Keep Your Stocks, I'll Take the Alternatives

Kelly Ann Winget, founder of Alternative Wealth Partners, is flipping the script on who gets to build serious wealth—and how. From her start as a teenage sales powerhouse to managing millions in alternative assets, Kelly breaks down why traditional finance isn’t built for everyone and how she’s giving more people a seat at the table. If you’ve ever thought investing was only for old white dudes in suits, think again.

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Transcript

Kelly Ann Winget

Angelica Maestas (Host): [00:00:00] Welcome to She's Ambitious af, the Bold and Empowering podcast that turns up the volume on female entrepreneurship. Join us as we dive headfirst into the wild world of bossbabes, where we spill a tea on all things ambition, success, and the occasional hilarious disaster.  Today I'm joined by guest Kellyann Winget. Kelly, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I am the CEO and founder of Alternative Wealth Partners. We're a private equity company based in Dallas, Texas. I manage diversified private equity funds, and I've been in the alternative investment space for almost 15 years. But I've been in sales and operations since I was a teenager, so I've had quite a interesting ride here and not the traditional path.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah, I definitely want to, to dive into that. 'cause I think you got your start as what, a teenager, just as an entrepreneur. 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): [00:01:00] Yes.

Angelica Maestas (Host): so I first heard about you through the film, show her the money. I hosted a screening in in late October. And so that's how your name got on my radar, and I listened to some, some interviews you've done.

And what stood out to me is that you weren't trying to create, you weren't trying to fit into a model. You were just creating a model that worked for you. But before we get into your investor journey, tell me a little bit about the entrepreneurial journey.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So both my parents were entrepreneurs and in the financial services space. So, you know, I was raised in a household where, you know, risk, risk taking was encouraged. If we showed an interest in something, it was. Supported and backed my parents. And so when we got older and had the opportunity to go out into the world and figure things out for ourselves, you know, that was like a big thing that we were told to do.

And and multiple generations in [00:02:00] oil and gas. And so talking about money and, and having access to these things,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): was a huge privilege

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and. The one thing that my parents were really adamant about was making us understand that, their money was their money, and if we wanted money, we had to go figure out how to make it ourselves.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I love that.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): When I turned 15, you were old enough to get a job, and so I wanted, as most 15-year-old girls do, and the early two thousands, I wanted a really expensive pair of Paz jeans from the buckle.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): my parents were like, absolutely not. I'm not paying $300 for a pair

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So I said, well then I'll just get a job and I'll pay for it myself.

So I did and I got a job as a cashier at a car wash because they don't let you know girls do anything with money 'cause we don't know how to

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh, right. Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): let's stick on the cash register. And that was the only job they would let me have. But I started upselling everyone when they came in to pay for their car

Angelica Maestas (Host): Ah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And so they were like, put her outside. So I went outside and was a service advisor. And I was working [00:03:00] part-time. I'm like, I'm talking about like Saturdays and Sundays only. And I was making almost six figures doing that because I had figured out the commission program,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh my gosh.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): they had to change it three times the, the whole time I was working there.

So I, I figured the system out quickly. And so when I graduated high school, I tried to go to, you know, college and take these business courses and I'm sitting in these classes like I make. I have more money than you. I have more experience than you. I'm

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): You didn't write about a business you didn't own.

And I was like, I wanna go learn from people that are really doing it. So I left and I started working, you know, for real. People and I work in healthcare construction. Ultimately I ended up in private equity through oil and gas. It was gonna happen whether I liked it or not. The universe is gonna drag us back in.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): That was my first exposure to private equity. And so I just always had, I. A

Angelica Maestas (Host): A passion.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): for small businesses and the independence that came with [00:04:00] entrepreneurship. And so, you know, it was my calling and it dragged me back in multiple times over my life. And here we are able to invest alongside other people that have the same feeling.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. How long have you been investing now? I mean, I've been investing

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): forever,

Angelica Maestas (Host): but, 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I launched Alternative Wealth Partners when I left a family office in 2020. So in the middle of the pandemic, when it was the perfect time to start a business in the middle of chaos it was my big sign, my big aha moment of I wanna provide a service that doesn't exist to the people who are, will appreciate this type of work.

