

the client just reminding him or her why we

wanted a piece of business, he would often

insert my name and say, “You will get Liz

Myers, who is the best around.” Internally he

would highlight my capabilities, especially

with people who may have moved into a

seat that could be influential for succession

planning. And if that person didn’t know

me that well, he would work a little bit on

them and also work on me to make sure

that visibility was happening. Even at his

funeral reception, so many people said to

me, “He always told me what he thought

you should do next, and you know all these

things.” It was just very nice to hear that,

and it really struck me that it’s so important

not just to mentor someone but to advocate

for them, particularly for women, who won’t

always be the ones raising their hands the

highest for that available position or might

have moments of doubt. And I certainly had

moments of that myself….

ALEX: So, you guys are competitors – what’s

that like and have you ever been mistaken

for one another?

MARY ANN: I’ve told Alexandra the story

before, and I don’t think you ever heard it from

me, Liz, but I have definitely been in meetings

before where it’s clear we are following J.P.

Morgan by a day or a week or even your

timeslot on a given day and I know you were



just here. I have heard a client saying, “There

was this other very strong woman!” And I

always say, “I know who that is!!”

LIZ: We definitely stand out. The power

of two. It’s nice to have two of us in these

roles though, it really is. I think it sends a big

message to the world about the opportunities

that exist for women in business. It’s really

tremendous.

MARY ANN: I agree. We do compete, of course;

we both have that DNA or we would never

have gotten to these roles, but I think it’s very

important and I am particularly conscious of

this when I’m working with Liz. I don’t get to

work with her as much as I would like to, but

I want my team to see us get along. Some

people think the competition ends when the

deal prices, but I think the competition ends

when you get your role and when you’re

both working for the client. When you’re

working with the client, the best way to do

this is to get along. I really like my team to

see that the women who are at the forefront

are really changing the way Wall Street firms

work together and we’re going to collaborate.

There’s time for competing and there’s a time

for collaboration, and it’s better for clients

if we collaborate so it’s a pleasure always to

work with her.

LIZ: I remember there was this one IPO that

both our firms were working on together

and the client was being particularly difficult

about accepting the group’s recommendation.

I just remember Mary Ann speaking out,

and I was just thinking, “That was such an

amazing point!” I was just so glad that she had

articulated it so well and that it resonated with

the client. If it’s some other competitor, you

always want your team to sound better and

crisper and more impactful, so I thought how

interesting that I was silently cheering her on.

ALEX: That’s terrific. What’s the best deal

you’ve ever worked on?

MARY ANN: You know, I have a very hard

time picking one but there are two sorts of

categories that come to mind: One is I really

like working with entrepreneurs. I think the

firms I have always worked for are big global

companies and we don’t necessarily march

to the same drumbeat that an entrepreneur

marches to, so I’m always fascinated by them,

and I’m in awe of what…If they’re going public,

what they’ve been able to accomplish and

what capital we raise for them will enable

them to do in the future.

LIZ: I love the pricing calls. Someone’s often

crying, because they’re so happy.

MARY ANN: Right….I feel just slightly more

passionate about getting it done the right

way for them because everything they do

is wrapped up in the brands that they built

and you don’t want to disappoint any client

ever, but I really don’t want to disappoint

those clients. The second category that I

really love—and there have only been a few

transactions—are the women CEOs. They get

A-Game every single time, I am not going to

let you down…it’s just a very, very small club

and I feel obligated to really go to the mat for

women CEOs.

LIZ: I think my favorite one, at least in the

equities business, was the Alibaba deal,

which was just so unique from so many

perspectives. It was a great injection of

culture, learning, developing an understanding

of how Chinese clients operate—what their

personal motivations are and in what context

they culturally operate—which you don’t

always deal with. In the US business, you

deal with different personas and different

motivations that drive us, but in the US,

you’re not thinking that there are important

numbers or metaphors that relate to animals,

the symbolism in saving face and don’t point

at someone with your index finger. That was a

really fun deal.

ALEX: That was certainly an exciting deal.

Last question: SAYRA is a magazine for

female financial advisors, the so-called retail

market, and you are creating the products

that they sell—hopefully getting some help

on allocations—do you ever get to interact

with any female financial advisors? And do

you have any advice for them?

LIZ: I have interaction with Mary Erdoes

who oversees our private bank as part of

the asset management area, but I would

love the opportunity to get to know more

of the inner workings of the typical female

financial advisor’s brain, and if she interacts

with her client base in a different way than a

man. Is there a different approach in terms

of how she sells a particular security or deal

opportunity to women versus men? I would

love to have that conversation.

MARY ANN: Same here. I don’t get to interact

with them as much as I would like to, mostly

because of opportunity as opposed to

anything else, but I think I understand the core

nature of what they do. They give individuals

advice, they give their best advice, and I would

say that having been through decades now in

this industry and seen the ups and the downs

and how great it can be when you give a client

great advice and it works out really well for

them, and how bad it can be when some bad

actors in our industry broadly and collectively

have done bad things. We all carry baggage

around now because of that. Advice I would

give to them? I suspect most of them know

this already, but always be true to your client

because that’s what this business is about,

that’s what your business is about. Whether

it’s an individual client or corporate client, that

true North is never going to change and when

you veer too far from that, bad things happen.

ALEX: Great. Thank you both for your time and

for giving us this peek into your world. nS

MY MENTORS WERE INCREDIBLY INFLUENTIAL WITH EITHER HOW I CARRY MYSELF IN A GOOD SITUATION OR BAD SITUATION OR HOW TO BECOME A BETTER MANAGER, OR HOW I LEARNED TO HIRE PEOPLE BETTER OR WHATEVER IT WAS. — MARY ANN DEIGNAN


12 FALL / WINTER 2015

A lthough women have made a lot of

headway as successful entrepreneurs

and the statistics are promising, we still

have work to do. Women are starting

businesses at twice the rate that men

are. More than 30% of privately-held

businesses in America are run by women, and in the last 10

years the number of all women-owned firms has grown by

28.6%—compared to a 24.4% increase for all U.S. businesses.*

Women have been leaving the corporate life behind for more

than a decade, due to challenges like career-personal life

balance, fewer opportunities to climb the corporate ladder and

break through the glass ceiling, and gender discrimination.

Many of us said goodbye to our cubicles and said hello to

our own offices, creating environments with the kind of

values and life balance we couldn’t find in corporate America.

But according to the statistics, even though 30% of small

businesses are owned by women, a very small number of them

are making what the business world considers “real money.”

For example, of the businesses that generate more than $1M

in revenues, only 1.8% are women owned. Why is that number

so small? In part because women have less access to capital to

grow their businesses. We need to help change that.

We continue to hear and read about amazing women in

our industry as well as in other industries who are inventing

products or establishing services that you may find useful

in your busy life. SAYRA editors talked briefly to two such

women who used their skill, ingenuity, passion, and drive to

become successful entrepreneurs. We were impressed; we

think you will be, too.

We asked both Nikki Kaufman at Normal and Carly Zakin and

Danielle Weisberg at theSkimm why they decided to become

entrepreneurs and start their own firms, what were their

challenges, and the advice they would offer to our readership.

I believe you will enjoy their insight and inspiration.

ENTREPRENEURS

LOVEWE

By SAYRA editors

* From Growing Under the Radar: An Exploration of the Achievements of Million-Dollar Women-Owned Firms

13SAYRA LEBENTHAL

Nikki Kaufman


A lot of women are afraid to step out on their

own and start a company; they’re afraid to be

entrepreneurial. It can be very difficult and scary,

and it is a challenge, too. So those fears are real.

I would say that the highs are really high and

the lows are really low and that’s to be expected

in the beginning. The fun part is you have the

ability to create something. Every day we might

see a problem with what we’re building here,

but it’s fun to solve the problems, it’s fun to

create. I’m really enjoying the fact that there

are so many things that come together for us:

retail, factory, a lot of unique challenges that I’m

learning about. As I mentioned, each day may

present new challenges, but as long as you’re

passionate about what you’re building, then

I’d say you’re in the right place!

Nikki Kaufman, Normal CEO and Founderhttps://nrml.com/

“I had the problem of ill-fitting earphones

my entire life. As an athlete, I was a swimmer

in college and I also did a lot of running

for cross-training, but I never had earplugs

that fit. They would fall out. I didn’t think

much of it then because I never thought I

could fix the problem. I looked into getting

a custom pair and realized that the process

was incredibly cumbersome. It’s a $2,000

price tag. You go to an audiologist and

they pour silicone in your ears and it’s

very uncomfortable and cumbersome and

unacceptable. But after working at other

firms and exposed to production and

manufacturing techniques, I realized there

was a better way to make better fitting

earphones. As the co-founder of Quirky,

a consumer products company, I was

exposed to leading advances in 3D printing,

production and manufacturing. I soon

realized how quickly I could go from a photo

to a custom-fitting product so that’s when

we started Normal which is headquartered in

Chelsea, New York.

I have experienced many challenges. It’s not

just a company, it’s a brand, it’s a factory,

it’s a store, it’s also two apps. An iPhone

app and an android app. A lot of pieces

had to come together. And Normal is the

only company that uses 3-D printing to

mass-produce a consumer product. The

parts that were the hardest, for example,

the supply chain and making a customized

product at scale, and able to go in under

three hours, we’ve actually really dialed that

in, proving to be very successful at that. The

biggest challenge so far has been spreading

the word, and marketing. Very few people

know about it yet so that’s something we’re

striving to achieve—to spread the awareness

this holiday season.

Normal headphones (left). Interior of the Normal store (above) an exterior shot of the flagship store in Chelsea (right).

I HAD THE PROBLEM OF ILL-FITTING EARPHONES MY ENTIRE LIFE.

— NIKKI KAUFMAN

https://nrml.com/


things can change in an instant. That also

keeps every day interesting. The greatest joy

for us in creating theSkimm is the feedback

we get from people saying they love

theSkimm and have connected with news in

a different way because of it.

Our advice to entrepreneurs would be the

types of things we did in the beginning—

forming the network of advisors to ask for

help and advice. Think about creating an

advisory board—that’s basically a group of

people you have a relationship with where

you turn to them for their insight. It’s a great

way to help build connections when you’re

first starting and get practical advice as

issues arise in your company.

One of our investors told us a helpful hint

in deciding whether we wanted to make

someone an official advisor in our network—

there are friends of the company and then

there are advisors. Someone can be helpful

at different points in your company’s lifecycle

and that’s great. An advisor is someone you

have a relationship with meaning they have

equity in your company that vests over a

period of years, so you better want them to

be around for the long term. And know that

they will roll up their sleeves and help—or not,

if that’s what you need. Good luck! nS

WE STARTED theSKIMM FROM OUR LIVING ROOM COUCH IN JULY 2012.

