Scott Toomasson , FPQP

I am always trying to be a good, “active” listener in my personal and professional life. One can always get better at communicating, and I feel that practicing effective listening is a skill that can help in all areas.

When I was 9 or 10, my Dad bought me $100 worth of some basic mutual funds. I always enjoyed looking in the newspaper each day and seeing if I gained (or lost) money the previous day. Around that same time, I started collecting baseball cards — it was fun to see the values of cards fluctuate depending (mostly) on the players’ performance on the field, similar to how a company’s performance influences its stock price. This steered me in the direction of a career in investments.

My best day is welcoming a new colleague to my team. After weeks (or months) of interviews, it’s finally time to “pull back the curtain” and get going on training, meeting other colleagues, and helping the new Associate start the new phase of his/her career.

In this very competitive industry, the subtle touches of excellent client service can go a long way. For example, checking with the client to make sure they receive a check that was mailed or offering to call a client to help walk them through our document portal registration are all things that matter when a client is deciding whether to stick with us or refer a friend — especially when their portfolios aren’t performing as well as hoped.