2014-2016 rang in one of the largest oil and gas collapses in US history. An array of factors contributed to the disruption in oil markets and as a young professional, I learned how little control of my career and income I actually had. Thankfully, my wife and I had done some basic financial planning with a friend who was a financial advisor.
At first, we didn’t know what to expect, we were a bit skeptical and frankly we were fairly ignorant of the importance of starting when we were young. With little experience or influence from anyone we perceived to be “wealthy” or financially astute, we just assumed it was a task we would need to tackle when we were a bit older. I did however have a burning desire to get ahead, to learn what other successful people were doing and most importantly, lead a pivotal transformation in my family’s generational wealth.
In the beginning, our advisor helped us become aware of the potential and likely volatility the oil and gas industry presented and shed light on a number of things we didn’t even consider. Most importantly, outside of our budget, 401(k)’s and company stock, year after year we would recklessly click through open enrollment and decline or select the least expensive risk management coverage. We were neglecting perhaps the most prudent planning we could be doing while being distracted by the plummeting values in our retirement accounts. This experience and the vulnerability we shared working in oil and gas led us to take some basic action.
We packaged all of our financial resources, debts, goals and agenda into a written plan. We felt like we were making progress in the right direction. It felt good! During that period of time the O&G sector continued to plummet, we lost a close friend our age in a car accident and had all the reason in the world to feel unsteady and unprepared for what could happen next. My team in particular went from 10 people to 3 people in a matter of months. Those laid off or fired were my friends, people I cared about. Experiencing their fear and lack of security triggered something inside of me. How did my wife and I avoid the panic amidst chaos while also feeling confident in our situation in the event that we could be the next ones on the chopping block? We had a plan. We covered our bases and were prepared. What seemed like effortless planning and basic feats of financial progress ended up being colossal factors when it came to our confidence and security.
In 2016, I chose to leave my career in oil and gas and become a financial advisor. This shift would allow me to teach others how they could have the peace of mind my wife and I did. Since then, I have learned a lot! I would say the most surprising thing I learned when I was an advisor is the lack of preparedness and financial security people actually have. There is a heavy false sense of security for most people. I learned that, although financial planning can be perceived as investment management, insurance planning, tax planning and other complex concepts, the most challenging task is actually human behavior. The fundamentals of financial strategies are pretty easy when applied appropriately. Influencing clients to take action, to implement a plan and stick to that plan is the challenge. I was intimidated by the requirements to learn about mutual funds, fixed income, options and the tax code when in reality I should have studied psychology and human behavior. A few takeaways from my career so far are to be a servant leader, to require clients to implement the appropriate risk management foundation and be optimistic. Regardless of how successful a person may be there is likely some area in their financial strategy that we can improve.
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Registered representative of, and securities and investment advisory services offered through Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC (HTK), Registered Investment Adviser, Member FINRA/SIPC, 600 Dresher Road, Horsham, PA 19044. 800-873-7637, www.htk.com. HTK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. Empire Wealth Strategies is unaffiliated with HTK. HTK does not offer tax or legal advice.
