Chamber Amplified
Each week Doug Jenkins of the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce talks to industry experts to help local businesses find new ideas, operate more efficiently, and adapt to ever-changing conditions.
Chamber Amplified
A Day In The Life: Financial Advisors
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What does a financial advisor actually do all day?
In the latest installment of our Day in the Life series, Chamber Amplified sits down with Josh Robb of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management for a behind-the-scenes look at a career in financial advising and wealth management.
Josh explains why working as a financial advisor is much more relationship-driven than many people realize, how advisors help clients turn financial goals into a plan, and why building trust is especially important when starting a career in the industry.
We also discuss how technology and artificial intelligence are changing financial planning, including clients bringing AI-generated financial recommendations into meetings - and why the human side of financial advising still matters during market volatility and major financial decisions.
Plus, Josh shares his path from the nonprofit world into financial services and why financial advising can be a second career.
Topics include financial planning, wealth management, retirement planning, AI in finance, career development, networking, client relationships and building trust in business.
Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com
Why Wealth Management Matters Locally
Doug JenkinsHello everyone and welcome to Chamber Amplified, brought to you by the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host, Doug Jenkins. Each week on the podcast, we're talking about the things that matter most to local businesses and organizations, whether that's workforce and leadership development, could be marketing, could be IT issues, or just the everyday realities of running something that serves our community. And of course, at the end of each month, or the last podcast of each month, anyway, we talk about a day in the life of an industry or a business in Findlay and Hancock County. And that's what we're doing for today. We landed on wealth management and financial advising. We're joined by Josh Robb of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management, and we'll talk all about that again. I pick these topics at random or these industries at random, and then we just do a random generation of our members who are in those industries, and that's how we landed today. When you think about a financial advisor, you might think of someone looking at the stock market charts all day, buying and selling stocks, and I don't know, your stereotypical thing on Wall Street, but that is actually a very small part of the day, according to Josh. He'll talk about building relationships and how important that has been to his career, listening to clients and helping figure out people figure out what they're actually trying to accomplish. We'll talk about how Josh built credibility when he was starting out. I mean, imagine that when you have a young person going into this business and thinking about, well, here's my retirement. You manage this for me. That can be a very uphill battle to climb, and Josh will tell us about how he went about doing that. We'll also talk about AI and financial planning, including something Josh is already seeing. Clients who are bringing in recommendations that they got from ChatGPT, and his response to that might be a little bit different than what you might think. We'll dive into all of that. So again, if you think financial advisors just spend most of their day watching CNBC and yelling buy and sell, well, this week's episode might change your perception of the job. If you enjoy the podcast, don't forget to leave us a rating and review. You can do that on Apple Podcasts and I believe Spotify. We're also on YouTube now. So if you really want to share the message, that is an easy way to do it. Just share that link out with people. Now, let's get into it.
Meet Financial Advisor Josh Robb
Doug JenkinsJoined on Chamber Amplified by Josh Robb with Hicks and Zuercher Capital Management. And Josh, uh a veteran of the podcast, but uh we're not so much talking about whatever we were talking about the last time around. We've done so many of these episodes. I forget what all the topics are now, Josh. Uh, but we're just talking about what a day in the life in your industry is like. So thanks for hopping on for this one.
Josh RobbYep. Glad to be here. I'm uh excited to be back again. I also don't remember what the last topic was, so that's all right. Must have been very meaningful.
Doug JenkinsI think there were some market swings that we were talking about meant for uh businesses, but I we've been doing the podcast for a while now. So uh so let's talk about working in the world of of helping people towards their retirement and managing wealth and and everything like that.
The Real Day To Day Work
Doug JenkinsWhat does the day-to-day look like for you?
Josh RobbYeah, so you know, for for myself, and I think this is kind of broadly true across the industry for financial advisors, you know, a lot of our time is spent client facing right there with them, talking through their goals, working on their plans, you know, what do they need to do to achieve those financial goals down the road? Uh so you know, a big chunk of my time is meeting with clients, working through those issues and problems, and helping them get that path forward. And then on the back end of that is once you get that plan, implementing it. So, you know, making sure the accounts and the strategies are put in correctly, um, putting in or updating retirement plans or estate plans or tax plans, all those things that we do to help them along the way, you know, the work has to be done on the back end. So when I'm not with the client, a lot of that is happening on the backside.
