“An advisor obviously needs to have a strong understanding of finance, markets, and planning techniques. But more importantly, it helps to understand people: their hopes, their dreams, and how they react under stress.”
Jonathan Leidy, CFA | CFP® | AIF®
Founding Partner
Jonathan & Money
I am the only child of two educators. For better or worse, they often found themselves in the middle of a very delicate balancing act, i.e. meeting the needs of administrators, colleagues, students, and parents. In that environment, understanding people, and what makes them tick, is table stakes. So is being truly passionate about the outcomes of the people you serve. That stuck with me.
My grandmother introduced me to the stock market when I was 15. As the daughter of a Scotch-Irish single mother of five, she knew a thing or two about taking risks. She was a true market devotee, and what she lacked in book smarts she more than made up for in instinct.
True Story #1: She sold her entire portfolio 48 hours before the crash of ’87.
True Story #2: She had to replace her 60” Mitsubishi TV twice because she’d burned the stock ticker into the bottom of the screen from tirelessly watching CNBC.
So my zest for knowledge, and the desire to share it, comes straight from my parents. As does my ability to navigate confusing, and often times frustrating, environments by focusing on what’s important. For them, it was student outcomes. For me, it’s the wealth outcomes of my clients.
And thanks to my grandmother, I was able to channel that gusto for learning into something I found fascinating: the market. I also took from her a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” mentality, without which, Portico Wealth Advisors almost certainly would not exist today.