— DANIELLE WEISBERG & CARLY ZAKIN

Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, Co-Founders, theSkimmhttp://www.theskimm.com/

We produce a daily email newsletter

that breaks down what’s going on in the

world so you can start your day off right.

theSkimm makes it easier to be smarter. We

read. You Skimm.

We started theSkimm from our living room

couch in July 2012. We are former NBC News

producers who loved storytelling. We saw

that our friends who are smart and on the go

didn’t have a news source that fit into their

routine or that they really enjoyed coming

back to each day. So we started one. We

were first-time entrepreneurs so everything

was new to us—from hiring to finding an

office space to fundraising.

From the beginning, we reached to anyone

we knew who had started something

before. We were lucky enough to have

people generous enough to meet us for

coffee and give us advice. Forming a

network of people we could go to for help

with even basic questions was the best

thing we did in the beginning.

The toughest challenge is that no day is the

same. You never know what to expect and

Founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin (above) and the homepage of theSkimm’s website (left).

http://www.theskimm.com/


ALEXANDRA LEBENTHAL INTERVIEWS CO-

FOUNDER KEN LANGONE

YOURPHONE

IS A MAGIC WAND

BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN,

PHILANTHROPIST AND CO-FOUNDER

OF HOME DEPOT, KEN LANGONE,

SHARES HIS LIFE EXPERIENCES, HIS

SECRETS OF SUCCESS, HIS WALL

STREET BEGINNINGS, AND WHO

HELPED HIM ALONG THE WAY. HIS

ADVICE IS TRULY INSPIRATIONAL.

ALEXANDRA: Ken, thanks for taking

the time to join me. To begin, please

tell me about how you started. How did

you grow up and get to where you are

today?

KEN: I grew up in a very modest family,

financially, on Long Island. As far back

as I can remember I was always an

entrepreneur. For example, I sold wreaths

at Christmas, I worked in a post office, in

a supermarket, at a gas station and on

construction on one of the buildings on

the Long Island Expressway, all before

I was 18. Then I went off to college and

was a cigarette representative for RJ

Reynolds on campus, I sold stationery to

incoming freshmen for LG Balfour and I

bought an old refrigerator in a thrift shop

and sold beer to kids on credit. I was

always inclined to figure out a way to

make a buck.

I started out as a so-so student at

high school, but I woke up in college

academically at Bucknell and did better.

I went to NYU at night and got my MBA,

and then worked for the next five years

at Equitable Life in their investment

department – they called it an Analyst,

but all you were was a punk.

I had obligations, so for those five years

I was in the Army reserves until the end

of the obligation, but then I got called

back into the Army because Russia had

built a wall around Berlin, and Kennedy

activated 100,000 reservists, and I was

one of them. I thought I was unlucky, but

it turned out it was a big break because

while I was in the Army, back in May of

1962, the market crashed – the biggest

crash since 1929 – I remember being at

Fort Bragg and saying “Holy Christ, this

is an opportunity of a lifetime!” I had one

view and the world had another.

I must have had 40 interviews with

every imaginable firm – Clark Dodge,

White Weld, Goldman Sachs, Merrill

Lynch, Kidder Peabody, Lee Higgins,

and I couldn’t get a job because

everyone was offloading people. It was

a bad time. Then I met a guy from a

little firm called R.W. Pressprich – he

was a partner – and he said to me,

“You know, kid, I would love to hire

you – I think you’re on fire – but we

can’t afford it.” So I left his office and I

walked downstairs. But I really was hell-

bent – I wanted to work on Wall Street,

I had my MBA and I understood things

pretty well. I’m thinking that when I

started at Equitable I was making $82

a week and when I left to go back into

the Army in September of 1961 I was

making about $8000 a year. I had had

two or three nice pay increases. So, I

was in Pressprich’s lobby at 80 Pine

Street, and turned around and went

back up and asked the receptionist, “Is

Mr. Cullen there?” and she said, “Yes,

he’s here.” He comes out and said, “Did

you forget something?” and I said, “Let

me ask you a question: How much do

you pay a secretary?” I had one child

and second one on the way – he was

born in September of 1962 – he said to

me, “$150 a week.” I said, “You pay me

$150 a week and I’ll take the job. I’ll go

sell for you.”

Within two years, I was making more

money than any partner in the firm by

a huge margin.… I went out and met

[Ross] Perot, and I signed him up and I

got the [Electronic Data Systems IPO] –

it was a homerun – and we incorporated

the firm from a partnership and I

became Executive Vice President, that

was in the Spring of 1968. In 1969, the

guy that was President did a very bad

thing, and I found out about it. What

happened was, I got a huge order for

stock, and he wanted me to wait to put

the order in, so he can buy stock for

himself first. He came to me and said,

“Do me a favor and don’t put the order

in for an hour, because I want to buy

some stock.” I said, “That’s not right, is

it?” And he said, “Oh no, no, no don’t

worry about it.” That’s when I got up

from my desk and went to the old man

and I said, “I’m out of here, because

that’s going to get somebody in trouble

some day and it ain’t going to be me.”

So they fire the guy. The next day….

in fact it was September 2, 1969, I was

made President. And then, I kept doing

deals. I took over the company and ran

it for 5 years. Within those 5 years, I met

Bernie [Marcus] and I liked him.

And that was my career…and till this

day – I’m 80 years old and I’m doing the

same thing. I’m probably looking at 5 or

10 deals right now.

ALEXANDRA: When you’re looking

at deals, what makes the difference

between you deciding to make an

investment and not?

KEN: Only one thing. People. And

nothing more. Just the people. You

win with good people, you lose with

bad people. Now, that’s easier said

than done, because a lot of that is

judgmental, and that’s a tough thing.

How many times do you get fooled

by people? I have, you have, right until

about a month and half ago, I was

fooled by somebody. But that was

always the walk-on point for me – can I

trust them? And were they reasonably

bright enough that they have a plan?

ALEXANDRA: One of the things I’ve

seen about you—which unfortunately

is unusual among people with a certain

level of wealth—is that you treat people

the same regardless of their station in

life. Tell me about that.

KEN: I don’t mean this pejoratively, but

I know all about the little people. I was

a little person. My father was a plumber,

my mother worked in a school cafeteria.

One of the things I did as a kid to make

money was caddy. I submit to you

and I mean this…but some of my skills

in judging people came from being a

caddy. It reached a point where after 2

or 3 years of caddying, I could listen to

a guy on the first hole and tell if he was

going to bitch [about a bad shot] or

blame it on me or take the rap himself. I

could tell whether he was nice, or when

we stopped at the half way house if he

was going to say, “Get yourself a Coke,

kid”, or “Get yourself a sandwich and

a Coke, kid.” Now, don’t ask me where

those antennas came from. I think you

have to work at it.

ALEXANDRA LEBENTHAL INTERVIEWS HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER KEN LANGONE


I think frequently, Alexandra, that I

would’ve been one of those little people

if not for my good fortune. It costs you

nothing to say thank you; it costs you

nothing. But the little people make the

difference in our lives. Like my mother

and father did. These people make your

life easier, and I just think it’s the right

thing to do. And don’t fake it. Let me

show you something: This is a picture

of my grandfather and my grandmother

– he lived in the hills east of Naples, he

left school when he was 6 years old – by

the way, that was their 50th wedding

anniversary and she never dyed her

hair – old Italian ladies didn’t dye their

hair. Look at his hand – until the day

he had a stroke at 72, he had a shovel

in his hands. I have no trouble relating

to the elevator guy or the waiter at the

Regency [Hotel]; it’s what I was and

what I am. At the end of the day, you are

who you were.

ALEXANDRA: Couple more questions:

Tell me how you think this business has

changed today versus when you were at

Pressprich?

KEN: I think it got better. It’s gotten away

from the “man of born knowledge.” I

think it’s easier for a kid to break in if he’s

got what it takes….particularly on Wall

Street. I think it’s more of a meritocracy. I

also think—and I really believe this—that if

we have a chance of keeping capitalism,

the best chance we have is for poor kids

to succeed and say, “It worked for me.” I

can say that! My old man went to the 8th

grade, my mother went to the 7th grade,

he was a plumber, she worked in the

cafeteria…look at me! It wouldn’t happen

in Italy. I asked my grandfather during

World War II, “Grandpa, you’re not going

back to Italy?” And he said, “No, there

was nothing there for me and that’s why

I came here.”

I wish I was 21, because the oppor-

tunities today are better than when I was

21. I think we’re learning a lot of lessons

– good lessons – about accounting

gimmick and tricks, businesses are more

solid, I think when you look at businesses

like Google and Yahoo and Microsoft,

you realize that they’re inhabited by tons

of kids, kids with no pedigree at all but

smart as a son-of-a-bitch. When you

look at what Perot did with EDS, and

look at what we did with Home Depot….I

had a kid call about a year and half

ago, his name was Mark Esposito and

he started out pushing shopping carts

in the parking lot in the East Meadow

Home Depot store 26 years ago. He

comes in, and I say, “What’s up?” He says,

“I want to tell you something. Last year,

I paid my parents’ mortgage off – this

was in April – and in December I paid my

mortgage off and I got a call yesterday

from my broker that my Home Depot

stock is now worth a million dollars, so

I’m a millionaire, and I want you to be

the first to know.” He started out for

$9.50 an hour, pushing carts and helping

people load their cars up, now he makes

about $350,000 a year, he gets stock

options. We have 3,000 kids today that

started at the lowest level possible who

are now multi-millionaires. 3,000!

ALEXANDRA: That’s fantastic and

I loved that answer, because there’s

so much pessimism right now about

America and I think for our readers who

are financial advisors who want to be

bullish about the investments they’re

putting their clients into, they’re going

to read your answer and they’re going to

love that.

KEN: Don’t sell America short. I’m going

to share a story [shows picture]….this is

a kid…you see this Marine? That’s his wife

and that’s his baby. He was a corporal

when he got out of the Marine Corps…

her family lived near Camp Pendleton in

California. So, they went to live with her

family for a couple of weeks until they

could get going. One morning, he comes

down for breakfast and this ad is ripped

out and it’s in his cereal bowl. That’s

the actual ad….his mother-in-law was

saying get off your ass and get out and

get a job…so he goes down to get a job,

and he gets a job at the Mission Viejo

store. He just retired as President of the

Northern Division, he ran 700 stores.

Previously he ran the West Division

where he ran 600 stores. He and his wife

said they wanted to give back, so here’s

what they’re doing – they live in Atlanta

– he’s buying old houses, fixing them

up and renting them out at discounts

to school teachers, rabbis, preachers,

priests….you tell me why America is not

great, okay?

