Who is behind SOPHIA?

The Woman Behind SOPHIA

As a financial advisor, I spend 75% of my time maintaining and building new relationships. I think about many of those daily interactions where my questions and conversations with clients are so personal. I’m constantly digging for the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” as the topics I discuss with them need to feel relevant and authentic to what is most important to them. Customer satisfaction surveys from J.D. Power, EY Global Wealth, Schwab, and Fidelity tell us that while most clients are satisfied with their advisor, only 40%-50% feel truly understood by their advisor. I found that startling but not shocking as I think about a client recently telling me, “It’s been seven months since your son was born, and I don’t know his name.” That one stung a bit as I think of myself as an open book, although when it comes to work, I pour myself into my clients; I forget how much better a conversation feels when it is less of an interview and more of a dialogue. Today, I am hoping to flip that script as I feel our followers/readers deserve to know who is on the other side. 

I was raised about 40 miles outside the city of Chicago in the Northwest suburbs. The first eight years of my life were spent being raised by a single mother. Make no mistake, it does truly take a village, and my happiest memories are the afternoons spent at my grandparents’ house while my mom was working. Sometimes, I accompanied my grandparents to their “Maddie’s Hallmark” store, hounding customers to buy more of “my” beanie babies. My grandfather truly made me feel like I could do whatever I wanted, and after watching my mother earn her associate’s, work multiple jobs at once, and rise through corporate ranks, I wanted the same, if not better, for myself. 

I was the first female in my family to graduate from college. I chose to attend the University of Denver, as 300 days of sun and the allure of the Rocky Mountains seemed like the perfect place for me. Coming to Denver with no family or friends to speak of, I was determined to write my story the way I wanted. I graduated with a degree in political science and international studies. I also graduated with $140,000 (or $167,313 today adjusted for inflation) in student loan debt, which, now that I think about it, is more than I spent on my down payment… All I can do at this point is laugh it off. There was no real financial education in high school, and given the young age my mother had me, I don’t think she even knew what a 529 was, nor would I expect her to. Raising kids isn’t cheap, and there was not much wiggle room in the budget. I thought I would pay off the loans by joining the Air Force after spending three years in the ROTC program, but I decided that was not for me. I also spent all of college as a waitress and finding ways to live that stretched the dollar as far as it would go. I was never afraid to get creative and make sure I could put myself in a position where this debt would not consume or define me. 

After interning with Senator Bennet’s office and almost packing up my bags to head to DC, I realized entry-level jobs on the hill were paying $25,000 – $30,000 if you were lucky. Knowing I had a $600+ monthly student loan bill at a minimum to pay off, all the girl math in the world would not be able to make that one work. My girlfriend at the time had already secured a job working at Fidelity, one of the largest 401k providers in the US. She nudged me to apply as their starting salaries were in the $50,000 range, and apparently, they had “great benefits,” although I would not really know the value of that until later. I started at Fidelity in October 2015, and after passing all my licensing, I started working with their high-net-worth clientele through many different roles. Fidelity paid TRIPLE overtime for working holidays, and you know, I picked up every holiday I could to pay off my debt, which also helped jumpstart my career there. I also started dating my now husband that same year. After working my way up to the junior advisor role and moving from Denver to Paramus, NJ (my husband is from NJ, and you know relationships are all about compromise), I met my now business partner, Jeff, who is the CEO of our boutique financial planning firm. As his junior advisor, I learned what building and maintaining a 20-year+ relationship with clients looked like. It also made me appreciate the value of an advisor that calls you back when they say they will. The depth and breadth of topics he covered with them were impressive, to say the least. After three years of working in that capacity, I was promoted to Financial Consultant, where I handled my own book of business, working with clients to grow and maintain their assets as they moved through different phases of their lives. I was one of the youngest Financial Consultant trainees, which I attribute to working my behind off and being in the right place at the right time. I think the harder you work, the luckier you get. I raised my hand as much as I could, and I asked for feedback constantly. “Be curious longer” was and still is my mantra. 

My husband and I got engaged in 2018 on Diamond Mountain in Harriman State Park, which was one of our favorite hiking spots when we were there. I knew I wanted to get married in Colorado because as much time as I had spent growing up in Illinois, my most transformative years were spent in Colorado. We planned our wedding two years later because we needed time to save up, and after calculating how much we were going to spend and how much we could afford to set aside from our pay every month, 2020 seemed reasonable. Well, the universe had other plans, to say the least. We got married in his parent’s backyard and got to celebrate with the rest of our friends and family in Breckenridge in 2022. During those four years, COVID-19 made Derek and I miss our life in Colorado. After our lease in Ridgewood, NJ, ended in June of 2020, we moved in with his parents to save up for a down payment on a house. Between living with your in-laws and not being able to leave the house, we bought our first home in November 2020. The housing market at that time was “weird,” to say the least. We kept getting outbid by cash so many times that, at one point, we offered to buy $1,000 worth of stained glass pieces from the seller’s business. Fast forward to 2024, I now realize this might be my forever home as we locked in a rate that we might not see again after the fastest rate hike cycle in modern history. 

After moving back to Colorado in 2020, I started to think about my career. I was serving 400+ households, and Fidelity was moving to a “one size fits all model,” which did not intrigue me. I wanted a more personalized offering and one that was not based on the products I sold. I left in 2022, joining a smaller firm in Boulder, Colorado, that specialized in alternative investments. That was not an area I had a lot of exposure to, so I was incredibly grateful to learn more about how those investments fit in with a client’s portfolio. Not too long after I had joined the Boulder firm, my old colleague and mentor, Jeff, reached out and told me about Breakwater Capital Group. I knew immediately he was someone I could never learn enough from. I think our firm’s name tells you exactly how we treat our clients. “Breakwater” generally refers to a structure designed to protect a coast or harbor from the force of waves and minimize erosion or damage to the shoreline. We aim to be that Breakwater for our clients as they go through life’s uncertainties. After my son ended up with two brain surgeries, boy, do I know a little something about that. 

My son was born on 12/28/23. I thought I was slick in getting him out in the same year we had maxed out our deductible. The universe had different plans yet again. From the ambulance ride from where I gave birth to the Children’s hospital, I think we hit our deductible for 2024 within minutes of the new year. That part was not in the “what to expect when you’re expecting.” Candidly, I never read that book to begin with, so I don’t really know. 

Although the idea of SOPHIA was put together one year before I had my son, she unfortunately got pushed to the side until now. I wanted to make sure I could give her the attention she deserved. As I felt content with my son’s health and was returning to work, I was excited to get her out in front of people. I have always been an advocate for women and financial empowerment. While it’s true that “money does not buy you happiness,” I have found it does give you access to make choices from a position of power rather than one of weakness for yourself and the ones you love. 

I will approach SOPHIA with as much care and genuineness as my client relationships. As one of my idols, Sallie Krawcheck, always says, “Nothing bad happens when women have more money,” so let’s get to work. 

P.S. I promise never to talk about myself that much again.