Judith Lee CFP , CRPC , SE-AWMA Senior VP , Wealth Mgmt . Advisor Lee Casey Group , Merrill Lynch Bedminster , New Jersey
Lifting Women , Creating Legacy
Judith Lee has spent over two decades shaping the financial futures of individuals and families . With a passion for comprehensive wealth management and a special focus on empowering women , her journey reflects not only her professional expertise but also her deep commitment to helping others achieve financial security .
Lee was born in Jamaica and raised in New York , and her upbringing shaped her work ethic . “ Coming from a culture where hard work and education are emphasized , it ’ s been important to show my parents that their decision to bring us to America was the right one ,” she reflects . This drive to succeed , combined with a natural curiosity about people ’ s stories , led her to a career in financial services .
She started working in 1997 as a branch manager at a bank , and she earned her securities license there in 2000 , then her CFP designation in 2005 . She says that joining Merrill in 2006 proved to be a pivotal moment . “ Merrill allowed me to thrive ,” she says , noting how the firm ’ s vast resources have been crucial to her ability to deliver comprehensive wealth management .
Her practice , the Lee Casey Group , is built on the values of collaboration and continuity . Her dedicated team includes her daughter , wealth advisor Simone Lee Alston , and Thomas Casey , the group ’ s assistant vice president . The firm works with a diverse range of clients , including senior executives and individuals planning for retirement .
For almost a decade , Lee ’ s firm-building approach has been deliberately multi-generational . “ While I don ’ t plan on going anywhere anytime soon , I ’ ve been very intentional about bringing on the next generation of advisors to ensure clients have continuity of care .”
As a financial advisor who bought her first mutual fund in college , she strives to offer not just advice , but empowerment , particularly to women facing life transitions such as divorce , retirement , caregiving and inheritance .
In 2019 , Lee was named chair of the Merrill Women ’ s Exchange , an initiative dedicated to supporting women at the firm . Her leadership culminated in two of her proudest moments . In March 2020 , she rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange . In December 2024 , she was invited to ring the bell again , this time with Simone , who had just become the 100,000th CFP . The honor was a testament to Lee ’ s belief in the power of mentorship and multi-generational wealth building .
Her advice to women advisors just getting started is this : “ Be confident in your personal story and lived experiences . There is something unique in being a mother , woman , immigrant and growing up in New York City , which allows me to connect to others and not to be intimidated by prospective clients who might be millionaires . I have the knowledge base to help them . Be confident and not intimated ,” Lee says .
— Tracey Longo
Deb Wetherby CFA , CFP Founder and Wealth Manager Laird Norton Wetherby Seattle , Washington
Finding The Right Role
A
fter a 35-year career in which she ’ s been known for many successful firsts ( she was , for example , among the first to reject the commission model and among the first to embrace impact investing ), Debra Wetherby is finally failing .
Her recent plan itself was simple — it was to let asset management recede into the background and allow her philanthropic interests to come to the fore . But the execution has been challenging .
“ Starting January 1 , I moved to 60 % time ,” she says . “ Well , I haven ’ t achieved that . Today is supposed to be one of my days off . I ’ m talking to you . I also had a two-hour audit committee call , and about an hour of email . So I ’ m failing a bit .”
When Wetherby sold her namesake advisory firm and its roughly $ 7 billion in assets under management to Laird Norton Wealth Management two years ago , she negotiated a five-year window of ownership because , she says , she wanted to continue to be a part of what her team is building there , even as she heads into retirement .
“ But I personally am ready to change the mix of what I do , and I really want to dedicate more of my personal time to things like my philanthropic work ,” she says . Her main interest is poverty alleviation through strategies such as education , economic empowerment and skills training . Currently , she sits on the boards of IDEO . org and the Marin Community Foundation .
“ I just feel like it ’ s more important than ever to be doing something ,” she says . “ The gap between ‘ have ’ and ‘ have not ’ is widening , not closing .”
The last time Wetherby made such a big move was 1989 . She had spent three years at Morgan Stanley as a broker , only to grow increasingly disillusioned with the raison d ’ être of the business : commissions .
“ I thought that my job would be to be a generalist advisor to my clients . But I discovered when I got there that my job really was to generate commissions ,” she says . “ And I didn ’ t believe in the commission-based model as a mechanism for a relationship .”
A better way , she thought , would be to put the client at the center of the relationship and remove as many conflicts of interest as possible . But that was not the way Wall Street worked . So Wetherby quit her job and traveled the world for a year . “ What I realized during my year off was that I still loved the market . I still really cared about my clients ,” she says . “ It ’ s just that I had the wrong role .”
Returning to the U . S ., Wetherby pitched her concept for a firm without commissions , one that charged a fee for objective service , to her 10 best clients from Morgan Stanley . The support was overwhelming .
“ They could see better than I could in a way that this was a great idea ,” she says . “ And I thought if it didn ’ t work , I ’ d just get a job .”
Job hunting , however , would not be necessary . — Jennifer Lea Reed
34 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | MARCH 2025 WWW . FA-MAG . COM