Yeske Buie’s Pro Bono Advocates Quoted in National Media

At Yeske Buie, our mission is to empower people to pursue their Live Big lives. This mission applies, first and foremost, to our work with our Clients, and extends to our teammates, our loved ones, and those experiencing hardship or crisis through pro bono service. Related to our work with the Foundation for Financial Planning’s Pro Bono in Practice initiative, two of our pro bono advocates, Sydney Woodward and Yusuf Abugideiri, were recently featured in Barron’s and Citywire, respectively. We’re honored to share their words, and even more proud of the hearts behind them.

“Citywire”: Meet the RIAs Embracing Pro Bono Planning Work

Below is an excerpt from a Citywire article by Lilly Riddle and Alex Rich on the Foundation for Financial Planning’s Pro Bono in Practice initiative. The article shares insights from advocates at each of the three firms who participated in the initiative including our Chief Investment Officer, Yusuf Abugideiri, CFP^®, who has been engaged in pro bono work with the Foundation since 2018. Click here to read the full article.

Boutique RIA Yeske Buie recently began offering up to 20 business hours of pro bono services per year. Yusuf Abugideiri, the firm’s chief investment officer (pictured below), has been doing pro bono work since 2018; now, the firm requires its planners to complete at least five to 10 hours per year.

Abugideiri said he hopes pro bono requirements continue to become the norm throughout the industry, in the same vein as residential hours for medical professionals.

‘The foundation has done some research indicating that younger planners are passionate about doing pro bono work and would choose to work with a firm where they’d be given those kinds of opportunities,’ he said. ‘When we introduced this idea of taking pro bono a little bit further, there was universal buy-in across the board. No one had to be persuaded or cajoled in any way. It was really just, “Okay, great. This is exciting.” And, “When can we get started?”’

“Barron’s”: Why a New Generation of Financial Advisors is Seeking Out Pro Bono Work

The quotes below come from a Barron’s article by Cheryl Winokur Munk discussing the growing interest of young advisors in engaging in pro bono service. The article dives into some of the reasons that advisors choose to volunteer and the increasing number of opportunities for these kinds of engagements. Our Financial Planner and Pro Bono Coordinator, Sydney Woodward, CFP^®, shared more about her passion for pro bono service and the impacts of some of her recent experiences. Click here to read the full article.

Sydney Woodward, a financial planner with Yeske Buie in San Francisco, helped a woman pay down her credit card and determine how to fund her education. She also assisted the woman, whose husband had been deported, find new insurance for her 10-year-old son. By the end of their yearlong relationship, the client not only had insurance for her son, but she’d also paid off a few thousand dollars of debt. “She felt like she had the tools to continue without continuing to meet with us,” Woodward says.

Yeske Buie recently implemented a 10-hour pro bono requirement for financial planners. Woodward, who is in charge of the initiative, says she does about 25 hours of charitable projects per year, on average, which equals a few hours a month.

“It’s a balancing act, but 25 hours in a year isn’t too crazy,” she says. “It feels like a big number, but when you’re doing it, it doesn’t feel like you’re taking away from your work for your clients.”