ALEXANDRA: That’s great.

KEN: Alexandra –I think the oppor-

tunities in this country are the best

they have ever been. Look at Uber…who

would’ve thought? And there’s going

to be 50 Ubers in the next 10 years. But

not just technology….look at the stores.

Under Armour, Nike. Nike didn’t exist

and all you had were Keds and now

they’re all gone! Home Depot was three

guys—Bernie, Arthur and me—they

had no money whatsoever. They were

broke, had just been fired and 37 years

later we have 360,000 associates. And

80,000 more in the Spring and the Fall

for the seasonals, so we have almost half

a million people working for us in the

summer, the spring and the fall.

ALEXANDRA: That’s amazing. So great.

I want to ask you two questions about

women. Talk to me about where women

fit professionally in your book.

KEN: By the way, you know the guy, Joe

McFarland that just stepped down [from

Home Depot]? A woman is taking that

job – Carol Tome. The woman who runs

the Southern Division. A black woman

who started as a part-time cashier.

Where do they fit in my book? If they

can move freight, they got it. When I

stepped down as leader, I gave the job

to Bonnie Hill. Do you know Bonnie Hill?

ALEXANDRA: I have not met her.

KEN: So I gave her the job and I said, “I

want to tell you the sad thing about this:

People are going to look at you and say,

‘She got this because she’s black and

she’s a woman.’ Isn’t that sad, because

the truth is you got it because out of all

those [people] in the room, you’re the

one.” She had the job for 8 years and she

did a spectacular job. Where do they fit?

Where does she fit? If they make money,

if they can get the job done, I could give

a rat’s ass if they’re polka dot-skinned,

or if they’re half boy and half girl, ok?

Or if they’re 3 feet tall or 9 feet tall. You

gotta look at getting your best people

on the field. We live in an

extremely competitive

world – we don’t have

the luxury of doing

anything just for diversity

purposes, and people

have to stop running

to a lawyer and saying

“I was disadvantaged.”

Hopefully over time, we’re

going to be agnostic

regarding everything

except results. It’s all

good to acknowledge

that women have been

disadvantaged, which I

can see, that blacks have

been disadvantaged – we

have to put it in place. But

I say to kids in my charter

schools in Harlem, “I don’t

want one day for any one

of you to be hired because

of affirmative action. I

want you all to be hired because the guy

says I need that guy or need that gal

and they’re going to help me succeed if I

have them on my team.” That’s the best

outcome for everybody.

ALEXANDRA: Last question: Our

readers are female financial advisors.

Whether they’re dealing with somebody

who’s just starting out with a nest egg,

or with ultra-high net worth clients, any

advice for them?

KEN: Number one rule: Know your

client. Not just the numbers, but

psychologically. What are they like?

What is their propensity for risk? This

is text book stuff. Number two: Admit

when you’re wrong. It’s amazing in our

business the number of people who

stop calling the customer when the

customer gets banged up. That’s when

you want to call them and you want to

be honest: “I blew it, it didn’t work out

the way I thought it would, but stay with

me, I’ll try to fix it. I blew it.” So, honesty,

knowing not only what the client needs,

but what the client should have. Number

three: Be well informed. I learned this

trick from Jack Cullen, the guy who

hired me [at Pressprich]: When you’re

going to pitch an idea to somebody,

tell them all the negatives first. The

person is going to say, “What are you

telling me this for? Why are you telling

me I shouldn’t buy it?” “No, no…I want

you to know these are all the negatives

and now I’m going to tell you why you

should buy it, which should outweigh

the negatives.” Because the client is

going to say, “Holy smokes, I thought I

knew everything.”

And for Christ’s sake, keep making calls!

When I go to the trading room, I say to

the kids: “Do you know what this is?”

They say, “It’s a phone.” I respond: “Oh

no, no, no…this is a magic wand. It’s

amazing because when you pick up the

phone and you call somebody, you talk

to them.”

ALEXANDRA: That is the best piece of

advice I’ve ever heard!!

KEN: Stay on the phone and keep talking

to a client. Particularly today, phone calls

are so cheap! You can make calls for

practically nothing. When you have bad

news, call them….be the first one to tell

them. Don’t wait for them to call you,

because by that time it’s too late.

ALEXANDRA: Perfect! Perfect!

Thank you. nS

NUMBERONE RULE:KNOWYOURCLIENT”

“

23SAYRA LEBENTHAL22

IT’S NOT NEWS THAT EVEN THE MOST

powerful women can find it challenging to

embrace and grow their wealth. Despite the

best intentions, factors ranging from a lack

of confidence to lower paychecks to family

responsibilities can all get in the way of

successfully pursuing an investment plan.

As a result, women generally are under-

prepared for retirement and other major

financial goals. The numbers are pretty

stark. According to BlackRock’s 2014 Global

Investor Pulse Survey, American women have

accumulated only half the retirement savings

of men: $34,900 vs. $76,800. Women also

keep more money in cash, which holds them

back even further.

The savings gap is particularly troubling

given that women live longer than men—the

average 65-year-old-woman today can expect

to live 88.8 years compared with 84.6 for

men. That’s more time with less money.

But women don’t just need to create a shift in

their investment attitudes and actions; they

need to take the reins both for themselves

and their families—to set concrete investment

BY HEATHER PELANT

WOMEN ANDTHE COMING

WEALTH WAVE

Cre

dit

: Sim

on

Sees

24 25SAYRA LEBENTHALFALL / WINTER 2015

children, which eats directly into our bottom line: we still earn

78 cents for every dollar earned by men. And divorce will

usually hit a woman’s finances disproportionately hard.

Scaling these financial challenges isn’t easy, but it reinforces

the need for women to embrace the idea of building wealth

as a way to support all their competing priorities. Women

shouldn’t feel like they have to do this solo—advisors who

understand and put all of these priorities into focus add

immeasurable value.

TAKE DOWN THAT WALLThe third mindset shift—dismantling women’s own inner

barriers—may feel like the most difficult but it’s the one they

have the most control over. Within our research, women

express more concern than male counterparts about their

ability to balance the needs of today with the needs of

tomorrow. This concern would, understandably, lead women to

mentally distance investing and wealth creation as something

separate from the rest of their lives. It is often reported that

while women are capable investors, they aren’t confident.

So how can we help women silence the internal obstacles

that interfere with smart investment decision-making? The

first step is for them to recognize their tendencies and bring

them into the open by talking about them. They’ll find out that

they’re not alone, which can make them more open to advice.

And when I meet women who are weighed down by a lack of

confidence or worry, which can result in inertia, I counsel them

to take the intelligence, ambition and risks that they’ve built

through their other life achievements and port it to building

their wealth. Confidence is a transferable asset.

Ultimately, we can help women ride the wealth wave by

making investing a cradle-to-grave, always-on activity. It’s not

only part of their reality—it’s what makes that reality better. nS

goals, develop a smart strategy, and follow through.

The reason is simple: in coming years, women will control

two-thirds of the wealth in the U.S., or $25 trillion by 2020,

according to wealthmanagement.com. They’ll do this by

earning it themselves and inheriting it (from parents and

spouses).

A female wealth wave is coming, and navigating it will require

major mindset shifts—within the financial industry, from

society at large and among women themselves. Trusted

advisors have a critical role to play in helping women and their

families prepare for this shift.

A FINANCIAL SERVICES WAKE-UP CALLIn the years ahead, more women are going to be the primary

financial decision-makers. Yet, our industry can do more to

speak in a way that women can hear and want to engage

more fully in their financial lives. Three-quarters of women

under 40 report not getting financial advice, according to

CTI, the Centre for Talent Innovation. Research shows that

successful investors seek out advice, so this gap is troubling.

So how can we better engage women? There are two main

ways. One is to pay attention to how we communicate. Most

investors don’t like financial jargon like “alpha,” “alternatives,"

“passive investing” and so on. And we need to bear in mind

that women tend to be goal-focused rather than performance-

focused. Women tell us, “I want to send my children to college,”

and we respond by telling them to be more diversified. This

is a conversation in two different languages.

The second type of engagement will take a broader, more

concerted effort. It’s to more fully open the window and

develop a value proposition that resonates with women. The

more women feel welcomed and served, the more likely they

will become long-standing successful investors.

SOCIETAL REALITY CHECKI was speaking recently with a newly married couple about

their retirement plan, this was particularly clear. The wife was

an accountant and tax attorney, clearly good with numbers,

yet there was this tacit expectation that the husband would

handle the investments and finances. That’s the power of

gendered roles. Even as women are fiercely driven to succeed

professionally, they take a step back when it comes to wealth.

A simple step toward a more inclusive approach is to bring

both spouses into financial planning discussions. Asking open-

ended questions in a collaborative manner makes an advisor

approachable, and creates an environment most likely to lead

to open, trusting client relationships. Once trust is established,

women are loyal clients and more likely to refer their friends

and families.

At the same time, many women have a profoundly different

social reality from men. Many juggle multiple workloads of

home, career, and community involvement. More are likely

to on-ramp and off-ramp from the workforce to raise our

http://www.talentinnovation.org/Research-and-Insights/index.cfm?sorter=Finance#list

THAT’S THE POWER OF GENDERED ROLES. EVEN AS WOMEN ARE FIERCELY DRIVEN TO SUCCEED PROFESSIONALLY, THEY TAKE A STEP BACK WHEN IT COMES TO WEALTH.

Heather Pelant is a managing director

and head of personal investing

for BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory

group. Since joining the firm in 2003, she

also has served as the head of retail and

private bank distribution for Hong Kong,

Singapore and Southeast Asia, and head of iShares Canada.

Heather’s extensive industry experience includes representing Morgan Stanley Asset Management and the Morgan Stanley Consulting Services Group in

Honolulu, Seattle and San Francisco.

She earned an M.B.A. from the Kellogg

School of Management, an M.A. in Asian

Studies from the University of Hawaii and

a B.A. in Asian studies from the University

of Victoria.

24 25


Author’s Note: In this article,

I will discuss two of the most

fundamental and widespread

problems keeping women from

becoming financial planners.

In later SAYRA issues, I will

discuss the less clear-cut, more

problematic issues that may

be getting in women’s ways,

such as industry gender bias

or women’s own reluctance to

take professional risk. I will also

offer my own opinions as to

what may be needed to achieve gender parity in my field. Will it

be a natural process of evolution that will bring its own solutions

in time, or must something more disruptive and radical be done

to put women in the driver’s seat?

“Are we there yet?”

It’s the inevitable cranky backseat question, familiar to anyone

who has taken the kids on a long road trip. But it’s a question

that many women in the financial planning industry are also

asking themselves. Have we yet arrived in our profession, in

numbers sufficient to garner us the attention, respect and

equal pay we deserve?

