Daralee Barbera started her career as a maths teacher in the day and a college professor at night. Fast forward a few decades later to the present day, and she now has a very different career to the one she started with. For the last 34 years, she has worked in financial services, a profession which you may not expect for someone who spent their working day in the classroom. 

But it is not as uncommon as you may think. Quite a few math teachers later work in financial services, according to Daralee and the host of the webinar, Women in Financial Services, Dr. Chia-Li Chien, as both of these careers, have similar skills. “People who are from education are probably ideal candidates to go in this profession because they probably have the patience,” said Daralee 

Daralee spent the first four years working in financial services as a financial advisor. She spent the remainder of the years working as Managing Principal at Waddell & Reed. Her job was to train, develop, retain, and grow financial advisors and the team. She then retired to work on her doctorate at the University of Southern California. However, at this time, she also went back to work to be the EVP of Business Development and VP of Strategic Initiatives at GAMA International. An organization where members who work in financial services develop their leadership skills. According to their website, they are committed “to providing members with research-based, world-class education, and training resources are second to none.” It is a place where leaders build leadership skills. 

Daralee has also written two books; Women Matter: The Why and How of Gender Diversity in Financial Services and What You Can Do When You Can’t: 21 Days to Personal Success. She is currently in the process of writing her third book, Financial Literacy for Women and the Role of Financial Education: An Exploratory Study of Promising Practices. 

Women are a tiny percentage of financial services, in comparison to men. 20% of those who are Certified Financial Planning are women, which has increased 4% since last year. But, shockingly, only 6% of those with the certification are client-facing. Daralee believes the best way to increase the percentage in the workplace is to recruit and retain women. What’s more, all advisors need and deserve support to help professionals grow and practice management, which Daralee thinks is key to retention. 

Considering women control the majority of wealth, make the majority of financial decisions, and male clients like to have female financial advisors as they tend to listen more and build stronger relationships, there is a considerable gap in the market. It is a gap that it seems not many people or even students know about the opportunities within this field. 

The Financial Planning Program here at California Lutheran University works hard to educate others about the work opportunities and our program. Daralee said the best ways to encourage not only more women, but more diversity into the field is to train, provide experience, and create exposure. Not only these points but to also work within the community. With diverse populations and clients, now is the time to create teams that reflect the communities being served. 

“Money means different things to different people. You can’t just come in analytically and do a financial plan and expect the client to execute and implement it. It’s got to feel right and reflect their values,” said Daralee. 

Financial planning is the heartbeat of business said Dr. Chien, the host of the webinar when interviewing Daralee. It is essential to have good communication and good relationships. This is also a key point when picking a company to work with. Pick a company that feels like the right fit for your culture and fits your values. 

Two parts of the webinar stood out to me to not only remember if you are thinking of working in the financial field, but I think they can apply to other aspects of our lives too. 

The first one is a quote from Daralee’s book, “The clearer you are about your intention, the easier it will be to execute them.” This could be applied to the workplace, such as your advisor, employees, or planners, but it also applies to personal goals. When we are clear about what we want and what we expect, we will receive those results.   

At the end of the webinar, Daralee gave three tips of advice to new professionals starting their career in the financial services industry, which again, I think, can be applied to any industry. The first tip was to “know your why”, the second was “know your industry,” and the third was “stay a student.” In a world where every day something is changing, we must be open to forever being a student and learning new things. When we learn, we, in return, grow as people, and our perspectives broaden. 

If you would like to learn more about careers in finance and being a Financial Advisor, reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University. 

About the Speaker:

Daralee Barbera is a professor, professional business coach, consultant, speaker, and author with a Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California. She is the EVP of Business Development and VP of Strategic Initiatives at GAMA International. For 34 years she was Managing Principal at Waddell & Reed. Daralee has also written two books; Women Matter: The Why and How of Gender Diversity in Financial Services and What You Can Do When You Can’t: 21 Days to Personal Success. She is currently in the process of writing her third book, Financial Literacy for Women and the Role of Financial Education: An Exploratory Study of Promising Practices. 

