How to Hire the Next Generation
The November issue of Financial Planning Magazine sports the smiling face of our very own Yusuf Abugideiri under the heading, How to Hire the Next Generation. Elissa is quoted extensively in the accompanying article, beginning with a discussion of how Yeske Buie has helped support the FPA student chapter at Virginia Tech.
Wealth management executive Elissa Buie, for instance, has co-sponsored FPA chapters at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., as well as William Paterson. “I pay for dues and pizza, and I’ve also gone and spoken at the FPA chapter at Virginia Tech,” says Buie, co-founder and CEO of Yeske Buie, which has offices in San Francisco and in Vienna, Va. “When students get input from people who are out in the world doing [the work], it’s really valuable.”
Elissa also discusses Yeske Buie’s team approach to serving clients and how this creates opportunities for young planners, interns, and residents to get client-facing experience from day one.
“We always have a senior planner in a meeting, plus a second chair for someone who is more junior. The intern shadows that [junior] person,” says Buie, whose firm offers both internships and residencies. “They learn what it means to prepare for a meeting, take notes, and do the follow-up.”
Buie also assigns interns projects. “Maybe we have client tax returns, but we haven’t been tracking losses carried forward. We might have [interns] create the database, go through the returns and enter the data. Is it generally done very well? Yes,” she continues. “Perfectly? No — but it’s easier for an assistant financial planner to do cleanup than to do it all from scratch.”
Elissa also has the opportunity to highlight the key drivers behind Yeske Buie’s “In Residence” program.
Buie does hire some former interns, but her firm also uses the residencies to attract young talent while managing their expectations. Residents join the firm for two or three years, and are paid the same as a permanent hire at the same level — but everyone knows that their time at the firm is finite.
“You can’t keep growing and hiring and have everyone on a partnership track,” she says. “Our residents fill the paraplanner positions. They … get experience and take the CFP exam while they’re with us. When they leave, they’ll be ready to get scooped up by another firm or start their own business.”