Unfortunately, the answer is “no.”

It’s been said that a minority is not truly heard until it

represents at least 30 percent of a given group. At the end

of 2014, only 23 percent of all 71,000 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL

PLANNER™ professionals were women—just seven percentage

points short of having this voice. So close, but still so far away,

given that there has been no momentum behind the numbers.

Women have stalled at 23 percent of all CFP® professionals

for more than a decade now, even as the financial planning

profession has doubled in size and the CFP® certification is

now well-recognized by the public. We are still riding in the

backseat and, occasionally, we get cranky, too.

In 2012 Nancy Kistner, CFP®, Managing Director at US Trust,

Bank of America Private Wealth Management, wanted some

explanations for this “feminine famine” in financial planning.

She had just become Chair of the Certified Financial Planner

Board of Standards (CFP Board), the non-profit organization

that now certifies more than 72,000 individuals across the U.S.

One of her first official acts was to assemble an informal Kitchen

Cabinet of the women she considered pioneers in the profession.

“How,” she asked her Cabinet, “did you find your way into

financial planning?” Even more importantly, “Why?” There was no

single or conventional path, according to these women. Two had

been math teachers. Another earned her MBA and after a first

job as a financial consultant to the federal government, got tired

of dealing with faceless agencies. She wanted a job where she

could make eye contact with “real clients.”

Alexandra Armstrong, CFP®—profiled in the fall 2014 issue

of SAYRA as a nationally-recognized woman pioneer in

Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, Consumer Advocate for CFP Board

The Feminine Famine in Financial

Planning

the world of finance—recounted how she had started as a

secretary to Julia Walsh, the first female to acquire a seat on

the American Stock Exchange. At Alex’s mention of the word

“secretary,” a few of the women in the Kitchen Cabinet nodded,

remembering how their own entry jobs had been titled.

But on one point all of these women were in agreement.

Becoming a CFP® professional was the best and most

satisfying business decision they had ever made.

To Kistner, the dearth of women in financial planning thus

became even more perplexing. Her Kitchen Cabinet was

telling her that financial planning could be a great place for

women to grow and thrive professionally, but the data were

suggesting that the profession was not particularly attractive

to women. To explain the disconnect, research was clearly

called for, and the inquiry needed to be bold, ground-breaking

and comprehensive, surveying a wide array of populations of

interest inside and outside the financial planning industry.

Under Kistner’s leadership, CFP Board created the Women’s

Initiative (WIN) and in 2013 launched a year-long exploration

of the issues. Researchers first met with firm executives,

educators and financial professionals both with and without

CFP® certification to gather qualitative data on the gender

issue in financial planning. A quantitative study followed,

soliciting information from approximately 1,800 respondents

drawn from the major segments of the financial services

industry. The study’s findings were memorialized in a white

paper, “Making More Room for Women in the Financial

Planning Profession,” released by CFP Board at a public event

held in New York City in April 2014.

What we found out was eye-opening. What must be done

to get more women in the profession poses some clear, but

difficult, challenges.

YOU CANNOT BE WHAT YOU DO NOT SEE The financial planning profession is the new kid on the financial

services block, having been around for only 40 years or

so. As an emerging practice, it brought together pieces of

related, much older financial fields— insurance, accounting,

brokerage, investment advisory and estate planning—into a

comprehensive approach to helping individuals and families

set and reach their financial goals.

Not until the formation of CFP Board in 1985 did the profession

truly begin to step out from the shadows of its professional


progenitors. Through CFP Board’s establishment of rigorously

defined certification requirements in terms of education,

examination, experience and ethics, the practice of financial

planning has become a distinct professional discipline.

The public’s recognition of financial planning as something

different from “just investing” or “just selling insurance” has

been later in coming, and the confusion still persists to a

certain degree. Furthermore, it appears that this confusion is

not evenly distributed between genders. Women significantly

trail men in their understanding of what financial planning and

the CFP® certification is all about.

In CFP Board’s 2013 study, men and women financial

professionals who did not consider themselves to be financial

planners were asked to rate the degree of their familiarity

with what a financial planner does. Male respondents were

more than two times as likely to put themselves in the “very

familiar” category compared to the women (53 percent for

men, versus 22 percent for women). At the other extreme—

“not very or not at all familiar”—the numbers reversed: women

were more than two times as likely as men to put their

knowledge of financial planning in this category (11 percent

for men, 25 percent for women).

It’s hardly surprising that a lack of awareness of a particular

profession would be a major impediment to choosing that

profession as a career. But what is surprising is what happens

when this awareness deficiency is eliminated. Here again the

responses of men and women were significantly different.

A majority (58 percent) of women who were “very familiar”

with financial planning were interested in pursuing the career,

compared with a minority (44 percent) of men. These numbers

suggest that once a full and accurate description of the role

of a financial planner is given, the message resonates more

powerfully for women than for men. Back to what Kistner’s

Kitchen Cabinet were getting at: it’s a great career for women.

FINANCIAL PLANNING: THE INSIDER VS. THE OUTSIDE VIEWBeyond the gender gap in terms of awareness of the financial

planning profession, there is also a perception gap between

women financial professionals without their certification and

women CFP® professionals. In short, an outsider’s view of the

profession bears little resemblance to what an insider sees

and experiences.

In focus groups held with the insiders—including students

working toward their CFP® certification or women CFP®

professionals themselves—a financial planning career was often

described in terms of “helping” or “making a difference in the

lives of individuals or families.” Insiders saw the career fostering

creative problem-solving rather than rote number-crunching.

According to one CFP® professional: “The work is never boring.”

Students also liked the idea that a discipline so immediately

practical and relevant to their own lives was something they

could teach to, and share with, others. Younger women CFP®

professionals particularly emphasized that the certification

gave them the credibility and confidence they needed

to advance in a profession where clients are apt to be

significantly older than themselves.

The quantitative survey reinforced this insider view of financial

planning, but also defined a significant contrast between

this view and that held by women financial professionals

who did not have their CFP® certification. The two groups

were provided with a number of statements about the

profession and asked to indicate if they “strongly agreed”

with the statement. Here are the percentages of each group

committing to the following statements: (see chart.)

Women who don’t hold the CFP® certification were also

approximately two times more likely to assert that financial

planning requires strong sales skills, and nine times more

likely to agree that planning entails picking the right stock

and bond investments for clients, than were the women CFP®

professionals in the survey.

So here again appears the reductionist view that holds that

financial planning is “just investing.”

Fortunately, there are relatively obvious solutions to address

the lack of understanding and misperceptions about financial

planning among women. More must be done to increase

awareness particularly among girls and young women about

the CFP® certification and the process of financial planning,

and more insiders need to be talking to the outsiders to get

the story of financial planning straight. CFP Board recently

created a WIN Advocate program which equips CFP®

professionals with materials and messaging to go out in their

communities and speak to female audiences about their

experiences as financial planners and the ways in which their

relationship skills and communication strengths as women are

ideally suited to a career in financial planning.

But messaging, while necessary, is not sufficient to bring more

women in. It is critical that as more women are attracted to the

profession, they are also welcomed and supported once they

get there. This is the harder challenge, as it involves changing

attitudes and practices that may have worked to build the

profession 40 years ago, but are now threatening its growth as

well as its relevance in a world where financial decision-making

is no longer the province of men. nS

Strongly Agree that Financial Planning:CFP®

Professional women

Non-CFP®

Professional women

Requires strong communication skills 93% 61%

Requires strong listening skills 94% 58%

Looks at client’s situation holistically 91% 51%

Is primarily about building relationships 80% 49%

Requires a strong understanding of financial markets 40% 62%

Is a highly ethical profession 56% 35%

WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF THE FINANCIAL PLANNING PROFESSION

Eleanor Blayney, CFP® is the Consumer Advocate for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, reaching out to consumers to help them understand how financial planning and CFP® professionals can improve their lives. The author of "Women’s Worth", a book about how women can make the most of their financial lives, Eleanor worked with individual clients for more than twenty years to help them articulate and plan for their financial goals. As the only woman partner in a four-partner firm, Eleanor drew upon her female intuition, communication strengths, and facility for sustaining relationships to help build a wealth management firm that has served hundreds of clients in the Washington, D.C.

metro area and around the country. Passionate about finding ways to foster gender parity in the financial planning profession, Eleanor helped to spearhead CFP Board’s Women’s Initiative (WIN) to address the industry’s “feminine famine.” On behalf of the WIN Advisory Panel—comprising leaders in the area of women in financial services—Eleanor authored Making More Room for Women in the Financial Planning Profession, a 2014 white paper which presents the findings of a comprehensive research study on why there aren’t more women CFP® professionals and offers the WIN Advisory Panel’s recommendations to help attract more women to the profession.

Eleanor holds a number of degrees and designations. She earned an MA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge UK and an MBA from the University of Chicago. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Well-known as a conference speaker and frequently quoted in the news media, Eleanor has played a pioneering role in building and shaping the financial planning profession. She has taught for the College of Financial Planning, and has helped to develop practice standards and ethical requirements for CFP® professionals in the U.S. Visit Eleanor on CFP Board’s website at http://www.cfp.net/learn/advocate.asp or follow her on Twitter at @EleanorBlayney.

INSIDERS SAW THE CAREER FOSTERING CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING RATHER THAN ROTE NUMBER-CRUNCHING. ACCORDING TO ONE CFP® PROFESSIONAL: “THE WORK IS NEVER BORING.”

http://www.cfp.net/learn/advocate.asp

SAYRA LEBENTHAL 3130 FALL / WINTER 2015

By Adri Miller-Heckman

The Six Steps

Female Advisors Find New Path to Success

As a woman you bring amazing strengths and talents to an industry mired in egos and less-than-ethical behavior. You have succeeded by adapting to the more traditional business model even when the process and methods felt totally

unnatural to you as a woman.

For some, you were destined for the role as a financial advisor from an early age. Supported by parents and others who encouraged your independence and fed your confidence, NO wasn’t an option. For others you simply fell into the business, sometimes by default. It was a job, income and an opportunity, but then you saw the impact you could have on the lives of others and a fire was lit in your soul. You knew this was where you wanted to be, doing what you wanted to do.

Regardless of your scenario, the road was never easy as you traversed the industry road blocks, gender biases, and even self-imposed limitations. You have spent years juggling the demands of family and the unspoken pressure from an industry that struggled to accept your value and ability. But you were committed to your purpose even when your energy waned and your optimism was shattered by compliance and challenging markets. At times, you were driven only by your sense of loyalty to your clients; it was their appreciation of your work that kept you afloat.