Trust Building Through Community Involvement
Doug JenkinsIt sounds like a lot of this is relationship driven. And that's kind of one of the things when we do these day-in-the-life episodes that really becomes true. I think a lot of people don't realize when they get into a job that it's all relationships. It doesn't really matter if the job that you do, relationships are a big part of it. When you first got started, how did you go about developing those relationships?
Josh RobbYeah, great question. And you're right, it you know, when you think finance, the first thing that comes to mind is numbers, right? You know, is you got to be a numbers guy. And while that's true, you know, understanding how you know investment works, numbers, it is very relational because you got to connect with the client, make sure you understand what they're actually trying to tell you. Because, you know, sometimes they they may have a goal, but getting that articulated, you know, here's what I'm actually trying to achieve. You got to work with them uh along the way with that. And early on in my career, you know, building that trust, especially when you start and you're young, you know, the idea is, you know, how do you want to trust this young person with your hard-earned money? You got to show your expertise, you got to show your competence. And so building those relationships um, a lot of times through community involvement was a big way of being out in the community and showing people that you know you're knowledgeable, you're passionate, and that you're here because they don't want somebody, you know, to get to know and then all of a sudden they're gone somewhere else, but you know, that you're here to stay, you're gonna be a long-term person in the community and uh keep that relationship going.
Doug JenkinsAnd I think a lot of times it's interesting, we've talked about this on the podcast a few times with different guests about how you cultivate business relationships. And a lot of times it's not that you're handing your card to every person you see, although I I think maybe there's an old school mentality that people uh are still doing that, but it's just like you said, just showing up, being part of community organizations, things like that, talking to people, you're probably not talking about what it is you do for work 90, 95% of the time. It's more about just getting to know people.
Josh RobbYep. And you got to be authentic because if you're showing up to those events just to connect with people for business, people pick up on that. They know if you're you're really there because you care about what whatever that activity or organization is. And so choose the ones that you actually care about because people will pick up on whether it's genuine or not, and that will decide how they really want to interact with you.
Doug JenkinsI think it's great advice for anybody starting out, it's a pretty good refresher for people long into their career as well.
What People Misunderstand About Advisors
Doug JenkinsUh, if you look back at just your your career, what is one thing that you wish people knew more about when it comes to what you do?
Josh RobbI think, and you kind of hit on it, is you know, a financial advisor, the choosing investments, managing money is just a small piece of what a financial advisor does. And you're right that the big chunk of our time is relational. And uh, in fact, the CFP certified financial planner, it's a designation in our industry, they're adding kind of a psychology piece to it on kind of how investors think about and react to money because they understand that aspect of managing money and financial planning is a big part. You know, how and why do I make those decisions matters almost as much as what those decisions are. Um, and that long-term relationship is really the key to this industry, you know, is if I want someone to, you know, stick with our firm and trust us to manage their money, if they don't like meeting with me, I don't think that relationship lasts very long. You gotta you gotta be able to be personable and and meet with people and and kind of have that connection with them.
Doug JenkinsYou mentioned we kind of laughed about it already that a lot of people just assume numbers. Do you do you think people one think that you're just behind a computer all day just watching the market and saying buy, buy, buy or sell, sell, sell? Yeah, uh, or do people get into the industry thinking that that's what it is too, and maybe don't realize that that's not what you're doing on a day-to-day basis? You're not buying individual stocks anyway.
Josh RobbWell, you know, some people do in you know, in the industry depends on how your firm is set up. Um, like our firm, we do own individual stocks and some portfolios, uh, as long as mutual funds and ETFs, things like that. But, you know, there's different areas. So, you know, I'm a financial advisor, so again, it's a lot more relational. But if you're uh an analyst, so you're you are spending your days in and out studying the market, looking at the economy, you know, there are roles within this industry where it is less relational and more analytical. Um, but yeah, for the advisor standpoint, yeah, I think a lot of people just think they're the ones pushing the button, placing those trade cells. And while advisors do, uh, that's not you know the bulk of our time spent, um, especially with technology. I mean, you can very efficiently manage that piece. Um, you know, that's something that can be automated and and sped up, but relationships can. That's where you spend a lot of your time understanding your clients and working through with them.
Doug JenkinsI would imagine you have a general interest in that side of the business too, though, even though maybe that's not the day-to-day it's a fascinating world to be in, I would think. Yes, yeah.
Josh RobbYou know, it really is. And you know, when you get broader, just looking at the economy and how the government decisions, economics play into the end result of people's portfolios, it's it is very intriguing. And you know, I do enjoy that. It's not that I I don't like it, but again, you know, when it comes to use of time, you know, I I love reading, uh keeping up on what's going on, even individual companies, just kind of hearing success stories and finding companies doing and innovating stuff. It's all very intriguing. But yeah, you're right. On from the day to day, that's a small piece, but it is appealing. And one of the reasons I did get into this industry because I enjoyed learning about and watching how those interactions happened.