About the Host:

Dr. Chia-Li Chien is a succession program director at Value Growth Institute, a succession consulting practice dedicated to helping business owners increase the equity value of their firms. Before her private consulting practice, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Chien is a director of the financial planning program in the School of Management at California Lutheran University. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession and retirement planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®).

About the Author:

Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University expecting to graduate in May 2021. She is studying Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising and has a minor in Creative Writing. She is currently writing a book, Mirrors and Windows, which is due to be published this summer with New Degree Press. 

When Danny Zelaya graduated from university, he wanted to be a pastor or teach religion. He had no interest in working in business, nor did he plan to work in the field. After being a pastor for two years, he moved into the finance field. Fast forward and he has had various jobs working in finance. Currently Market Director and Executive Director at Chase Private Client and J.P. Morgan. He also runs the Advisor Development Program in the state of California.

Previously he has worked as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, transitioning into Bank of America acquired by Merrill Lynch as Market Manager. He was also Head of Investment Services at Orange County’s Retirement and Investment Services.

So why did Zelaya change his career? Well, he realized that he “always had a desire to help people.” Being a Financial Advisor was the perfect opportunity to pursue this desire. Although within the transition, Zelaya had his doubts, he didn’t want fear to stop him.

He thinks that many are cautious about changing their careers, particularly to be in finance for fear of failing. People get anxious to change jobs when they don’t have a degree in it, or any background from even family members said Zelaya. He too felt nervous about pursuing a career so different from his degrees, but he was determined and confident in his abilities that he would be able to do it. Part of his motivation was knowing that his job could improve someone’s life.

“The wonderful thing about financial planning and being a financial advisor is your ability to relate to people regardless of age, it’s the connection you have with someone. Don’t let fear interrupt that,” said Zelaya.

When Zelaya isn’t working, he likes to exercise every morning. He said it helps give him more energy throughout the day and stay consistently productive. He also enjoys reading fiction to open his perspective and learn more about different interactions between people. Zelaya believes that having a balanced lifestyle helps increase productivity overall in the various aspects of your life.

If you are considering working for JP Morgan Chase, Zelaya says that it is a thoughtful company. It works hard to look after its clients and guide them. In return the company has a strong reputation among the public. This explanation is similar to what Jamie Dimon, Chairman, and CEO said, “the strength of our company has allowed us to always be there for our clients and communities – in good times and in bad times – and this strength enables us to continually invest in building our businesses for the future.”

Zelaya runs the Advisor Development Program in the state of California. The program is nationwide and takes about three years to complete. The goal is to create a diverse and inclusive community of financial advisors. Participants are at various parts of their career in the program; some are at the very beginning, and others in different financial areas seeking a change.

In the first year of the program, participants take exams and learn how to communicate with clients. In the second year, they learn about private client banker roles. And in the third year, they learn about being a financial advisor. All the candidates move forward together, similar to how a university works. JP Morgan Chase is a “company that values their development into their career,” said Zelaya.

So why should prospective students consider this program?

If you have a desire to help others, similar to Zelaya, this program would be an excellent opportunity to fulfill that desire within your career on a day-to-day basis. It is also an honor to follow someone throughout their life; it is meaningful and long term, said Zelaya. 

His final advice to students is:“To continually have an optimistic attitude about life. One of the things about being young and being youthful in your career is you always have a sense of discovery about the future. That desire for discovery and being enthusiastic about life of what you can accomplish is something that will lead you to success. Keep that optimism about the future.”

This advice doesn’t just apply to those that are thinking of a financial career. It applies to any student or young adult that is figuring it out. Wherever you are within your career, I think there is a lot that can be said about being optimistic in life and keeping a sense of discovery often brings opportunity.

If you are interested to learn more about the Advisor Development Program, click here. Furthermore, if you would like to learn more about careers in finance and being a Financial Advisor, reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University. 