Let’s face it— for most women, your business has been fueled solely by discipline, hard work and your sheer determination to succeed, yet underneath it all you knew there had to be a better, more effective way to succeed. You knew it didn’t have to be so challenging, so painful, but straying from the traditional methods often attracted unwanted attention and less than positive feedback. In most cases, it was safer to stay under the radar rather than to stir

up attention with new and creative ideas.

But times have changed; women have proven their worth in the financial services industry. Firms are scrambling to hire more female advisors, not because they are filling court-mandated quotas, but because they recognize the value (and revenues) female advisors can bring to the business.

As women, we must recognize this shift and use this new position in order to make positive changes, not just simply to enhance our path to success, but to transform a stodgy industry stuck in the mud. We must stop trying to prove our worth (been there, done that) and begin rebuilding using our unique strengths as women to re-design how business is done on Wall Street.

I have spent more than 10 years coaching female advisors and, to me, the path to success for women is quite simple. When you build your business, process, and marketing strategy around your strengths as a woman, amazing things happen. Your passion and enthusiasm for what you do is immediately rekindled. You will begin to see that what you thought was possible, what you dreamed you could accomplish is right there at your fingertips. This shift will not only transform your business and life but will also re-inspire your clients, engage and empower more women, and help you connect with the generations that follow simply by providing a new, more personal and authentic approach to doing business your way.

I realize not every female advisor has the time or resources to get the personal coaching they need to transform their business, but you can begin the process by following the 6 Steps to Success below. These 6 Steps have been extremely instrumental in helping many women advisors rediscover their true value as an advisor, recognize their ability as a woman in business, and provide a new path to success for women in finance.

33SAYRA LEBENTHAL

Steps to Success for Women Advisors

6

FALL / WINTER 201532

Let’s face it— for most women, your business has been fueled solely by discipline, hard work and your sheer determination to succeed...

Adri is President of

www.AdriMillerHeckman.com,

home of Keys to the Ladies Room,

the marketing to women resource for

financial professionals. She is an expert at

helping financial professionals market to

and engage women more effectively. Adri

is a highly passionate and motivational

coach and speaker who fully engages her

audience and inspires advisors to market

to the affluent woman. Adri’s coaching

career was preceded by an extensive and

successful career in the field. As a financial

advisor, she learned first-hand what it

takes to build a thriving and sustainable

practice targeting the women’s market.

Adri’s more authentic approach and

business building strategies coined her

as one of the pioneers in the women’s market. As a result of her success, she went on to become a national trainer for Smith Barney, and then Director of National Sales for Women and Co., a division of Citigroup.

Please visit Adri’s website at: www.AdriMillerHeckman.com and see her book, "The Keys to the Ladies Room".

Make sure every

aspect of your

marketing is

focused on what

your tribal market

needs and wants and let the message continually

reflect you, your new message, and new focus. Make

your marketing personal, warm, friendly and nurturing.

Try to avoid any financial language, and speak from

your heart focusing on WHY you need to know this,

WHY I care about you. Share your beliefs, desires and

mission as a financial advisor, but let it reflect you, your

life and your personality.

Redesign your marketing strategy

This message should reflect

your purpose, your tribal

market, the impact you want

to make on the lives of others.

Your compelling message

should be more about whom

you help rather what you do.

Don’t get caught up in the typical approach focused on

how smart and talented you are. Remember, they don’t

care what you know until they know that you care.

(Read about the complete process in my book, The

Keys to the Lady’s Room.)

Develop your unique message

Embrace who you are destined to help

Understand who your

tribal market is (not

target market). Your

tribal market is all

about the character of

the client. List the personality characteristics

of your favorite clients, understand who

they are i.e., goal- oriented, philanthropic,

determined, great savers, driven by faith,

nothing is off limits. Now make a list of your

own characteristics, what makes you who

you are, how others close to you would

describe you. Chances are in many ways

you are your tribal market. The size of assets

should only be a factor when recognizing

the value of your time, talents and energy.

Get to knowyourself again.

Examine the real you—

highlighting your talents, desires,

fears and flaws, leave nothing

on the table. Uncover what truly

inspires and motivates you, as

well as discovering the aspects

of the business that fill your soul. Identify your natural

strengths. List your unique strengths as a woman

without thinking as a financial advisor. Recognize

what makes you successful in other aspects of your

life, write them down, and own them. Now take each

of your strengths and recognize how that strength

makes you good at what you do as a financial advisor,

how it adds to your clients’ wealth management and

business growth.

You knew it at one point, but it

may have gotten buried in the

process of doing business. Why

did you get into this business

in the first place? What is it you really love

about what you do? Dig deep and go beyond

“helping people.” Helping whom? Helping how?

Peel the layers of the onion on yourself.

I encourage you to trust your instincts,

shed the traditional

industry protocol

and to re-launch your

message, brand and

focus with fresh conviction fueled

by your passion and purpose. This

is when the real magic happens.

Resurrect your true purpose.

http://www.AdriMillerHeckman.com

http://adrimillerheckman.com/tools/book-keys-to-the-ladies-room/




A CENTURY OFWISDOM, HONOR… AND

STORIES.100-YEAR-OLD IRENE BERGMAN SHARES A FEW OF HER LIFE EXPERIENCES BEFORE AND DURING HER 75 YEARS ON WALL STREET

By Alexandra Lebenthal

Irene Bergman, a 100-year

old stockbroker who has been

in the business for nearly

75 years, is an overnight

sensation. Last summer,

Bloomberg ran an article

about Irene, still actively

serving clients at New York-

based Stralem & Co., and it

quickly went viral. For weeks

thereafter, it seemed as if

everyone was asking me

if I had ever heard of Irene

Bergman! Unfortunately, our

paths had never crossed, but

I had to meet her and find

out her story. In particular,

I wondered if she knew my

grandmother, Sayra Fischer

Lebenthal. Sayra , who passed

away in 1994, was 17 years

older than Irene so they were

active at the same time.

I reached out to Irene and,

happily, she not only called

back but invited me to

lunch at her Upper East

Side apartment. Lovely and

trim, with the energy of a

woman half her age, Irene

was a marvelous host at her

proper dining table. While we

dined on smoked salmon and

pumpernickel bread, she told

me the story of her life. As it

turns out, her career on Wall

Street is the least of it.

Irene was born in Germany

in 1915 into a prosperous

family headed by her father,

a successful businessman. In

1934 when the Nazis came

into power, things began

changing for the worse for

Irene and her family. They

left in 1936, as she put it,

“Just before things really

got terrible.” They would

have left earlier, but Irene’s

father wanted to be sure

that he could help all of his

employees get jobs.

The family’s departure from

Germany began an odyssey

to escape the Nazis that

stretched across Europe and

ultimately led to the United

States. Settling first in Holland

and then Austria, the family

then took a run-down bus

through unoccupied France

and a train to Barcelona and

finally to Lisbon. Irene told

me that wartime Lisbon was

a haven for Jews on the run.

“Lisbon was full of refugees

from everywhere. You would

say ‘I wonder what happened

to so and so,’ and then you

would run into them on the

street.”

The ultimate goal was to

try and get out of Europe.

The family managed to

book passage on a boat

for Bermuda; there were

two Englishmen onboard—

who seemed out of place

to Irene—who ended up

capturing three German

spies trying to sneak into the

United States. Irene’s family

ultimately made it to New

York where some cousins

lived. Their long journey had

come to an end. Irene’s father

was one of the few Jews who

had managed to protect his

fortune, or so he thought:

Once they were settled in

the United States, he set up

instructions for his money to

be wired to him. But because

the funds were in enemy

territory, the funds transfer

was denied. Their family lost

everything.

Irene had always wanted to

be in the investment world.

In fact, as a young woman

she had wanted to be the

first woman to have a seat on

the Berlin stock exchange. In

1942 she started working at

Hallgarten & Company as a

secretary, and in 1957 she was

finally allowed to start dealing

with investments herself.

What was it like starting out?

“As a woman in 1957 I was

an oddity, but I loved the

challenge.”

Irene was crushed when

a young David “Sandy”

Gottesman and Arthur

Zankel, with whom she was

close, left Hallgarten in 1964

to start First Manhattan

and didn’t ask her to join.

Chalking it up to a founding

partner who didn’t like her,

Irene focused on her job, but

wasn’t happy. She moved

on to Loeb Rhoades for six

years, but a chance encounter

on the street with a former

colleague led her to Stralem,

where she has toiled happily

since 1975.

Irene said she had never met

my grandmother but knew all

about her and my family. It’s

too bad, because I think they

would have enjoyed each

other’s company. They share

a certain feistiness.

Irene looks back fondly on the

old days of Wall Street, when

firms were small partnerships,

not large, public companies.

In those days, partners had

to make decisions using their

own capital, not large balance

sheets.

Nowadays, Irene works from

her home, but she is still

active in dealing with her

clients. However, she is wary

of the markets. “I'm very

bearish now,” she said. “Even

the stocks I like, I wouldn’t

touch.”

I asked her if she had any

advice to women in the

business today. “Women have

to tough it out and find their

place in the business world.

Wall Street is no exception.”

In August, after the

Bloomberg story came out,

Irene was asked to ring the

bell at the New York Stock

Exchange to celebrate her

100th birthday. We join

in saluting her. Irene is a

testament to the struggles

and successes of those early

female pioneers in financial

services, and the embodiment

of all we revere at SAYRA. nS

Left to right, Irene Bergman, then and now, competing as a young equestrienne in 1938 and with Alexandra Lebenthal, New York City, 2015.

37SAYRA LEBENTHAL

There is no

in Team.

THE VIEW FROM FINANCIAL ADVISOR SUPPORT STAFF By Bella Patel,

Associate Editor

39SAYRA LEBENTHAL38 FALL / WINTER 2015

MICHELLE BRILLHART Lebenthal Wealth Advisors

How did you get into the business?

I started as temporary help with

Shearson Lehman Hutton in 1988. I

expressed my desire to learn as much

as possible about the business and the

branch manager’s assistant gave me a

comic book to read that was designed

to explain the stock market to kids. It

seems pretty funny now but we all have

to start somewhere! I became a Sales

Assistant at the branch and a few years

later, I joined the Managed Accounts

Product Division where I went on to

become a Regional and then Divisional

Analyst working with Financial Advisors

across the country on developing asset

allocation, money manager selection

and performance measurement for their

institutional and high net worth clients.

In my current position I get to do a little

bit of almost everything from my past;

it’s like I have been preparing for this my

whole career!

What do you like most about being in

the financial services business?

