Wealth Advisor / Signify Wealth / Washington , D . C . area

Signify Wealth , Erica James asked her future boss : “ Do I have to start watching football ?”

Signify has a roster of pro football and basketball players , a clientele with unique problems since many of them are making big money at young ages . These clients might be retiring not once but two or three times from different careers , and it ’ s critical that somebody guide them through the big money period .

That ’ s not always easy when a family member who has helped with that career now feels entitled to some of the money and might not understand how the wealth is going to change or diminish or transform over the years . “ You literally can ’ t afford to give away all your money to mom and dad ,” she tells them .

James had a circuitous route to financial advice after starting her career as an accountant at PwC in 2006 . Though she ’ d always had an aptitude for numbers , she says the auditing world left little room for creativity or people interaction . “ With audit , there ’ s a notion that you ’ re the bad guy . Like you come in and you ’ re always checking people ’ s work and you ’ re kind of like a guest at the client ’ s site . They never really want you there .” You ’ re always “ ticking and tying ” and double checking work .

She eventually moved toward her CFP license . Once she got it , she took a pause and traveled , going to Colombia to teach English for a year before diving into the industry , first at one big RIA serving clients with millions of dollars and finally at Signify .

She says that her new boss is Stephen Rhodes , whom she had reached out to in years before because she didn ’ t know a lot of other Black CFPs . Years after they first talked , he persuaded her to join his firm in early 2023 . While the firm is in St . Louis , she works in the D . C . area . Before she joined , she traveled again , this time to Spain , South Africa and Thailand . “ I ’ m all about those natural breaks ,” she says .

She says dealing with athletes and anybody who doesn ’ t have a financial background requires both understanding and “ cultural competence .” It ’ s easy to treat clients as if they ’ re dumb , something she says her clients sometimes took away from other advisors they ’ d worked with before .

Founder & Educator / Measure Twice Financial / Houston

But that is not what makes him unusual . What makes him stand out in a crowd of advisors is that he wants to change the public perception of financial planning all by himself .

While he was — and is — doing all of that , he went from making $ 40,000 a year to making more than $ 250,000 a year in three short years and he works an average of 10 hours a week .

Sound impossible ? Garrett says it works for him and he wants to teach other advisors how to do the same .

Garrett , who is now 35 , started out as a professional musician , a music director and keyboard player focused on gospel music . His interest in financial planning grew as he realized he had to figure out how to manage his own money . At the same time , he wanted a different lifestyle than what musicians usually live .

“ In February 2021 , I decided to launch an advice-only financial planning firm because I discovered a need for do-it-yourself investors to receive comprehensive financial planning without giving up control of their investment accounts ,” Garrett says . “ My clients do not need hand-holding . They know how to use the ‘ clicker ’ to make their own investments . They need guidance so they can take control of their finances .”

Garrett has three firms based in Pearland , Texas : Measure Twice Financial , an advice-only RIA ; Measure Twice Money , an educational platform for consumers ; and Measure Twice Planners , an educational platform for advisors , which is sold on a subscription basis and now has 1,300 members .

When individual clients hire Measure Twice Financial , they engage Garrett for a three-month-long comprehensive planning process for a flat fee of $ 7,650 per household . Clients can then update that plan through sessions billed at $ 450 per hour . Garrett serves 25 clients a year and has no plans to grow beyond that .

“ Other educational material is given away to consumers for free through videos and emails ,” Garrett says . “ People pay me for the guidance I can provide and I teach them how to manage their money on their own .”

38 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | MAY 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM