Finances can be one of those topics that nobody wants to talk about. You can be working with something as simple as budgets or something as complex as investments and end up with a lot of conflicting information. It’s difficult to know what the right steps to take are.
To help with financial confusion, meet Brett McAvoy. His family would describe him as generous, helpful, dependable, and insightful. His five kids (one married, two in college, a high schooler, and a fourth grader), have benefitted from McAvoy's experience and knowledge in the financial sector. He has passed his knowledge and insights to his children, setting them up for success from a young age. His high schooler recently got a part-time job and is already learning about the importance of savings and investments, putting the knowledge to work with the paychecks he is currently getting.
As a child, McAvoy moved around a lot. He is the son of an Army soldier. Once his dad moved to reserve service, they were able to plant some roots, settling in Seattle. After high school, he attended BYU Provo, obtaining a degree in Portuguese. The major was influenced by the two-year mission McAvoy served in Brazil. He is still fluent in Portuguese even teaching his kids some words. His minor in business helps make sense of the now financial advisor but it doesn’t give the full picture. To pay for college, Brett would take sales jobs in different parts of the country. This adventurous method of working to pay tuition is what brought him to Arizona, where he would meet Rachel, a Mesa girl. As it turned out, she was also attending BYU Provo. They dated for two years before getting married.
When graduation was approaching, McAvoy knew he wanted to stay in sales. He liked the freedom it offered him—freedom in terms of being able to control his schedule and his income. Raises weren’t dependent on a manager approving or deciding he was worthy of the raise. In sales, there is a direct coloration of how hard and how well he worked with how much he made. He was planning on getting into pharmaceutical sales and had offers right out of college. Before considering any offers, he was introduced to a family friend in financial advising and services. After a conversation, financial advising started to have an appeal. There was a better match in McAvoy’s skillset, and it was more appealing in general, even with the starting salary being lower than what he was being approached with in pharmaceutical sales positions.
When asked about what made financial advising more appealing in such a way that made the lower starting salary worth it, McAvoy’s answer is simple—it was helping people. Being able to help people and give positive outcomes as a result of his work and efforts made the career he ultimately chose appealing. In financial advising, he is able to work closer with clients and see the benefits and outcomes himself. It’s an impact made in the lives of his clients and in turn, the lives in the community.
Taking the pay cut paid off, he started off with a small mutual fund, working on the wholesale side of investments. His first clients were financial advisors and worked with assets management firms in a regional sales territory. There was lots of traveling, lots of conferences and dinners. It was getting tiresome. Between wanting to travel less, wanting to be more active in service to community in Mesa, and wanting to be home with his family more, the choice was easy to make when he was offered a position with a new branch with Charles Schwab. It was the exact right opportunity at the exact right time.
McAvoy has a long but interesting title—Independent Branch Manager and Financial Consultant. What does it mean? It means he is an advocate and tour guide to all things Charles Schwab. The main focus: “helping Americans save, invest, and retire the way they want to and in a way that will lead to their long-term success.” When asked about the best part of his work day, he says it’s the adventure of every day. Every client has a different financial picture, different goals, and different needs. Finances are cold, worldly, and hard. Yet it brings out so many emotions because it is tied to hopes, dreams, and backgrounds. McAvoy enjoys the stories shared around the conference table as he meets new people.
Financial advice is always personal. It is also subject to regulations and laws but there are some pieces of advice McAvoy was able to share. His top three pieces of advice are:
1) Start Young or Start Now—someone once said the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now. The same is true for finances and future planning.
2) Have a Plan—This goes further than a monthly budget, you need a financial plan that covers all aspects of finances.
3) Be Patient—Stick to the plan and don’t worry about outside noise.
The best place to start is with a consultation, a business way of saying have a conversation. Talk to an advisor and ask questions to see if services match your needs. At Charles Schwab, you have options. You can do a DIY approach, taking their tools and handling everything yourself. They also offer a ton of educational materials and workshops. The DIY approach doesn’t require full-time work hours, just a curiosity about finances and a willingness to learn. You can also handle your financial planning the old-fashioned way by working with an advisor who does more of the heavy lifting. The beauty is that you can start the process—conversations are free. As you navigate the different paths and options, you can always pivot and change paths if you want to or need to. It’s about the relationship with the advisors and the services they can provide. You are not locked into non-negotiables when it comes to your service path at Charles Schwab.
Finances are cold, worldly, and hard. Yet it is tied to hopes, dreams, and backgrounds.
Start Young or Start Now—someone once said the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now. The same is true for finances and future planning.