I like working with people, problem

solving and project management—

all things that come in handy in this

business. Also, the financial services

industry is very dynamic. There’s always

something new to learn. Working in

a smaller office as I do, I get to wear a

lot of hats; I never have to worry about

getting bored doing the same thing all

the time because every day presents

new challenges and opportunities.

What is your major contribution to your

team or your advisor?

To date, my biggest contribution has

been assisting the Financial Advisor I

work with in transitioning his book of

business over from his prior firm. Now

our focus is client service as well as

growing the business.

What one piece of advice would you

give to an advisor to improve his/her

business?

Manage client expectations. The more

you educate the client on what to

expect from their investments, the more

likely they are to stay the course over

the long term.

SUZANNE FLINN Sales Assistant, Hanson Financial Group, LLC


Initially, I had been Heidi Hanson’s client

and had taken early retirement from

my previous job in high tech. Although

Heidi assured me I could retire, I think

I’m like a lot of single women, and

suffered from the “bag lady syndrome”

(worried I’d run out of money if I

retired). This position opened up and

Heidi asked if I’d be interested in talking

with her. Having been an executive

assistant and having a keen interest in

finance and investments, it seemed like

a good fit. Knowing Heidi from working

with her as a client made it a no-brainer

for me to want to investigate further.

The rest is history and I love being able

to bring a client’s perspective to my job.

I treat each one of our clients as I would

like to be treated.



I love the variety of working to each

client’s specific needs and playing a

part in their comfort level with us as

their financial advisor, no matter the size

of their net worth. The majority of our

clients are women—many of whom are

divorced or widowed (going through a

difficult time in their lives)—and greatly

need our expertise and advice. The work

that I do and the service I provide makes

a difference in our client’s lives and that

is a wonderful feeling.



The more I can offload from my advisor,

the more it frees her up to concentrate

on what she needs to do for our

clients, building relationships and

tending to our business. I feel my major

contributions are my organizational

skills, building strong rapport with our

clients, excellent client service and

timely account follow-up.



business?

Take the time to take care of and nurture

yourself in order to be your best to serve

your clients.

JA’NET ROYAEL Lebenthal Asset Management


I started out as administrative support

for an asset management firm. During

my daily routine I began learning about

finances/investing and found it very

interesting – this is when I knew I really

wanted to be involved in financial

services.



every financial advisor knows that

competent support staff is an indispensable

element of a successful business. Wealth

management is constantly changing and

evolving—everything from best practices in

client service to compliance requirements

to technology—and in this environment an

advisor is only as good as her staff. They

are the conduit between management,

operations, clients and other departments,

the first line of defense in fielding inquiries,

and often have the closest day-to-day

relationship with clients.

“Our client associates are also relationship managers and are a crucial part of the business,” said

Carrie S Gallaway, CFP®, co-head of the Gallaway Stern Group at Lebenthal Wealth Advisors. Speaking

for FAs everywhere, she went on to say, “They are our partners and the backbone of the success of any

financial advisor or wealth manager. Behind every great advisor is a superb support team.”

I know this because I began my career as a sales assistant at a wirehouse in 1992, and now I hear

it from the FA teams I encounter on a daily basis. The good support teams work with efficiency,

pride and devotion; the great ones can help improve client retention and enable the business to

grow. These proud professionals are not only do-ers, they are thinkers. SAYRA talked with several

of these very busy professionals and asked them to share their stories and their perspective on

the business. We think you will agree that their advice is spot-on.


I am a “people person”. I enjoy the

day-to-day contact with our clients.

Clients like to have a relationship with

the people handling their money—you

develop a bond and build trust and

become an extended family—I like that.

What is your major contribution to

your team or your advisor?

Being the knowledgeable and trusted

member that allows our portfolio

manager the freedom to think about

investments and do research for our

client portfolios.

What one piece of advice would

you give to an advisor to improve his/

her business?

Always be honest and compassionate—

it doesn’t cost a thing!

DEBBIE MANLEY Sr. Client Associate, Smith Moore


I took a temporary summer job while

in high school working for an investment

banking and brokerage firm. I worked

in the wire room transmitting orders

and payments to home office and I was

eventually hired full time.

What do you like most about being

in the financial services business?

The Challenge. There is always

something new to learn as well as the

opportunity to share your knowledge.

What is your major contribution to

your team or your advisor?

It would be my 40+ years of experience

and knowledge, ability to navigate

the rules and requirements, and

organizational expertise.

What one piece of advice would

you give to an advisor to improve his/

her business?

Don’t give up. When a door closes,

don’t stop. There is always a way to

solve the problem and achieve your

goals! Be persistent.

KITTY MARTIN Lebenthal Asset Management


I started off as the administrative

assistant to the Chief Investment

Officer of US equity investments at

the firm formerly known as Bankers

Trust. I enjoyed the financial markets

so much that I have spent my entire

career in this field.

What do you like most about being

in the financial services business?

For almost my entire career, I have

worked on the buy side on U.S. small

cap growth investments. It has been

fascinating to see companies that

started out as IPOs become large cap

stocks during my career. On the flip

side, I have also seen IPOs crash and

burn, never to be heard from again.

Over the two decades that I have been

in the business, I have seen the impact

of globalization on the stock market.

It is amazing to see how the investment

business has changed as businesses

and economies have become more

intertwined globally.



My biggest contribution to the team

is to make sure that the business is

running smoothly so that the portfolio

manager and analysts can focus on the

most important aspect of the job—which

is stock-picking.



business?

Your business is as good as the staff

that help you manage and run it. Make

sure you hire good people and then

make sure they stay.

ALEX TUASON Lebenthal Wealth Advisors


I was working at the Bank of New

York when a client asked me if I ever

thought about branching out into asset

management. She worked at Smith

Barney and thought I would be a perfect

match for an open position at the

firm. After several weeks of interviews,

I joined the International Money

Management team within Citigroup

Asset Management.



The most gratifying aspect of working

in the financial service business is

the opportunity to cultivate client

relationships. Throughout my career,

I have been able to develop trusting

relationships with our clients. At times,

I have been able to establish multi-

generational relationships within one

family. I have been invited to baptisms,

bar mitzvahs, birthdays, graduations,

retirement parties and, unfortunately,

attended some funerals. I take pride

knowing that when it’s time for a client

to make a life event decision, my name

is near the top of the list of the trusted

inner circle.



My primary responsibility is to oversee

client relationship management which

includes personal banking and cash

management. I’m constantly reviewing

accounts, checking for irregular activity

or low balances. If a client is in need

of cash, I ensure they receive it in a

timely manner.



business?

A consistent client contact schedule

has been successful for our team. While

email is the popular communication

of choice, I find a phone call is a more

effective way of communicating. Clients

like to hear sincere reactions to the

concerns or events going on in their

lives. An email response is subjective,

whereas voice communication appeals

to one of the five senses. It makes it

more personal. nS

When a door closes, don’t stop. There is always a way to solve the problem and achieve your goals!

— Debbie Manley

43SAYRA LEBENTHAL

I HAD A BEAUTIFUL CLIENT NAMED

Elizabeth who was very sick with cancer.

She was so brave and I wanted to do

everything I could to help her through

her struggles.

During one of our meetings she told me

that she really needed a car that was

easier to drive because her lymph nodes

had been removed and she had a hard

time steering her car. So we discussed

her need for a new car, and about the

same time she told me her employer had

offered her a pension lump sum. So I

suggested I take a look at the figures to

determine if she could afford the car and

also if the amount was enough income

needed for her current lifestyle and

medical needs.

I had worked with other clients with

the same income and same age and

their lump sum numbers were quite

larger than the offer Elizabeth received;

it was important to call the benefits

department and ask for Elizabeth’s offer

to be recalculated. Soon after I noticed

my client’s numbers were wrong, the

company sent a letter out to everyone

saying they were recalculating everyone

who received an offer.

They went back and re-figured her

numbers and they were off by $100,000.

GOING THE “EXTRA MILE” IS A WAY

of life for Dignum Financial Partners.

We strive to demonstrate to our clients

that we are listening when they speak

and we care about their situations.

This is evident in many ways. Last year,

one of our clients, a single parent, had

accomplished her goal of saving for her

son’s college education. She worked

diligently at this goal knowing that she

would not receive any support from her

son’s father. She was ecstatic when her

son was accepted at Dartmouth College.

She decided to reward herself by

planning a short vacation while

accompanying him to school. During

our appointment, she elaborated on the

bed and breakfast inn she had found

close to Dartmouth and how excited

she was about her upcoming trip. We

immediately called the bed and breakfast

inn and, to surprise her, arranged to have

a gift basket with local “treats” waiting

for her arrival to further her celebration.

On another occasion, we were assisting

one of our clients who had recently

lost her husband of 57 years. She is a

brilliant woman in her own right — an

42 FALL / WINTER 2015

GOING THE

EXTRA MILE

200 Pies, Bed & Breakfast, and

Budgeting for Clients

E. Kim Dignum is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Chartered Financial Consultant and a General Securities Principal and Investment Adviser Representative through Commonwealth Financial Network. Kim provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management services. She is frequently quoted by national magazines and newspapers and has appeared on national television (Peter Jennings, World News Tonight) and radio (NPR) in addition to providing financial speeches to local organizations and corporations. Her outstanding reputation and commitment to the community is evidenced by the many boards and organizations

in which she participates. Her honors include being selected

by the U.S. Department of Labor as a mentor to their Wi$e Up

Program, selected as “Woman of the Month” by the National

Center for Policy Analysis, Women in the Economy, “Outstanding

Women in the Workplace” by the city of Fort Worth, and

“Women of Distinction” by Altrusa International, Inc. Kim is proud

to have been recognized as a Leaders Level advisor for 2012—a

distinction attained that year by just 7 percent of advisors

affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network.

GOING THE “EXTRA MILE” IS AN EFFECTIVE

WAY WE DEMONSTRATE HOW MUCH WE

CARE ABOUT OUR CLIENTS AND WELCOME

BEING A PART OF THEIR JOURNEY.

author, an artist and a poet — however,

she was totally unaware of her finances.

Not only was she mourning the loss of

her husband, but she was now facing

the fear of this unfamiliar territory. We

spent numerous hours with her educating

her about budgeting, writing checks,

establishing systematic payments as

well as evaluating her various insurance

policies. She was so thankful—stating that

“we were household words” to everyone

with whom she came into contact.

On a larger scale, we are sensitive to the

demands of the holidays. Many of our

clients are elderly and accomplishing

all the holiday planning can sometimes

become quite a challenge. Last year,

By Kim Dignum CFP®, ChFC

we ordered 200 pies from the #1 voted

bakery in our city. We sent an email to

our clients inviting them to select their

favorite pie (apple was the number

one choice), to be picked up from our

offices two days before Christmas. This

saved them quite a bit of time and it

was very much appreciated.

