Message from the CEO - Exciting Next Chapter for Financial Gym
Hello FinGym Friends and Family,
Three months ago, I shared that we would be launching an investment subdivision for Financial Gym after years of client requests to provide this service. If I’m being fully transparent, I honestly had no clue how this news would be received. I knew we had a number of clients asking for this service, but I didn’t know what would happen when I sent that email into the universe. What has transpired in the last three months is something beyond anything even I could have imagined.
The team and I have spent the last three months knee-deep in research on our competitors as well as discovering our own unique investment philosophies and strategies. I have personally spoken to hundreds of clients and former clients about their investment experiences and my team has spoken to hundreds of financial advisers working for other firms. The sum total of all of this experience has led to me feel very strongly that the only “safe” place I truly feel for people to build, grow and sustain wealth is here at Financial Gym.
A bold statement you might say, but I have hundreds of data points to support my thesis. I will not share them all here, but I will share some high-level philosophies that I have adopted through this launch process.
I will NEVER, EVER, EVER recommend a robo-adviser to a client going forward. Robo’s have been the predominant solution we’ve suggested to our clients as their assets are typically at a size below where a human adviser will work with them (less than $250,000) or we’ve had clients who refuse to work with the human advisers because of lack of trust or confidence and chosen the robo path instead. I’m happy to share the MANY reasons why I would never do this, but if you’re currently invested with a robo-adviser, I would highly encourage you to look for an alternative investment solution.
I would NEVER, EVER, EVER work with a financial adviser who is employed by an advisory company whose parent is an insurance company. I always say to my team, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” and while there are many amazing financial advisers who are employed by these companies, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the game the company is trying to play—which is to sell insurance products to people who don’t really need them. We had a client ask her financial adviser for more information about the fees she’s paying and she received a full one-page response with 10+ different ways she was being charged. In an “up” stock market, this client’s investment position has been negative because of all of these fees.
I would NEVER, EVER, EVER tell someone to continue to work with a financial adviser when it’s unclear how that person is compensated, how they invest their own capital or if they don’t feel comfortable speaking with their adviser. We’ve spoken to way too many clients who work with family or parent’s advisers and say they don’t feel comfortable talking to them, they feel like an inconvenience because of their level of assets or when they do speak with the adviser, they don’t understand what they’re saying. At the end of the day, we’re speaking about building wealth, and it’s YOUR wealth we’re talking about. You’re the one who should feel comfortable, in control and motivated by your plan. It’s not your adviser’s job to keep you in the dark or confused by your own future.
I would NEVER, EVER, EVER recommend a financial adviser who isn’t also a wealth builder. What do I mean by that? I’ve answered a number of questions about paying fees and why we should pay fees when we can invest on our own and save that 1%, and all of these are valid questions. My response at the end of the day is that if your adviser is just managing your money and not willing to go in the weeds with you to find more money in your budget or work with you to negotiate for more income or help you avoid lifestyle creep which is inherent in a financial journey, then you are wasting money. At the end of the day, we’re excited about our investment offering and our unique approach, but if we’re not earning our fee every day for our clients, then I wouldn’t pay us either. Market returns, on average, will only give you 8-10% over time, which on $1,000 represents $80 to $100 per year. I met with a client last week, and I knew her student loan payment sounded high given her outstanding balance. She called her servicer and was able to lower her payment by $300 per month. We found $3,600 per year of “new” money she could invest toward her future. If you are on an investment journey with us, we will never stop thinking about the costs (including our fees) that may create hurdles for you on the road to achieving your financial goals. At the end of the day, we’re trying to get all of our clients to financial independence as soon as possible and it will always be a combination of savings and investment strategy that works best to get there.
Finally, I have a very difficult time recommending most other investment management companies to clients because of an extreme lack of diversity in their employee base. When I was hired as a Merrill Lynch financial adviser, over 14 years ago, I was specifically told that they didn’t want to hire me because I was a woman and they didn’t think I could do the job. If you have a financial adviser, I encourage you to look at the team page of that adviser or ask about the diversity of advisers in their company. According to data from 2022, 70% of financial advisers are men, 70-80% are white, and Asian, Latino and Black advisors only make up 5-10% of the community. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a core value of Financial Gym and it always will be.
After these past three months, from what I have researched and learned directly from our community, I can tell you that the only investment firm I feel comfortable recommending to clients is FG Advisory Services, LLC (the SEC-registered wholly-owned subsidiary of Financial Gym). We are fiduciaries, but so much more. If you want to learn more about the services we offer, please feel free to email advisory@fingyms.com. We have a pre-recorded information session with more of these details, but we can also directly link you with someone on our team to discuss your unique situation. We are launching a revolution in an industry that’s in dire need of change, and we hope you’ll join us and trust us on your wealth building, growing and maintaining journey. Our doors are officially open and we’re opening our first new client accounts this week!
Cheers!
Shannon McLay
Founder & CEO
Financial Gym / FG Advisory Services
PS: In case you were wondering, I’m moving my retirement account over here, investing in our proprietary portfolios and paying the same 1% fees as our clients. I never understood advisers who invested their personal money one way, but clients' money a completely different way. Our life goals may differ, which means different asset allocations, but other than that, I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I’m not aligned with our clients. Our goal is that our team loses sleep around our investment choices so that our clients can sleep comfortably. There’s enough to worry about in life, trust in your financial partner shouldn’t be one of those things.