As part of our rigorous training to be a Stock Broker/Financial Advisor, we were taught how to call clients and aggressively sell them investment products or convince them to make a transaction (buy/sell).

Upon graduating from training, I was now out in the field as a full-fledged financial advisor. I also thought that I would never be put in a position in which I had to aggressively sell anything to clients. I was naïve. We were obligated to attend “call sessions” twice a month. This is where all of the new advisors from the region will sit down around a huge table and start calling their clients and start trying to set appointments and sell.

The sessions will typically last an hour. Afterward, we would sit and listen to “inspirational” stories from the leaders of our region on how much money they made in one phone call. I can vividly remember a leader from my region printing out a list of my oldest clients and handing them over to me. The leader said, “call them, you can sell them anything, and they will say yes.”

This left an awful taste in my mouth because there wasn’t a mention of how and what I can do to help. Just call the clients and make a transaction. I did some research to see how other firms operated, and they were all similar.

I remember one of my very first appointments being with a young family. Both parents were in their early 30’s and their son that was 14 months old. I believe that I gave them the best possible advice considering their financial situation. Both were going to start contributing more to their IRAs and opened a 529 College Fund account for their son.

In our bi-weekly meeting with our mentors and leaders, I mentioned the family and the advice that I provided. They were upset that I was wasting my time with “small fish.” They kept on insisting that they were going to put an anchor in my business. Unfortunately, they were right.

When you are working for a large financial service firm, they are going to look out for the best interest of the firm. It makes sense. Regrettably, that means you have to cater your business to a smaller group of individuals and to leave groups that need help the most behind.

In the latter part of my employment with this firm, I experience something that was very uncomfortable. Our region was not at the top for selling life insurance and annuities. We had to go through more extensive training on how to sell more life insurance and annuities.

It started to feel like I was more of a salesman than a financial advisor. I was taught what to say to combat any situation they might have in order to sell an annuity. It wasn’t what was best for the client; it was what was best for corporate pockets.

Almost every new advisor working at a large firm has experience advising a client to invest in something you didn’t honestly believe in or understand because it might help you meet your sales goal. It is valid for nearly every advisor that has worked for a large firm.

I was once put in a position in which I had to choose between selling an investment product that didn’t benefit the client or telling them the truth. I chose the latter and was scrutinized by “leaders” in my field. It was the final straw the broke the camel’s back, to say the least. That is why I decided it was time to make a change.

The best feeling I had when I started working for myself as an Independent advisor was that I was finally honest with myself. I didn’t have to convince myself that what I was doing was in the best interest of the client. I knew that it was.

I wasn’t obligated to attend monthly call sessions or sit-downs with leaders in the region to discuss how to sell more investment products. No more “Inspirational Stories” on how veteran financial advisors can sell anything to anyone. More importantly, I didn’t feel like I was tricking anyone to making a transaction. There a new vibe to it all because I can start focusing on what really mattered, my clients.

I had no one tell me who I can and can’t help. I always envisioned myself as an advisor that was able to meet the needs of any client regardless of economic or social status. I was able to give compressional financial planning advice without the huge price tag involved. As a millennial, my goals are not only to cater to folks that are about to retire but to individuals that that are about to start their investing journey as well.

If there is one situation that I hated being the most in is explaining how a particular investment product pays me differently than another or explaining that I get paid every time I place a trade. I wanted to eliminate as many conflicts of interests as possible. Hence by being a fee-only advisor, I don’t get paid by how much or what sell but by the advice I provide.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the financial well-being of the client and not a corporate firm.

I am now able to provide value and investment advice that doesn’t compromise my moral compass. No more lectures from product partners on why one investment is better (pays more) than the other. I am able to pick and choose investments from that are best suited for my clients.

I am also able to partner with various independent research analysis firms, custodians, and financial planning software firms that best meet the needs of my clients.