Throughout his life, Juan Ros has had three different careers. When he graduated from university he worked in the film and video industry in New York, after a few years he moved to California and his career changed to fundraising and gift planning at institutions like the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. After receiving his MBA with an emphasis in Financial Planning at California Lutheran University, he is now celebrating his first year working with Forum Financial Management, LP as a Financial Planner and Estate Planner.
“What brought me into the financial planning world, was a love of numbers, a love of all of the different disciplines very specifically through the pathway of the nonprofit world and gift planning,” Ros said.
Forum Financial Management has 16 different offices across the country, including one in Thousand Oaks, which is the first one in California. It is a Registered Investor Advisor (RIA) that is fee-based, leverage industry fund company like Dimensional Funds, investment philosophy and Dimensional Funds Association (DFA). Altogether there are around 80 Advisors and 16 Partners with the company 100% owned by the Partners.
Ros and his other partners from Lamia Financial Group wanted to expand their company and grow. In January 2019 Lamia decided to join Forum. Joining would be mean they could help their business achieve their goal by outsource compliance, trading, FinTech and paying bills. Forum now handles all of this for Lamia which in return takes a lot of their backs allowing them to manage their business in a way they would like to.
After having various careers Ros has built a lot of knowledge and experience about working with people, including what makes a good partner. Ros himself is a Partner and Vice President at Lamia Financial Group which joined the Forum in January 2019. When asked what makes a good partner, Ros said they should have the ability to grow together as well as having a good cultural fit. Sometimes when choosing a partner, it comes down to a gut feeling, similar to when meeting potential new friends for the first time.
A marketing philosophy that Ros likes to use when networking is “how can I serve my clients with good referrals to other professionals.” Ros also asked the question, how can you set yourself apart? He believes this is an important marketing philosophy, to find a niche within your profession and to use it to differentiate yourself from others.
Ros likes to “pay it forward” in various ways. Firstly, he likes to be available to contact, in particular for nonprofit planners, which he still enjoys working with despite the career change. He is also involved with the nonprofit Fit 4 the Cause and is on the board for the Conejo Valley Estate Planning Council. When Ros isn’t involved with these or his job, he teaches a class at Cal State Long Beach.
DFA is a top 10 mutual fund company and philosophy in investing that the Forum works with. The DFA takes financial science and funds and apply it to practice. “Remember Financial Planning is both an art and science and what you’re learning in school is the science part,” said Ros. He ended the webinar by advising that a good Financial Planner will be open to vulnerability and will be a good partner.
To learn more work with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner or reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University.
About the Speaker:
Juan Ros is a Certified Financial Planner and an Accredited Estate Planner. Ros is a Financial Advisor at Forum Financial Management, LP since November 2018. Recently Ros was a Partner and Vice President at Lambia Financial Group which joined the forum in January 2019. Ros has had a variety of gift planning and major gift positions at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, Occidental College, and ALS Foundation helping raise millions of dollars in current and deferred gifts. Ros is also an advisory council member at the Financial Planning program at the California Lutheran University School of Management as well as an alum of the university after receiving his MBA from there.
About the Author:
Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University studying Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising. She is also minoring in Creative Writing.
References:
“Our Team: Forum Financial Management, LP.” Our Team | Forum Financial Management, LP, www.forumfin.com/about-us#juan-ros.
Watch the archived webinar below:
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