Unfortunately, many clients today have

come to expect poor customer service.

We strive to prove quite the opposite.

Going the “extra mile” is an effective

way we demonstrate how much we care

about our clients and welcome being a

part of their journey.

Jazz Concerts

and Donations

By J.B. Bryan

Jennifer “J.B.” Bryan is a pioneer, having launched the first Black-owned Registered

Investment Advisory firm in the Richmond, Virginia area in March of 1995 and serving

investors for more than 20 years. J.B. Bryan Financial Group, Inc. is an independent

RIA. J.B. earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Virginia, and

received her Master of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.


After a few weeks, they sent back new

numbers showing more money. It was

more than enough to buy the car and

create the income she needed to live on.

She was very happy that I was able to help

and she retired very quickly after that.

A lump sum may be good for some

clients and for others it might not be the

best thing. As advisors, we should make

sure that we’re working as fiduciaries and

not encouraging them to do something

that’s not going to be good for them in

the long run, especially after retirement.

FundraiserWhen Elizabeth was diagnosed

initially with breast cancer she

developed a really good relationship

with the people in the local cancer

center where they distribute the wigs

and other things for cancer survivors.

She approached me and asked if

I could do something for them. At

this point she was going through

chemotherapy for the third time. She

had taught me so much while she was

going through her health challenges.

I was planning on giving a client

appreciation party and decided to

turn it into a formal live jazz event

and fundraiser for the American

Cancer Society for her. It was fabulous

and everyone had a wonderful time.

Elizabeth was so grateful. Sadly, she

has since passed away.

I had no idea about organizing a

jazz event, but I knew I had to help. I

didn’t do it for media coverage, and

it seems like a lot of people do things

like that just for the PR. I just wanted

to make a difference. It gave her the

opportunity to really give back to the

organization that had done so much

for her. She had a ball! She was so

dressed up in her formal clothes and

had a really good time.

I also have a client who is a retired

teacher and doing work for the

domestic violence center in town. She

sent me an email telling me the center

needed $1,000 for supplies and a few

other things. I decided to forward her

email to all of my clients and I asked

them if they could help the center and

send any donations directly to them. The

donations exceeded their expectations.

It’s great to be able to help your clients,

and it just makes you feel so good. It’s

very rewarding and meaningful.

Disclosure: Not all firms allow for the

solicitation of clients for the advisor’s

charity of choice. Check with your firm’s

policies and/or code of ethics .

I WAS PLANNING ON GIVING A CLIENT

APPRECIATION PARTY AND DECIDED

TO TURN IT INTO A FORMAL LIVE JAZZ

EVENT AND FUNDRAISER FOR THE

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY FOR HER.

We Have to

Protect Our ClientsBy Elisha Porterfield, CFP® The Minas Sabau Porterfield Group of City Securities Corporation

Elisha Davis Porterfield, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, is a Financial Advisor with the Minas Sabau Porterfield Group of City Securities Corporation. Elisha has over 12 years of experience in the financial services industry, specializing in retirement & financial planning. In addition to being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Elisha holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 66, and 24 securities licenses, as well as her Indiana Life & Health Insurance license with a Long Term Care addition.

Elisha graduated from Culver Academies and went on to earn

a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Butler University

in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a resident of Valparaiso, Indiana,

where she lives with her husband and serves on the Finance

Committee for the Valparaiso First United Methodist Church

and as the President of the Valparaiso chapter of Lions Clubs

International.

IN THIS DAY AND AGE, WE HAVE TO

protect our clients now more than ever.

We need to protect them from others.

Sometimes, we even have to protect

them from themselves. And we have

to protect their families and the next

generation. I truly enjoy what I do and

am very passionate about being an

advisor. However, what being an advisor

entails today has changed greatly in my

twelve years in this industry, let alone

the 58+ combined years of my partners.

One duty has evolved dramatically

during that time is this idea of serving

and protecting clients. It is a lesson

I learned early on: without authentic

passion about helping people and

protecting clients, an advisor will likely

not be in this industry very long. This is

not an industry where you can ‘fake it

until you make it’ as they say.

Protecting Our Clients From ThemselvesWe have to protect our clients from

themselves—and yes, I think sometimes

our days end with a feeling like we

have been more of a therapist than an

advisor to our clients. I sense our role

is really evolving to the place where we

serve more as “financial life managers”

than “investment advisors.” We protect

our clients from themselves in many

respects—one of which is probably

the worst kind of inflation - what I’ve

come to call lifestyle inflation—that

phenomenon where we have to have the

latest gadget or technology; before you

know it, there is a new tech toy that they

feel they cannot live without –with an

upgrade around every corner.

We have to talk to them periodically—to

ensure that their retirement spending

is not getting out of hand. We must

periodically remind them that they

should call us first if they are considering

a large financial decision. Together, we

can make sure that they do not fall into

an unexpected financial pitfall.

Another way we have to protect

our clients from themselves is from

procrastination - procrastination in

getting to that attorney’s office to

complete those estate documents, or

that trust amendment, or to put that

business succession plan into place.

Procrastination can happen following

the death of a loved one, neglecting

to update beneficiaries; or perhaps in

the business of divorce proceedings,

the 401(k) beneficiary has not been

amended. One of the more profound

reasons I’m in this industry in the first

place is because of procrastination. At

a young age, I saw what procrastination

did to a family who did not periodically

review their estate documents. We see

that happen all too often.

We also have to protect our clients from

themselves by observing them to find

ways we can help. We have probably all

had a client for whom we know more

about their net worth and estate plans

than their children do. Recently, I had

an elderly client come into my office. I

noticed that this thin man had lost a lot

of weight. When I probed a bit to find

out what was going on, he mentioned

his wife was starting to drift mentally

and hadn’t really been remembering to

make dinner. He needed help because

he didn’t know what to do, and he was

also really worried about leaving her

alone. He did not want to ask his son

for help because his son did not know

about his finances. So I made a couple

calls and visited a few memory care

units. Eventually, I was able to help him

find a place where his wife would be

well cared for. Soon after, his health had

also recovered. He felt like things were

under control. Recently, for the first time

in 82 years, he took the first vacation of

his life—fishing in Alaska. He asked me

what he could get me as a thank you

for my help and I asked him to bring me

home a rock. And now that rock proudly

sits on my computer monitor—to help

remind me every day of why I love what

I do so much.

Protecting Our Clients From OthersIt goes without saying that we have to

protect our clients from others. I recently

had a call from a newer client, a widow

who lives on a fixed income. She asked

for a distribution from her IRA that was

almost half of what we’d planned to

take for an entire year. I politely probed

to find out why. She said there was a

terrible problem with the plumbing in

her home, and she had received a quote

from a company she trusted to fix the

problem. I asked if she would mind

terribly if I made a call to get a second

estimate. One phone call later she had a

quote to do the job for 10% of what the

“trusted” company had quoted.

To protect our clients, we have to be

connectors. One way that this industry

has changed is that we used to just

call our clients when there was one

particular stock or bond they should

purchase. Then we embraced asset

allocation and diversification and the

47SAYRA LEBENTHAL

education that comes with that. Today,

we have to be prepared to assist our

clients in the six main areas where they

can invest in themselves and by being

invested in our clients, we have to be

prepared to help them invest in ALL of

these areas—stocks, bonds, real estate,

commodities, education, and their own

businesses. For instance, I recently read

a quote that “60% of U.S. businesses

who are hacked are small to mid-sized,

and of those, as many as 80% never

open their doors again.” If I share that

information with my clients and they

are able to protect themselves and their

business because of that information,

then I am protecting their investment

in their business. Even though it wasn’t

investment advice - I just showed that I

care about them and their business too.

Protecting Our Clients’ FamiliesWe also have to protect our client’s

families and the next generations as

well. To accomplish this, we also have

to protect our clients from our own

procrastination—or we may be doing

them the biggest disservice of all. What

if we go through all of this planning with

them and help them avoid all kinds of

pitfalls and then suddenly we get into a

car accident? Who will help our clients

and their families start their plan over

again or help their daughter find out

how to maneuver as executrix or trustee

of their estate? As advisors, attending to

our own succession plan is yet another

proactive way to care for the needs of

our clients. To that end, developing a

relationship with that grandchild or son-

in-law is equally important. Connecting

relationally is the only real way to know

that you are one of the first phone calls

they should make when someone passes

away, or when they decide to start a

business but are not quite sure how to

begin. Our team hosted its first Annual

Family Picnic this year because we value

these relationships with our clients and

their families. At that picnic, we had no

agenda, nothing to sell them. We just

wanted to get to know that grandchild

for whom we’ve just setup a 529 plan.

And we want their families to know that

we are not intimidating stockbrokers

who talk over their head or talk down

to them. We want them to know we

are first there to help them, almost as

an extension of their family. After all, if

we are not invested in them and their

success, then for what reason are we

really in this industry?

As advisors, we have to find a way to

become more integrated so we can see

the red flags that our clients can’t—we

owe it to them. We owe it to them to be

invested in them and their goals. We owe

it to them to help them with their entire

portfolio—not only with their 401(k)s

and their asset allocations, but also with

their education planning and business

planning. That is why we have to work

on teams and with strategic partners—

so we can truly serve our clients to the

absolute best of our ability. We owe it

to them to do our very best to protect

them. We owe it to our clients to invest

ourselves in them. nS

GOING THE

EXTRA MILE

WE HAVE TO PROTECT OUR CLIENTS FROM

THEMSELVES—AND YES, I THINK SOMETIMES

OUR DAYS END WITH A FEELING LIKE

WE HAVE BEEN MORE OF A THERAPIST

THAN AN ADVISOR TO OUR CLIENTS.

49FALL / WINTER 201548 SAYRA LEBENTHAL

Kara talks about the journey from her position as an AOL executive to launching a successful major beverage company.

—With Alexandra Lebenthal

ALEXANDRA: Tell me about how you

started the company and why?

KARA: Over 10 years ago now, I had left

AOL and just had my third child, and was

probably 45 pounds overweight, working

out every day, drinking Diet Coke, eating

chicken and fish, and doing everything

that I read and heard I was supposed to

do. I also had really bad adult acne and

I was basically exhausted by 3 o’clock

in the afternoon every day and thought

there’s just something not right with me.

I went to a number of different doctors

who all told me that because I was

eating chicken and drinking Diet Coke,

it had to be that I wasn’t actually doing

the exercise I said I was doing and I said,

“Well, I really am.”

So the doctors said, “Well, sometimes

people are just super hormonal and they

have a bunch of babies close to one

another and we think that’s probably

what is going on, and here are some

injections and pills.” I thought whoa…hold

on a minute. Am I diabetic? What is going

on? And they said, “No, we’re just trying

to reset what’s going on in your system.”

