April 2020 – The Healthy Advisor Podcast

Transparency With Diana B.: From Riches to Refugee

By healthy advisor | April 29, 2020

Many people tend to dwell on horrific experiences, making it difficult to move forward and live their lives. Others embrace the trauma, using it to build strength and a thick skin.

In this episode of Transparency, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Kashif “Kash” Ahmed, founder and president of American Private Wealth, an advisory outside of Boston. In 1990 at the age of 17, Kash and his family found themselves at the center of Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait by Saddam Hussain’s forces, over oil pricing and production disputes. Hussain led Iraq with an iron first for several decades, and Kash’s family, including his father who was instrumental in building Kuwait’s oil industry, was at the top of his list of people to take hostage. Kash went from riches to refugee in a matter of hours.

In this episode, you will learn:

About his six-week journey out of war-torn Kuwait into Pakistan
How Kash at a young age learned the importance of sticking to his principles
How he learned to embrace these traumatic experiences and be grateful for what he has
How he turns his adversity into strength
What led Kash to become a financial advisor, and how he dealt with biases against Muslims
And more

Tune in now to learn how to embrace adversity and use it to build strength.

Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded before we found out that Kash had contracted COVID-19. Our editors have been in touch with him, and he’s recovering with no extreme symptoms. As with his experience fleeing Kuwait, he’s got a positive attitude, saying on Twitter “#COVID19 – You will not defeat me!”

Resources: WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | American Private Wealth

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Transparency With Diana B.: Life in Lockdown During COVID-19

By healthy advisor | April 15, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy and citizens’ health, as the death toll continues to rise daily. It’s also upended personal lives, including those of financial advisors, who may serve as an even greater source of support to their clients during this time.

In this episode of Transparency, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Hui-chin Chen, a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Pavlov Financial Planning, who was living temporarily in the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia with her husband, due to work, when the pandemic escalated. Time elapsed too quickly for them to return to the U.S. when all citizens were ordered home. Now they sit and wait in a foreign country that is on complete lockdown with a 24-hour curfew imposed, and all businesses have been ordered closed.

In this episode, you will learn:

How COVID-19 is affecting citizens that are stranded abroad.
The perspective of someone who has had more time to digest the effects of the coronavirus, with Hui-chin having family in Taiwan and friends in China.
How Hui-chin is using her financial planning background to help her clients plan for emergencies.
How to be flexible when a huge change suddenly strikes.
How to get out of panic mode and see a way forward during this time.
How one advisor is dealing with the stress of the situation.
How her communication and interaction with clients has changed during this time.
And more

Tune in now to get insight into how advisors and clients are coping during this stressful time.

Resources: WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | Pavlov Financial Planning | Coronavirus Coverage

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Transparency With Diana B.: More Tales From the “Boom Boom Room”

By healthy advisor | April 1, 2020

When Julie Johnson started out as a financial advisor at Smith Barney in the 1990s, she was “smiling and dialing” to build up her book of business. She excelled in her rookie year, so much so that she was sought after by another wealth advisor who needed help expanding his practice. She jumped at the chance. But what seemed like a good opportunity turned into a nightmare.

In this episode of Transparency, Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com’s managing editor, is joined by Julie Johnson, former senior vice president of UBS Wealth Management and current president and CEO of XY Communication, an executive coaching and public speaking firm. Julie shares her experiences being a female in a very male dominated industry at a time when there were places like “the boom boom room,” a famous party room at Smith Barney’s Garden City, N.Y. branch. Many women flocked to Wall Street in the ‘90s only to be held down by chauvinists. Julie was at the center of it, as she stayed in a years-long toxic relationship with her male partner, who made inappropriate advances.

The stress of it all ended up taking a bad toll on her physical health, which eventually led her to leave the industry.

“When you feel so small and so disrespected for so many years, it has a physical and very real physical effect on you,” she says. “We have to give ourselves permission to say ‘no,’ and to get help.”

In this episode, you will learn:

The story of Julie’s successes and struggles in financial services
The negative tendencies of successful financial advisors
The importance of taking care of yourself first, before clients
How Julie learned to be her own advocate for her health
How she found the power to stand up for herself and leave the industry
How to let go of the pursuit of perfectionism and seek support
And more.

Tune in now to hear how Julie got through these difficult times.

Resources:

WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | XY Communication | Julie Johnson LI

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