And so

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that was my motivation to. Build what we've built now.

Angelica Maestas (Host): How was the. How is the building when you're not the typical investor? You're, you're not a white dude. You probably have the networks though, so, so, so,

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): they're granddaughters. So,

Angelica Maestas (Host): okay. That's.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): they, they can't tell me [00:05:00] no 'cause I'll go tell on them, right? So, you know, they, they let me into the room, they. They are mostly kind and it, it doesn't come, it doesn't come without some sort of like condescending

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): You know, it's being in things like car wash, oil construction, like I've been around these male dominated spaces my whole life, and so it's not an uncomfortable place for me to be,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and I get to leverage that, those relationships on behalf of people who. Don't feel comfortable in those rooms or, or

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): into those rooms. While also bringing opportunity to people who have had access. Your old white guys still want opportunity,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and they want what's different. They want what is cutting edge. They want what has the ability to outpace other people's strategy.

And so that comes with a little bit of diversity. And so those people are more open-minded to having a [00:06:00] different type of leadership. the helm and I make it, you know, more di digestible and

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that privilege.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Well, and you're, you're so knowledgeable too that that comes across very quickly. I remember our first conversation, we were talking about tech strategy and I learned so much just in our conversation. And since then I've done lots of research, but you, having that confidence. I think women who are entering these spaces need to, it's hard not to be mindful that nobody else looks like you

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Mm-hmm.

Angelica Maestas (Host): but if you stick to what you know and your expertise, and I have plenty of calls where I meet someone for the first time.

And I, I think they just think I'm a shiny face. And then I actually talk about my work experience and I like, I can see them le lean in, almost like surprised by my background and like you can see when that happens. And so I think just, I. For women in those rooms, just, [00:07:00] just lean on what you know, and, and, and your, your, your conviction will come through.

And I think that makes other people more comfortable investing when they know you have this expertise. But it can be hard not to be intimidated by it when you're not always in those rooms.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Right.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. Well, tell me a little bit about the model of, of what you invest in and how you've structured that for yourself.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So I have this exposure to the family office world and the thing about family offices. For, for those in your audience that don't, might not know. What that means is a family office is gonna be somebody that has a family net worth of over a billion dollars because a family office is exactly that.

It's, it's a business of running a family and so without a lot of money. And typically families have one or a couple operating businesses that are owned. by the family, and that's where they generate a lot of their wealth from, or they sold a business [00:08:00] or whatever. They have an executive leadership team that comes in and thinks about their money in terms of a business.

How can the money work sustain the family's lifestyle over generations now, family offices are starting to, start earlier, so you have. A shift from the people like Goldman and UBS and these big kind of financial institutions targeting founders and entrepreneurs who have smaller businesses that might have earlier exits where they might sell their small services business for 50 to a hundred million dollars. That's significantly lower than a billion dollars, but they can scale by aggregating services together. this was the space that I was operating in, and what I recognized was there was a gap. On the investment side for individuals who had sub a hundred million dollars net worth, were. They too should have creative investment strategies offered to them and [00:09:00] manage actively on their behalf without having to also have these wraparound services of a full family office.

It reduces the overhead, it exposes them to more opportunity where your big bank, your big financial institutions, just aren't gonna play in that space.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): love alternatives. It should be a piece of everybody's portfolio, and that just ranges from how much risk you're willing to take,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): of your net worth. Should be an alts. Should it all be with one person? No, but there's opportunities that aren't being presented to you because they're being gate kept by all these traditional

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And so we try to break outta that traditional structure so that people have the freedom to make some decisions

Angelica Maestas (Host): On their own.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): what they believe they'd like to invest in.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm. How do you find the investors who aren't from that world and know about it? So how, how are you giving them access?

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): By being vocal. I think that I, I try to be in spaces where, you know, your Chads and Brads aren't,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): You know, they're going to all of the same conferences. They're [00:10:00] talking to all the same, you know, demographic of person. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And we go to places where, because I came from that and I know what real people look like, who have money,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that I, I go to the places where they are. Not every high net worth individual is driving around in Highland Park in a Lamborghini,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): driving a Toyota in the suburbs,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Right.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and sitting on a couple million dollars in an IRA. Like, there's, there's places that, people either are uncomfortable going and talking to those types of investors you know, because they're trying to seek out a whale, and I don't wanna, I don't wanna work for those people.