Prior to filling the prescription, I thought

I would actually look at what I’m eating

and drinking, and really pay close

attention to ingredients. First of all, this

Diet Coke thing seems to be continually

part of my day and when I turned the can

around and read the label, I was shocked

by all these ingredients that I didn’t

understand that were in the product. So I

decided to move from Diet Coke to water

and see if I can make that little shift. Then

gradually I said I’m going to make sure

that I understand the hormones in my

chicken, and I live in the Bay Area, so I

can do that around my eggs, milk and all

the rest of that stuff, too, but I really really

wanted to get religion around ingredients

in food and drink, and just be more real.

So next, I told my husband to get rid of

the juice. Not that juice was any major

thing for me at that point, but for my

kids it was, and let’s just really pay

attention to not just the ingredients,

but also the sweeteners; at that time it

was NutraSweet. I just had a feeling that

this was what’s really going on in my

body, because no, I don’t think it was the

number of calories every day, but it’s the

other stuff that is causing the problems.

So three weeks of living this way, where

I had moved from Diet Coke to water,

I was definitely noticing a change. You

know, not just my weight but also the

way I felt and my skin, and when I finally

got on the scale I saw that in three

weeks I had lost 27 pounds—which is

crazy—and I didn’t have acne anymore

and my energy level was way up. I wasn’t

running marathons either; I was just

working out half an hour to 45 minutes…

I went back to a couple of those doctors

and I said, “Listen, I’m losing a lot of

weight just by being more conscious

about what I’m putting inside my body.”

None of the doctors actually wanted to

listen to what I had to say and I realized

that doctors are not in the business of

looking at your food and beverages,

they’re really in the business of

prescribing things. Three months later of

living this way, I had lost 40 pounds.

ALEXANDRA: So how did this

transformation lead to Hint Water?

KARA: I was so bored drinking plain

water, so I took some of my fruit one

day and started slicing up limes and

raspberries and just throwing it in the

water pitcher, and then I’d fill up my

sip bottle and take it with me. I really

wasn’t into the flavored waters, but I

started learning. For example, ten years

ago Vitamin Water had more calories

in it than a can of Coke, and yet it was

calling itself water, which I thought was

totally crazy. Then I started looking at

some of the things that were made with

diet sweeteners—really low calorie and

perceived to be healthier—but looking

at the ingredients in those bottles and

going back to the start of my initial

findings around diet soda that there was

lots of stuff that the average consumer

had no idea what it was…. I looked at

the actual flavor that was in the bottles

taking the

A CONVERSATION WITH KARA GOLDIN, CEO of HINT WATER

hint

51SAYRA LEBENTHAL50 FALL / WINTER 2015

and found out that if something said

Dragon Fruit, for example, they weren’t

necessarily using Dragon Fruit, and in

many cases they were using things like

bone marrow or had coloring in it, or

were using cockroach wings; all were

considered natural, but it wasn’t really

what I thought I was eating or drinking.

So one day after I cooked, making this

at home, I was trying to figure out how

to make it so that it doesn’t actually get

growth in the refrigerator overnight. I

started boiling down fruit on the stove,

lighting fires on it and really boiling the

water out of the fruit. I would create the

gummy substance and take a couple of

drops from there and put it in the water

bottle. It gave me the same flavoring

that I needed in order to really get me

to want to drink the water and make it

more interesting.

I took this idea to Whole Foods in San

Francisco and I said, “I really want to

do this and how do I get a product on

the shelf?” The gentleman at the local

Whole Foods said, “Well, you know we

have a little bit of wiggle room to bring

in local products. If you develop this

product, make sure it has some shelf

life, and a name of course, then bring

it in.” I don’t think he ever thought I

was going to do that and he probably

thought I was just some crazy lady that

was just bothering him.

So I came in a couple days before I was

actually having my fourth child and

said, “You told me that you would put

it on the shelf and here are couple of

cases”—actually it was 10 cases—“if it

doesn’t work, I will pick them back up no

problem.” He put it on the shelf and then

he called me while I was in the hospital,

a day after delivering my fourth child,

and said that the cases are gone, and

there’s nothing left.

At that point we went into Whole Foods

in San Francisco and then quickly went

into Whole Foods in some other parts

of the country, and have continued to

grow that channel. Even six months

after we launched the company, I said

this was really, really hard and I don’t

really have the experience and was kind

of doubting myself frankly, to be able to

build a beverage company and I really

wasn’t sure if I had the expertise in order

to do this.

A friend arranged for me to have a call

with somebody senior at Coke and I told

him, “Look, I got it in about 10 stores in

San Francisco and it’s doing really well,

but I’m an e-commerce executive, not

a beverage industry expert, and I’d be

super interested in having you take the

company, like you can have it.”

He said, “Oh no, we’re really not

interested in your company. At the end

of the day, sweetie, Americans love

sweets.”

I was like, “Did he just call me sweetie?”

I was sitting there on the phone, stunned

that he had just called me that. I don’t

think anybody has ever called me

sweetie. I said, “Listen, I really appreciate

the call, but you know, I’m not just

hanging out in San Francisco alone,

there are actually people who buy the

product and are really excited about it.”

He said, “Yeah, we’re really about giving

consumers what they want, which is

sweet.”

ALEXANDRA: How much over the last

10 years has the company grown? How

big are you today?

KARA: We continue to grow the

company off-line and in grocery. That’s

been the strategy since day one. A

couple of years into it, we got a phone

call from Google…Google wanted to

offer free massages, blood tests, food,

beverages, whatever to their employees

as an incentive for them to not only

want to work there but also to make

sure that they’re healthier. Although you

probably don’t hear Google necessarily

talking about this, but they really wanted

to make sure that their employees are

healthier because it’s cheaper for them

to have healthy employees than sick

employees. We became one of their

initial beverages and today we’re the

leading beverage inside Google. In fact,

we own all of the refrigerators in all 12

lobbies in Mountain View and we’re an

exclusive partner. Google is hands-down

our main customer. They go through ten

times more Hints than they do any other

beverage company.

We’ve worked really hard to really

support Hint and support Google. But

they buy it—we don’t give it away—so

that business has continued not only to

grow within Google but then also when

people left Google over the years and

gone on to places like Facebook, Airbnb

and Uber, [we go, too]. We’re now the

largest beverage in Silicon Valley. Finally,

a couple of years ago when Amazon

was launching a thing called Grocery

they asked us to be one of the first

companies that were selling direct-to-

consumer. That was going super well

but we learned that a lot of the data that

Amazon holds for themselves they were

not going to give to us. So we decided

to launch our own direct-to-consumer

initiative a year ago, and that business is

now almost 25% of our overall business

in one year.

ALEXANDRA: That’s great. I’m going to

describe you as an Aqua-tech company.

KARA: Well, I think it’s more like a

Health-Tech company. The other piece

of what we’re doing is that while we’re

a beverage company we’re really about

helping people get healthier. Through

our online initiative we’re actually able

to capture that consumers are also

acting on [other health issues]. If we

can actually do something that helps

the world better understand who the

consumers are and what their needs

are, it’s actually helping them lead this

healthier lifestyle. We really believe that

many consumers can do that by just

changing what they’re eating or drinking.

They may end up being on medication as

well but I think a lot of people recognize

that that’s not the ideal.

ALEXANDRA: As entrepreneurs we

never like to think “I’ve made it,”

because we still have to work on our

successes every day, but did you have

an “I’ve made it” moment?

KARA: I think for us, we’re actually on

track to be profitable in the first quarter,

which is incredibly awesome. So it’s a

real business that is not only helping

people but is also able to get some return

without potentially selling the company,

which is super nice. Also, we hear from

consumers over and over again how

much we’re helping them, which is super

powerful. I personally never wrote to

a company to say thank you so much

for creating a product that helps me be

better and I get those every single day

from people all over the country.

ALEXANDRA: It’s easy to write a

complaint letter, but I’m always amazed

by people who take the time to write

something nice. When somebody does

that, it really just blows me away.

KARA: A majority of people write to

us and let us know that they’re sick,

and many people are quietly sick. At

the Fortune Conference I had said that

we view health and technology a little

bit differently. Our view of health and

technology was really to see exactly

what the consumers are saying and

feed it back to consumers to make

people feel like they’re not alone with

those issues. One of the things I said

was that according to the Center for

Disease Control, 40% of people today

that are getting diagnosed with Type II

Diabetes are not fat. Yet we’re allowing

the messaging out there mostly from the

food and soda companies to say if you’re

obese, you better watch out because

you’re going to get diabetes. Yes, people

who are obese are very likely to get

diabetes, but not all diabetics are obese.

The consumers are not hearing that

messaging, and obesity is a genetic issue

and not a learned behavior from food

and beverages. So I’m doing a lot of that

kind of messaging.

ALEXANDRA: That’s interesting. Last

question: Our readers are financial

advisors dealing with individual

investors and hopefully many female

entrepreneurs. Do you have any advice

on how a financial advisor can be

helpful to an entrepreneur as she’s

growing her business?

KARA: I think first and foremost, you

never know how fast you’re going to

be growing—you don’t have a crystal

ball—but you can definitely make

predictions. Thank God we made

the right predictions as we grew this

business. When we needed to raise

capital or we needed to do some

inventory financing or whatever, thank

God we had our books lined up all in a

row. They’ve been squeaky clean. We

made sure to do small audits along the

way. It’s important that we did that work

along the way. You don’t necessarily

need to have Deloitte or Ernst & Young

or whatever doing it, but you need to

have somebody doing it that’s fairly

reputable even in a local kind of way.

ALEXANDRA: You and your company

and your water is amazing. Just the

thought of drinking eight glasses of

water a day….Ugh. Make sure you keep

us in mind when you go public! nS

I WAS LIKE, “DID HE JUST CALL ME SWEETIE?”

53SAYRA LEBENTHAL

COMING UP:

SAYRA

> NEXT ISSUE > INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE ANCHOR of Bloomberg’s New Morning Show, Bloomberg <GO>

> HARNESS THE POWER OF THE PURSE Winning Women Investors

> 10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CLIENTS About Charitable Giving

> CLOSING THE GENDER GAP IN FINANCIAL Planning as a Viable Career Option

FROM OUR FAMILY

TO YOURS, HAPPY &

HEALTHY HOLIDAYS!

BEST WISHES

FOR A PROSPEROUS

NEW YEAR!—THE SAYRA TEAM

54SAYRA LEBENTHAL

230 Park Ave, 32nd Floor

New York, NY, 10169

lebenthal.com

877-425-6006

sayra - winter 2016 publication

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