Matthew G . Ricks
President / Haystack Financial Planning / New York
Matthew Ricks had an interest in finance from an early age and worked his way up to a tony institutional asset management job at J . P .
Morgan , where he worked almost a decade . But he wasn ’ t fulfilled .
He noticed people adept in the highest reaches of finance weren ’ t necessarily good at tending their own money gardens . He moved to the broker-dealer space , where he thought he could help . There , as he was doing pro bono work through the local FPA chapter , he discovered something else — a special need for advice among the disabled .
“ For a four- to six-month period I had probably half a dozen or so people talk to me about disability , whether that ’ s Social Security Disability Insurance or they become disabled through a job injury or job accident and now they ’ re collecting some type of disability long-term or short term .” He wondered who specialized in complicated situations like these so he could refer the clients . Google offered up few specializers . He talked with people he knew in the disabled community — whether it was people with neurodiverse children or physical disabilities — and saw the need he could fill .
In November 2020 , he launched his new firm , Haystack Financial Planning . “ I ’ ve had a great reaction from the community of other planners and advisors ,” he says . “ I ’ m getting more referrals and more connections than I ever anticipated ,” he says , because programs like Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance require his extra layer of knowledge . He says he hasn ’ t had to do much outbound marketing .
The biggest thing is understanding the government programs — if clients are trying to get Social Security Disability Insurance , they must meet income limitations to get the benefit . That means advisors focusing on this work must understand other aspects of people ’ s finances .
For example , one of his clients was a recently divorced woman who had a daughter with autism . “ Her previous advisor for estate planning purposes said , ‘ Hey , put your money in a joint account with your daughter because then it won ’ t go through probate and your daughter will have access to it .’ Not knowing that that immediately eliminates her from qualifying for SSI because she has $ 2.5 million now that she has access to . She can ’ t get any benefits . No ill will . No harm intended . [ The advisor ] just didn ’ t know .” Ricks got the money out of the accounts .
Sweta Bhargav
Founder And Financial Advisor / Adviso Wealth / Philadelphia
After living in multiple states and multiple countries , Sweta Bhargav didn ’ t want to pigeonhole herself as a niche financial advisor . “ I wanted to become an advisor because I realized how important planning is irrespective of one ’ s education and work ethic ,” she says . “ Just by having a few balanced principles and making smart choices with money , you can really enhance someone ’ s lifestyle and their financial future , setting them up for success .”
Bhargav , the founder and financial advisor at Philadelphia-based Adviso Wealth , was born in the U . K ., but moved to the U . S . after marriage . She started offering personal financial planning services at a broker-dealer .
She saw that some communities of people , particularly immigrants and first-generation Americans , did not have access to the same knowledge and resources . Thus , Adviso ’ s chief role to its clients and the communities it serves is to be an educational partner , one that is sorely needed in some areas .
She says she strives to be culturally conscious when providing advice and recommendations to Adviso ’ s clients . For example , when a client is faced with a dilemma of whether to save for a child ’ s education or for their own retirement , the conventional answer is to save for retirement first .
The financial industry even has a metaphor working behind this conventional wisdom : If you ’ re on a distressed airplane with your children , you affix your own oxygen mask first before adjusting your children ’ s masks .
But when culture is taken into consideration , the advice isn ’ t so cut and dry , she says . “ Different cultures and communities value education so much more than just thinking about themselves and their retirement ,” she says . “ It ’ s that understanding , knowing that I ’ m trying to ‘ get you ,’ and that I ’ ve had similar experiences , that really helps people out .”
At Adviso , she primarily serves early-stage executives and entrepreneurs who are 30 to 45 years old . “ A number of my clients were either born abroad or may have lived abroad at some point , and many are thinking about maybe moving back to their home country ,” she says . “ I can relate to them and support them with some of their decisions . I always find that age group to be so busy , so I try to take a proactive approach to helping them .”
46 | financial advisor magazine | may 2022 www . fa-mag . com