They don't appreciate the service that I provide. The same way that, you know, a small business or an entrepreneur or a C-level executive who doesn't have the time, appreciate an investment strategy that aligns with not only their financial goals, but also their impact goals too.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm. Yeah. You're I, I see the value [00:11:00] you bring is beyond the access, but you are also genuine about educating, educating on this asset class. And I've experienced that myself. When I when I hosted the show, her the money screening, I had half a dozen women approach me after. And they said, I didn't know anything about investing in a fund.

I want to invest. And but they also didn't have the comfort level of, I don't wanna just write a hundred grand. You know what, this is like brand new to me. And from that screening from late October, I had an opportunity to form an SPV raised over 300,004 weeks of small checks. They're accredited investors, but just didn't have comfort level and didn't have that, don't have that high risk tolerance yet.

So pulled it all together. That was the easiest thing I've done in investing versus the grind of the last 18 months working on this venture [00:12:00] fund and trying to do it the same way that it's worked for decades, for people who aren't like me and who don't have my background. And then so it was just like this, this recognition that.

There are other people in other places. These people happen to have been in Santa Fe, you know, and people don't think of New Mexico as having a ton of wealth, but there's some, they're just, you know. They're all in Santa.

They love their art. Yeah, yeah. But, but the a, a lot of the investors and half of them were women, which I was just thrilled by for the, for the deal. But all of them were people who. Would've never had access. They just don't know anyone who's raising money and investing. And so they would've never had access to the deal.

And they were all so grateful to me, like, so grateful. And I'm like, I'm grateful for you. But the, the gratitude, it was, it was [00:13:00] reciprocal. And I think the, the more that we work to just to do that, to share and there is education. Education is a big component of getting. People, specifically women, to know what's out there and how to invest.

So I think it's I think it's a rewarding journey for both investor and, and gp

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Yes, I.

Angelica Maestas (Host): And gps.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): It's important that we approach people with the understanding that even though they might not be a client today, they could be a client tomorrow.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): financial situations change dramatically all the time. You know,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I don't like life insurance, but it does change people's trajectory overnight when. Life insurance is involved

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah, 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): a lot of people aren't educated enough to even take that. Even a small life insurance policy of a couple 10, $30,000 can be life [00:14:00] changing relative to somebody's situation.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I, all of this stuff that has been historically gate kept from everyone on purpose,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): are things that I want everyone to know whether they can. You know, put it into practice immediately or not. I plan on being around for a long time, so I hope that in, you know, 15 years, somebody I talked to at some or some, you know, gas station says, Hey, you told me about this thing

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): the lottery and you're the call I made.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I want, I want to experience that.

And we've, and we have actually, so you know, we have clients who have me years previously in something and some thing they had somebody pass away That's happened. We had somebody

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): a lottery type thing

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh wow.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And we were the first call they made. And that's, that's the kind of a impact that I hope that we have.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah, [00:15:00] definitely. I think the, the conversations happening and the community that can be built around it. A follow on event from that screening that we had just two weeks ago was an investor series. And so it was, so many women were so excited and they wanted to learn more, and so we had 50 women altogether.

A a lot of them. Don't ever talk about money and don't ever talk about creating wealth and don't even understand how to go about doing it. So, so it was just like, I feel this, I'm grateful to be a part of it. I want it to happen in more cities, more states. But I think the exposure. You're right. Even if you're not ready, you at least know about it.

So when you are ready, your brain makes those connections. I was thrilled to see a lot of kids, so, you know, it was a lot of moms and they brought their daughters

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Mm-hmm.

Angelica Maestas (Host): and these girls are going to grow up thinking that that's normal, [00:16:00] that like, oh yeah, I wanna make more money. And there are different ways to do that.

And, and that just becomes normal, but it's a long game.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): you know, that was

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): with my mother

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I, I brought my mom to the Stella Foundation's Women's Venture Summit that happens once a year in San Diego.

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And I, I took her because my sister took her on a trip like two weeks prior, and so I felt jealous. And so I took my mom to an event and unfortunately she had to go to a work thing.

