Jessie Schlanderer, CDFA®

From a young age, my family instilled in me both a comfortable and cautious approach to money.  We valued earning our way and understanding the balance between affording the things you want and saving for the future. One of the people who advocated for this most was my Grandpa Charlie, who first encouraged us to open savings accounts and taught us the value of compound interest. I remember him explaining, in simple terms, what a stock was and how to allow your investments to grow—childhood me thought it was so cool that you could own a (very small) part of companies like McDonald’s.

He also valued education.  When I became interested in math and finance, he encouraged me to deepen my knowledge and pursue my goals. Throughout college I thought I wanted to be an actuary, but quickly learned that I not only preferred my finance classes, but also I needed a job where I could work with people.  I pivoted my job search toward either a Financial Analyst or Advisor role and soon connected with a team at Wells Fargo Advisors, where I was able to work with both the logical and personable sides of my brain. Grandpa Charlie made sure I started contributing to my retirement plan as soon as possible.

From him, as well as my entire family, I learned how important it is to start these conversations early to instill confidence and awareness around money, which is so often a daunting and uncomfortable subject. As my career develops with SWMG, I hope to continue to share these values with my friends, clients, and their families.

Jessie Schlanderer