COVID-19 – The Healthy Advisor Podcast

Transparency with Diana B.: The Reality of Divorce With a Special Needs Child

By healthy advisor | July 8, 2020

As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and, perhaps, the preeminent divorce advisor in the industry, Michelle Smith has helped hundreds of women through the financial maze of divorce. But she’s even more qualified to advise on divorce because she’s gone through it herself—and with a child with special needs no less.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Michelle Smith, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and CEO of Source Financial Advisors, an RIA in New York City. Michelle discusses her own experience with divorce, co-parenting a special needs child, learning to ask for help, and more.

Michelle received her son’s Down syndrome diagnosis three minutes after he was born. Although she didn’t feel equipped to parent a child with special needs, she instantly flipped into “I’ve got this” mode. But she was petrified when she saw her husband shut down. In that moment, she knew in her gut that her marriage was over.

In this episode, you will learn:

How the birth of her son sparked a realization about her marriage
Why it was important for her to take a step back during the divorce process
About her experience co-parenting a special needs child
How she ultimately learned to ask for help from her friends and family
Why Michelle and her friends decided to start their own school in New York City
Her advice for people going through divorce: how to mediate safely and why you should reconsider litigating
How COVID-19 could impact divorces
And more

Listen now to hear Michelle’s experience going through the divorce process and parenting her special needs son.

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Transparency with Diana B.: Living With Type 1 Diabetes

By healthy advisor | June 10, 2020

As an estate tax attorney, Melanie Schnoll-Begun spent so much of her life helping others plan their for their futures. But when she applied for a life insurance policy of her own during pregnancy, she never imagined she’d get a rejection letter. That was the moment she learned she had Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that now impacts every aspect of her life.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Melanie Schnoll-Begun, the managing director and head of philanthropy management at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She opens up about her journey living with diabetes, and how the disease has shaped her career. Melanie was later inspired to help launch Morgan Stanley GIFT Cures, a program that advances the development of research discoveries into new cures and treatments for a broad range of diseases. The diabetic community—and especially those with Type 1—is very compromised right now due to the coronavirus, and Melanie has had to have a heightened level of awareness during this time.

In this episode, you will learn:

How Melanie learned about her diagnosis
How having diabetes has shaped Melanie’s life and career
Misconceptions about Type 1 diabetes
How COVID-19 impacts people with Type 1 diabetes
What kind of work Morgan Stanley GIFT Cures is doing around COVID-19
Melanie’s advice for coping with Type 1 diabetes
And more.

Tune in now to hear about Melanie Schnoll Begun’s experience living with Type 1 diabetes.

WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | Contact Melanie | Morgan Stanley

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Transparency With Diana B.: Working Mothers in Quarantine

By healthy advisor | May 27, 2020

When shelter-in-place orders started cropping up in mid-March, as the coronavirus started to spread in cities across the country, many schools and daycares closed. Babysitters and other caregivers, such as grandparents, were forced to separate from the kids they typically cared for. The circumstance brought a new challenge to working parents, who have been struggling over the last few months to work remotely, home-school their children, and keep the young ones engaged, occupied and happy.

In this episode of Transparency, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, talks to three mothers in financial services about the challenges they’ve experienced balancing work and childcare during the quarantine.

Shana Sissel, chief investment officer of Spotlight Asset Group, has an energetic little boy who is feeling increasingly antsy inside their apartment. Kristine Porcaro, co-founder and president of Lexington Wealth Management, is preserving emotional energy for her two teenage girls. And Blair DuQuesnay, an advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, is balancing the care of her young son and newborn daughter.

Diana’s joined by Shana, Kristine, and Blair who discuss the challenges of keeping their children emotionally and mentally fulfilled while stuck inside, as well as their mechanisms for staying sane. Diana draws on her own experience in this episode, working from home while caring for her 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

In this episode, you will learn:

About their experiences working from home with kids
How these moms feel about screentime and how they manage it
How they’re dealing with schools and daycares being closed
How they’re dealing with acting out and heightened emotions
How to run an advisory business while caring for children
Ways these mothers maintain sanity and relieve stress
And more.

Tune in now to hear a candid discussion about the challenges of caring for children and working from home during COVID-19.

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Transparency With Diana B.: A Near-Death Experience

By healthy advisor | May 13, 2020

While the numbers are constantly changing, the coronavirus has claimed many, many lives, and the casualties continue to climb. And during this time, as mortality is top of mind for many and emotions are running high, it may help to hear from someone who has faced death, head-on, and lived to tell the tale.

In this episode of Transparency, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Brandon Garrett, president and chief investment officer of Snow Garrett Wealth Management, who had a near-death experience several years ago. What began as a fun vacation to the beautiful Cayman Islands with his wife and friends ended with him laying in a hospital bed, with a bacterial infection that led to septic shock. He thought it might be the end of his life.

The infection, of course, did not claim his life. But the experience did change him permanently and helped him to live more purposely going forward.

In this episode you will learn:

The details of Brandon’s own near-death experience
What he was feeling and thinking during the ordeal
How he found inner peace in the face of death and fear
How the experience changed his life
The importance of focusing on yourself as much as your clients
The importance of personal and professional communication
And more.

Tune in now to learn how to recognize whether you’re living purposely, with a bigger picture objective in mind, or simply living in the moment.

Resources: Wealth Management | Email | Coronavirus Coverage | Diana Britton’s LinkedIn | Snow Garrett Wealth Management

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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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