But she spent the two days, like on her

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): around the conference, going into the different workshops, you know. Networking. My mother's 70 networking. And she, you know, after the end of the event and we're like flying home, she said that, well, that was such an incredible experience and love that there's this space for you all to talk about these things and

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): She goes, I'm [00:17:00] sad though because these are the same conversations that I was having in a much smaller room. 50 years ago.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh wow.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So

The room is bigger,

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): same conversation.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh, wow.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So, and that was something that I was like, okay, how do we, how do we stop saying the same thing? How can I prevent me from being 70 years old?

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And coming back to this type of thing and saying the same stuff, like, we're

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): how do we actually move past

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And it's go, it's our responsibility. It lies on us, unfortunately. But I'm glad that the women are bringing their children. We're, I mean, we're the only spaces that create that space.

We're not seeing, we, we lost the bring your kid to Workday thing many, many years ago.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. Yep. 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): but it would be cool to see the dads doing it too.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, there were maybe two men that showed up in support which is great. But I, I, I like the community that's, that's [00:18:00] evolving, but it's, it has to be a, a mission and so, and community by community, if you're really intentional around it, you can create that. Well, I would love to hear a little bit about your book, as I only recently found out you are an author.

So can you, can you tell us a little about that? 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I wrote a book, it's called Pitch the Bitch, grab Your Financial Future by the Bags. And a lot of people assume that it's about pitching or like raising money, but it really is a financial literacy tool because there's a movie and, and you'll understand why the pop cultural reference, because it, it talk, every, every chapter of the book kind of talks about a different type of. A pop culture or a cultural reference of

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh,

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): don't know certain information.

Angelica Maestas (Host): okay. 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): the, the title of the book comes from a movie called The Boiler Room. It's from like 2000. It has like Van Diesel in it or something. And one of the first scenes is the old stockbrokers teaching the new guy, like all the [00:19:00] rules.

And you know, he's like training him around the floor. And he says the first rule. this is don't pitch the bitch. If you get a woman on the phone, you hang up. 'cause they'll call you if the stock's up, they'll call you. If the stock's down, it's just a waste of your time. 

And that was told to me, like, in real life by a real human being as like part of a training process

Angelica Maestas (Host): oh my gosh.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and different ways, like, don't talk to the wife, sounds too black, he's a foreigner.

Like

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh my gosh.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I mean this was like openly shared. And

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): about in the in invest private investment space for my entire career. And I, that never made any sense to me because from my lived experience, all the people that I knew that had money were women. I. People of color and foreigners. So

Angelica Maestas (Host): You're like, that doesn't track. Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): You know, like all the rich people that I know are these people. So when I, when I ultimately decided to go out on my own, and it's not the same really in the family [00:20:00] office space you don't have that kind of narrative going on, but a big piece of like going on my own was like, I never wanted to have a conversation that excluded parties of the family. unless they were both on the same page about

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): If it was understood that the husband invested separately from the wife and the wife invested separately from the husband, you know, and that's how that we would engage with them. But we always made sure that both people were around, at least in the initial conversation so that we could figure out. You know what's happening here because at the end of the day, unfortunately, men 60 and have heart attacks and die and leave it all to their spouse. And too often that person is, has no idea what's been happening.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): haven't been led into the conversation at all. And with this massive wealth transfer that's happening. Like it's more important now than ever that the women and the next gens educate themselves on what to do with an [00:21:00] estate when they receive it, no matter what the size of it is. And the book really walk works through, you know, these things that people aren't talking about. In financial literacy, you can

Angelica Maestas (Host): Okay.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): a thousand books on budgeting, on saving,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): debt, what to do with debt. Very rudimental investment strategy books out there, but there's nothing telling you like when you should go from an online bank to a brick and mortar. What kind of relationship should you have with your banker? You know, at what point do you have a self-directed retirement account from a one that's a managed fund?

Like there's these things that you're beyond pay, like can you pay your bills? That's the financial literacy that we wanna focus on is true wealth building.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that doesn't exist. And so the book really breaks that down in a really simple way. So you can just start to know where you start, 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): start to educate yourself?