Doug JenkinsAnd I would think that clients probably come in and will ask you about, like, oh, hey, what's going on with GameStop? If I can make a joke that's now four years old and nobody remembers anymore. But uh you probably have those conversations just when you're meeting with people because they saw it in the news.
Josh RobbAll the time. Yeah, especially when it's one of those big headlines in the news, right? Is just, hey, how does not only what's going on, but how does that impact me, right? Because that's the next question they almost always ask is tell me a little bit about, you know, right now you got the big conflict over in Iran. Okay, tell me about that. But then also what does that mean? Right? That's the follow-up question, and that's where you get into the the planning is well, here's how and what we're doing for you to make sure that this has uh as little impact as possible.
Market Headlines And AI Financial Advice
Doug JenkinsWhen you look at uh everything that since you first got into this in the into the industry, what has changed the most for you?
Josh RobbI think one of them is technology. And so, you know, over a decade ago when I started that idea of technology advances, and for a while there uh there was the idea that you know there's no longer a need for a financial advisor, that you can replace it with right, you know, right now AI. AI can build you an efficient portfolio and and they're not wrong in that AI can help with a lot of things. The biggest difference, and we found this historically, is when there's market volatility, people react better when they can look across and and see someone and communicate their fears with them instead of looking at a computer screen and getting this kind of unemotional response to their questions. And so I think and I I firmly believe that advisors value add is uh able to work alongside the client through those tough times, help them through it, help them understand where they're going and why they're doing what they're doing, and not just building the most efficient portfolio. Because again, we have everybody has the technology to help do that, but the bigger question is how do I apply that when change happens? And and a person can do that better than a computer at this point, and I think always will.
Doug JenkinsA couple of months ago on uh one of the the Day of the Life episodes, we were talking more about healthcare, wellness type of thing, and they talked about AI in that uh people will look up, well, I have these symptoms, kind of like you do on WebMD, whatever, and then but you know, the AI is telling them, Oh, here's what you need to do. Then they bring those results in when they have their appointment, and it's almost like they have to, like, okay, that kind of could be a good point. That's not necessarily something that you have to worry about. I would think that you probably deal with some of that too, where people are now coming in with their printout from Chat GPT that says, Hey, the AI says to do this.
Josh RobbYep. Oh, I've had that often. And uh sometimes I said, Hey, can you send me your prompts so I know what you put into it to get these results? And then we can have that conversation. Again, AI is is a great tool. It's good at calculating and coming up with charts and data, but it's only as good as what it's working from and also where the data is coming from. And that's the other thing to remember. If it's pulling from the internet, there's a lot of information out there that may not be as accurate as you would like. On the internet, uh sometimes, yeah, all right, hard to believe. But sometimes I'll get that. I'll look back and I'll say, hey, you know, you use this number for inflation, you know, and this is kind of why I don't know if that's the accurate one. Or, hey, did you account for you know taxes in this? And here's a couple things to think of. And so you're right, is we've gotten that before, and you know, there it's not that they're they're probably close, you know, in ballpark, they're they're getting kind of a similar direction on where they should be heading, but just double checking those prompts and making sure it apply some reasoning to it to say, does this pass the sniff test? Does it smell good? Does it look like reasonably what I should be expecting out of this?
Doug JenkinsI kind of liken it too. I used to do like my car insurance online and then eventually sat down with somebody and realized that one was paying way too much, and two, I didn't really know what I was doing. It was just better to have that conversation with someone who has dedicated their their career to it and uh suddenly felt much better about my insurance situation.
Josh RobbYep, yep. And that's you know, being able to ply it all together and be able to have somebody look at the big picture and say, okay, historically, here's what's happened, but here's what I know based on what you told me, your biggest worries are and how we can uh account for those, and having somebody that's sitting there with you understanding
Josh’s Path Into Financial Planning
Josh Robbthat.
Doug JenkinsWe've talked about changes in the industry, but one thing I always like to talk about with people when we do the day in the life episodes is how did you get into the industry to begin with? What brought you to Hicks and Zerger?