About Danny Zelaya:

Danny Zelaya is the Market Director and Executive Director at Chase Private Client and J.P. Morgan. Before working at JP Morgan Chase, Zelaya was a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, transitioning into Bank of America Merrill Lynch as Market Manager. He was also Head of Investment Services at Orange County’s Retirement and Investment Services before his current role. 

About the Host:

Dr. Chia-Li Chien is a succession program director at Value Growth Institute, a succession consulting practice dedicated to helping business owners increase the equity value of their firms. Before her private consulting practice, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Chien is a director of the financial planning program in the School of Management at California Lutheran University. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession and retirement planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®).

About the Author:

Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University expecting to graduate in May 2021. She is studying communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising and has a minor in Creative Writing.

Learn more about Cal Lutheran’s Financial Planning Program here and follow us on social media:

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To begin with, if you are like me you may be wondering what a buy-sell agreement is, otherwise known as a buyout agreement.

“A buyout agreement gives owners a way to deal with ownership disruptions in a way that won’t wreck their business, by providing pre-established rules for transferring interest,” John Thiel said in his seminar What is a Buy-Sell Agreement? In other words, it is a binding contract between you and the other co-owners.

In the webinar, Thiel discusses where an agreement is needed versus when an agreement is not needed. For example, an agreement is not needed if you are 100% the business owner, or if you own the business with your spouse, or if you own the business with one of your children. But even in these cases, there are dangers to not having an agreement.

Dangers of not having a buyout agreement include possibly working with someone in the future who may be an inexperienced stranger, or the survivors may become stuck, or the co-owners may argue about their ownership interest.

Thiel also discusses two key provisions, buyout structures, funding buyouts and how to set the price in his webinar.

I was surprised by how complicated the agreement is with many different elements and scenarios to consider. It dawned on me when listening to the webinar how important a buy-sell agreement is within a business and how every business should have one. Without an agreement, it could easily cause chaos and disputes between the owners. One owner could decide to hand over their ownership to someone new without consulting the other. This would result in a restructure to take place without discussing or offering ownership to the other one.

Many students dream of one day owning their own business. Whether that is a hair salon or an insurance company or a children’s entertainment club, learning how to organize the ownership and having a structure for the future is valuable. Anyone can start a business and be successful, but it the part of how it is managed which yields different results.

Here is an example to explain further how a buy-sell agreement works by Chia-Li Chien, the director of the financial planning program at California Lutheran University.

Josh and Jerry started their Gaming App, before you know it, the company is worth $10 Million. Several private equity firms knocked on the door that are interested buying their firm. If Josh and Jerry did not have a proper Buy Sell Agreement in place, the private equity firm will take advantage of them. Why?

The less structure shows the vulnerability. Buy-Sell is one of the agreements among many in a business. Having proper structure enhances the business equity value. Josh and Jerry sold their firm in $100 Million earlier this year. Obviously, there are other questions and issues with this case study.

It is important how a business is managed by setting up a structure like a buy-sell agreement, it allows the owners to have a plan and work around problems or issues.

We all know that the future is unknown and difficult to predict which is one of the reasons why it is so important to organize an agreement at the beginning of starting a company. There are lots of different components to a buy-sell agreement that must be thought of. It can seem daunting and scary at first but the more it is understood and prepared for the better.

To learn more about a buy-sell agreement work with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner or reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University.

About the Speaker:John Thiel is an advisor at Marin County Private Ocean. He was previously an advisor at Fountainhead Wealth. Before that he worked at Northwestern Mutual and MassMutual, specializing in risk management and insurance solutions. Thiel has a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in International Business. He has a CFP designation and is currently studying for an MBA in Financial Planning at California Lutheran University, graduating in the Spring of 2020. Thiel has had a passion for wealth management since a relatively young age.

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:

John Thiel. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://privateocean.com/bio/john-thiel/

To watch the archived webinar, click the link below:

What is Buy-Sell Agreement? – Webinar

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