And the book is like, here is the fundamentals. Now you can go and research based on what's important to you. 'cause I don't know, it's

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): up to [00:22:00] you to care about what to do with your money.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. Well, I love that, and I'm going to check out the book. So it, it provides education on the different types of investment vehicles and just how to, how to think about it at different stages of life.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Yeah.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Okay. I love that. I I, I'm curious. If you've ex, well, probably not. So I'm thinking the, the, the women that are investing are pro wealth building and like, and not associating it with greed, but I've, I've observed women who are more used to giving their money to charitable contributions and just donating it.

I feel like that's a good thing and I would like to educate that there's. There's no shame in building that wealth and that you can invest in things that are meaningful to you. You can invest in communities you care about, you can invest in healthcare. But yes. So I'm curious, your take, have you, have you observed that or how do you, how do [00:23:00] women in your circles, 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Yeah, it's a big lift and it's a big priority for us because again, it's about the gate kept education,

Angelica Maestas (Host): mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): been

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): it's their church or a nonprofit. It's really the, it's been our responsibility to take care of that. And we have to reeducate people that writing a check at the end of the year into a nonprofit is great. not sustainable, right? if you can make an investment on behalf of something you care about or into an industry you care about and have that investment grow over time, or that business grow over time, and then it's [00:24:00] self-funding itself even after you're gone. And there's a big issue with DAFs never moving. So. And a big incentive of that. And part of what I talk about in the book is understanding who's incentivized to do what

Angelica Maestas (Host): Hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and recognizing that your advisor is incentivized by keeping assets under management. And so when we talk about DAFs, which are

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): funds, yes, it's a tax strategy.

You get a tax write off, you get to take the benefit, and then you're like, set it, forget it because you never get it back, right? It's supposed to go to a nonprofit and but it gets invested in the market. And the advisor that's managing the DAF is

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): a percent whatever fee

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): of that money.

There's a lot, there's a lot of money sitting in DAFs. I mean, it's like a trillion dollars. It's, it's ridiculous.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wow. 

[00:25:00] Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): just about reeducating people that if, if it is their calling to do it

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): a philanthropic donation, there's ways to be more impactful.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): But you can also invest. In the things that matter directly. And it's okay to benefit from that because ultimately the long-term impact of making that investment helps everybody and women are very good at this. 90% of our dollar goes back into the community. We just need to be more effective with that so that we can keep making dollars to give back to the community.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. Yeah, I love that, that that impact and

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Yes.

Angelica Maestas (Host): how effective it really can be when you're [00:26:00] strategic and intentional about it, but you have to know about it. So

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Yes.

Angelica Maestas (Host): I think your book is a good starting point.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Mm-hmm.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Are there, how do you recommend women find good investment advisors? Because I've had, I've had the same one since.

I was like, only because I worked for them at, right out of college, and so I stayed with them and there's, there's not a whole lot of advising going on.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I guess you have to decide on yeah. What kind of advice you want.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. 

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): you know, people that are like me, I'm not an advisor. I'm very biased and have a lot of opinions so they can't keep me hunkered down. But I I, I believe there are good advisors out there. Independent advisors are gonna be better than the big box guys. And I. know, I, I have a bias towards Ellevest. We're an investor in their Series B and they're a platform built by women for women. And they did, but they did sell their robo [00:27:00] advisory arm of their business to Betterment. So they're focusing on private wealth. So if you do have, you know, 500,000 to a million dollar net worth. It's worth going over to L of S because their advisors are focused on that. And they do consider things that women are important, like impact investing and long-term stability and, you know, cashflow solutions for when they retire. There there's things that they are aware of being women and being you know, just part of the community that they're gonna be able to give that kind of advice. It takes time and you should really go with somebody who you just, vibe well

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): and make sure that you just check, you know, make sure how they're incentivized to provide you advice. do you think that that can be compromised by them, you know, getting a commission from whatever they're selling you you know, is this somebody that can go from. [00:28:00] Advising you to advising your children. And my mom when she was, and this is in my book actually, she, when my parents got divorced, she was very adamant about finding, a financial advisor that understood all these things that she was dealing with. And she was very intentional about picking someone significantly younger than her. So she's had the same advisor for a very long time, but she had like just started advising. And she's, might be a few years older. Let's see, I'm, I'm 35, so she's probably 42

