While in college, Ann Hollis-Young was taking communications courses with the goal of one day doing broadcasting. But that trajectory didn’t last.
“All of the cute boys were in economics classes, so I started taking economics,” she says, laughing. To her surprise, she found she enjoyed it immensely, and not just because of her classmates. “It was something I didn’t have a high level of competence in and it was challenging for me, but I knew it was something that would be really important for me for the rest of my life. That’s what started my path towards finance.”
It’s definitely a male-dominated field. “When I started in July of 2019, there were 20 people in my broker training class at Merrill Lynch and I was the only female.”
Ann didn’t let that statistic intimidate her. Today, she’s a managing director and senior wealth advisor with Southern Oak Wealth Group in Brentwood.
“I attribute my success to many great mentors along the way,” she says. “This is an industry where you never know enough, and you have to lean on people you trust and respect and constantly ask for help, which is sometimes difficult for women. There are people who may be better than you in certain areas because no one person can do it all or know it all.”
Knowledge is power, and in order to be successful in this industry, she says it’s critical to know what's happening in the market, what's happening in the world, and how all of these things intersect. “Read a lot, listen and learn.”
And don’t be afraid of downturns in the market. “After my training, I had about three great months of a market and then several really, really difficult years. In retrospect, those were probably the best years of training that I could have asked for because, in my opinion, you do your best job as a financial advisor when the market is bad.”
The financial sector is a great fit for women, says Ann. “I think women make really great investors because we are skilled at outlining a plan and sticking to it. Also, there can be a lot of flexibility in this career because, ultimately, you are your own boss, and so you can decide how much, how little, or how hard you want to work and then build your career from there.
She adds, “I'm a working mother. I have two small children, 5-year-old Elizabeth, and 2-year-old Grace, and it's my greatest privilege to pick them up from school. This is a career that allows me to do that, for which I'm very grateful.”
It also gives this Franklin mom the freedom to spend time not only with her daughters but also with her husband Donnie and family who live close by. “We love going to Center Hill Lake or swimming in the pool and just being with each other.”
For young girls and women who are thinking about following their own financial path, Ann recommends that they speak with others who are already doing it.
“It’s also important to note that women as investors are making up such a tremendous amount of the population,” she says. “As this baby boomer generation ages, there's about $30 trillion in assets that are estimated to be controlled by women in the next several years.” What a great time to get into the industry!
“I think women make really great investors because we are skilled at outlining a plan and sticking to it.”
“As this baby boomer generation ages, there's about $30 trillion in assets that are estimated to be controlled by women in the next several years.”