Josh RobbYeah. So growing up at a young-ish age, you know, high school, early college, I always was interested in finance, interested in um managing money. And again, I didn't fully understand what an advisor was at that point because I was the same. I was like, oh, you know, I I like numbers, I'm pretty good with math. I I I enjoy those things and um got to know that industry more. In fact, a professor of mine in college was a former financial advisor, so I got to learn a little bit from him and what that looks like. And then when I graduated, I actually spent a handful of years in the nonprofit world before joining Hicks and Zuercher. Um, and really it was um, I had known Tony Hicks in the past, and it was one of those where I uh they were hiring and I reached out and I said, Hey, this is something I've always been passionate about, but it's been almost 10 years since I graduated. Is that something and come to find out financial advisors actually uh for a lot of people a second career and that there is a lot that transition from other places into that into this industry? And um, it was a transition I made and uh I I loved it. It was it fit exactly what I was looking for. Um they had kind of set up this idea that hey, we're helping people and we need more people to do that. And so when I came in, I was learning from those Adam Zuercher and Tony Hixon how to do that, sit down with somebody, understand where they're at, and help them forward. And so yeah, it was got me into kind of a different mindset of what I thought I was gonna do. Again, you know, buying stocks, those things. But the more I learned, the more it's like, hey, you know what? What you're doing is sitting down with somebody, hearing their goals and then helping them get a plan, which to me, kind of my mindset, how I was built is to um to help fix problems. And so that's kind of what it does. I sit down, okay, what are we trying to solve? Let's solve that.
Doug JenkinsDo you find that when people first come to you, they don't necessarily realize that's what you're trying to do? They're you know, you're just thinking about your retirement account. Like, I need to get from A to B, and I think this is the number I need. I might not even know what the number is. Uh, and then after having that conversation, realizing, okay, we're actually weaving through, like, okay, now we've got kids and we've got college and we've got retirement, and here's where our parents might need help with, things like that. Uh, it's it's much more of a conversation than I have X amount of dollars, I would like Y amount of dollars.
Josh RobbYes. Yeah, usually they come in with one problem, like, here's the thing I have a question about. And then as we ask more questions, they find that's just a piece of their bigger question that they really need answered, but they hadn't really put it all together yet. So you're right. Usually it comes in with one thing like, hey, I need help with this. And then as we get to know more about them, it's okay. That's a piece, but here's the bigger thing we want to make sure we're all thinking about together. So you're right. Yeah, it's usually one thing that leads into kind of that understanding of, oh, there's a lot more pieces that connect than I realize.
How To Reach Out And Wrap Up
Doug JenkinsWell, Josh, uh, as we always leave these, uh, if people would like to learn more about what you do as a career, maybe they just want to sit down and talk with you about what uh what they're doing with uh their wealth management, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
Josh RobbYeah, they can go to our website, hccapital.com. Uh is a great spot. There's a spot right there you can connect with us and reach out and schedule a meeting. Uh, always happy to talk. You don't have to know anything or have like meet any criteria. If you just want to find out if you know we're a good fit for you, so you can schedule a call like that. Uh, there's no cost for those either, by the way. So you know, if you just wanted to connect and find out, I'm always happy to.
Doug JenkinsJosh, we appreciate you hopping on the podcast with us. Have a great day. All right, thank you. Just a few thoughts as we wrap up today's edition of Chamber Amplified. One of the recurring lessons from these day of the life episodes that we've kind of stumbled upon is that almost every business ultimately becomes about relationships and how you build them and how you authentically build them. A lot of good advice from Josh on that today. And financial advising, understanding the numbers matters, but understanding the person behind those numbers matters a little bit more than that. I think Josh made a really good point about networking. Community involvement works, but that's when you actually care about the organization or the cause. People can tell when you're just fishing for business, and that's not going to bode well for you. And of course, technology and AI, we talk about that quite a bit. They can make the analytical side of financial planning more efficient, but they might actually put more emphasis on the human side of the job when you talk to an actual human. Amazing how that works. Well, AI can generate an answer, it doesn't necessarily know whether you gave it the right assumptions. That's important to know about. It also doesn't know whether that answer makes sense for your complete financial picture. Again, have the conversation with someone. Thanks again to Josh Robb from Hicks and Zuercher for joining us and giving us a look behind the scenes. And of course, that'll do it for another edition of Chamber Amplified. This is a free podcast available to the community, made possible by the investment of our members here at the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. If you're looking at ways to get your business involved in the community, a lot of times the chamber is the best place to get started. If you'd like to learn more about how to do that, just send me an email, D Jenkins at Findlay Hancock Chamber.com, and we can talk about how an investment in the chamber not only helps your business, but the business community as a whole. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.