Angelica Maestas (Host): okay.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): or something. So, and when I asked my mom about that, she was like, why would I, why would I give my money to somebody who's older than me

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Like, I want somebody who's looking at investments from the perspective of like. new and upcoming

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): are,

Angelica Maestas (Host): interesting.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): not just investing in the same old, same old, you

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): who's gonna be [00:29:00] here after I'm gone, because they're the ones that have my estate.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Oh, that's a really good point.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): if there's a handoff of your advisor before you're gone, then there's the education gap of them trying to learn who you are. While something happening to you. So, and everybody's confused.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I don't know what the number jumped up to, but I think it was like, almost 80% of women dropped their financial advisor within six months of their spouse dying because they

Angelica Maestas (Host): Oh,

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): don't connect anymore. And the, and the experience is most likely like the advisor saying, don't worry, John had everything figured out

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Mm-hmm. You know,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): like, well, John's gone, and the advisor not understanding that their priorities might be different, you know, or

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): needs might be different. And so, you know, don't rush into an advisor [00:30:00] relationship and don't be afraid to leave. Like it's, it's like deciding okay, I bought all my Toyotas from this Toyota dealership and this car salesman guy, but like. I don't want a Toyota anymore. I want a BMW.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And just be okay with, don't force yourself into buying another Toyota just because you've bought a bunch of cars from

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Be okay with going somewhere else. Like there's a a million advisors out there. Find somebody

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that understands, that accepts what you want to do with your money because it's your decision at the end of the day, not theirs. No

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah,

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): try to tell you.

Angelica Maestas (Host): yeah, yeah. Definitely do your research and, and the, the personality fit. Like you've gotta feel safe and comfortable and that doesn't always happen. So yeah, do your research. Alright, I'm going to transition us to some rapid fire questions. Build slow or go all in.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Oh, [00:31:00] I'm a go all in type of person. But I've done that my whole life. I think it's easier to fail fast than it is to like just constantly second guess yourself. Women really struggle with this. They really, information overload, analysis, paralysis,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yep.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): have, feel like they're an expert at everything.

And I can tell you right now that your male counterpart is not doing that. They're waking up day and saying, I think I'm gonna go to the moon. And no one's telling them they can't.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And so women wake up saying, I wanna go to the moon, but not telling anybody.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): And then thinking that everybody knows that she wants to go to the moon and then somehow interpreting their interaction with them as saying, you can't go to the moon,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): no one even knows you want to go to the

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): So, you know, that's the, that's the female experience. So we have to just kind of brush that off

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yep.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): that we, we too can wake up in the morning and say, we wanna go to the moon

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): do it.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Yeah. So true. Worst [00:32:00] investment advice you've ever heard?

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Life insurance in your twenties?

Angelica Maestas (Host): If you had to start over with just 10 grand, what's the first move you'd make?

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Oh, hmm. If I had to start over with $10,000, I'd

Angelica Maestas (Host): I probably find

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): business that I liked in my community and and offer them the money to partner.  

Angelica Maestas (Host): wealth means blank.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Wealth

Angelica Maestas (Host): means.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): freedom.

Angelica Maestas (Host): Okay, and last but not least, what can our listeners do to support you?

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): I'd love them to buy my book. I, I really do enjoy making $36 a month off of it. So but if if they're interested in learning more about, you know, investing in alternatives, or if they, I mean, we have a, a fairly high threshold. Our minimum check size is $250,000, which might. [00:33:00] Have people's brain short on this,

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): podcast.

But reality is, is that you, you can, you can write a six figure check one

Angelica Maestas (Host): Mm-hmm.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): it will be okay and you'll be happy to do it. And I hope that we're that call when you decide to do it. So know, reach out to us if you know somebody who can write a six figure check and want to get invested in this space. invite me over. I. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): Wonderful. It's been awesome having you on. Thank you.

Kelly Ann Winget (Guest): Thank you for having me. 

Angelica Maestas (Host): And that's a wrap on another episode of She's Ambitious af. Remember to dream big, hustle harder, and show the world that when it comes to success, we're not just ambitious, we're ambitious. Af.