Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

E90: Tim Gottus Shares how Valent Wealth is Changing Financial Planning for Good

• Leila Carter & Tim Gottus • Episode 90

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What makes Tim Gottus with Valent Wealth a good neighbor? 

What happens when a wealth manager decides to break away from an industry filled with "salespeople disguised as advisors"? Tim Gottus of Valent Wealth joins the Good Neighbor Podcast to share his journey from financial instability in childhood to building a wealth management firm that truly puts clients first.

Growing up in what he calls a "financially instable household," Tim developed an early curiosity about money management that eventually led him to finance. But unlike many who enter the field, he took the harder path—building an independent practice where he wouldn't be tied to specific products or companies. "I wanted the ability to offer everything to my clients and not sitting at company X, that means I have to sell product X," he explains.

This philosophy forms the foundation of Valent Wealth, a firm composed of advisors with decades of experience who've deliberately chosen a more ethical approach to financial planning. Tim's passion for serving rather than selling comes through as he describes his "personal CFO" approach—sitting on the same side of the table with clients while coordinating with insurance agents, CPAs, business advisors, and other professionals to create truly comprehensive financial strategies.

Tim doesn't mince words about his industry's shortcomings, noting that "this game is stacked against most people." He highlights how unregulated financial advice proliferates on social media while fiduciary advisors face strict limitations on what they can claim. "Finance is one of the most intimate things in somebody's life," Tim reflects. "It can transcend into relationship issues, physical, mental issues, stress." This understanding drives Valent's holistic approach, recognizing that financial wellness affects every aspect of well-being.

Ready to experience a different kind of wealth management? Visit ValentWealth.com to learn more about their educational approach and relationship-first philosophy that's changing how clients view financial planning.

To learn more about Valent Wealth go to: 

http://www.timgottus.com/

Valent Wealth

(412) 873-0450


SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a wealth management firm and financial coach? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Tim Goddess with Valent Wealth.

SPEAKER_02:

Tim, how's it going? It's going well. It's going well. I appreciate you having me on today.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, thanks for being here. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. So please tell us more about your company.

SPEAKER_02:

Sure. Yeah. Valent Wealth was born basically out of the desire to create an organization to fulfill on so many shortcomings our industry has. Obviously, lead with an ethical foundation with our clients. And you can think of us as a bunch of typically one to two decade, 10-year advisors that have been through the tumultuous uh financial industry and chose a better way and a better path forward. That's what we think the world really needs.

SPEAKER_01:

Very good. How did you get into this business? I know you said you have a history in finance. Can you expand on that a little?

SPEAKER_02:

Sure, yeah. Um during, well, rewind way back. I was always interested in finance. Uh, we I grew up in a we'll characterize it as a financially instable household. Um up to a certain age, we thought all landlords were evil, me and my brother. And then I realized, oh, well, when you don't pay the rent, that's what it looks like. So, you know, just really curious in finance. I've always been curious about it. Um, I've always seen the financial, I'll call it affliction, you know, in my family. Uh, so it was important to me to learn more about it. And as I went through school and college, I got a little closer to it and then had uh chose my career and jumped into it. So that's kind of how we got there. Um you know that that's a different route too. Uh passionate about serving and helping. I never really liked sales. Our industry is filled with salespeople under the disguise of advisors. So I often don't we'll just say I don't really like our industry much. But you know, I took a route where nobody pays you an income, you just have to figure it out. And it was a harder route, but I didn't want like the I wanted the ability to offer everything to my clients and not sitting at company X. That means I have to sell product X. So that's kind of how it got going. Um tough industry, it was a tough build. So first 10 years were were difficult, and you know, after that just got a lot of momentum and and kind of built in a we'll call it like a personal CFO type service, which was really trendy terminology back in 2004 or five. Um, but you know, I really just like to sit on the side of the table with the client and make sure that whether we're looking at dealing with their insurance agent, their CPA, their business advisor, their group benefits, you know, we could serve in all those capacities. And we have a lot of those professionals at arm's length to help serve. So I think that was kind of what changed a lot for me, and that's what really led me down the feed-based planning side and getting away from relying on commission based and product-centric. And that's why I opened with We Are Product Agnostic.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool. So, really wanting to offer that all-encompassing service to your clients is great. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01:

No, that's all right. Um, are there any myths or maybe misconceptions in your industry that you'd like to talk about today?

SPEAKER_02:

Uh about 80% of it. But uh, but yeah, I I I think the uh the problem is kind of like I alluded to earlier. I mean, people are, I'll say it this way: this game is stacked against most people, whether it comes from cash flow planning, whether it comes from investing, the information that's out there is not great. And we actually do a lot of education. So our clients are educated about everything we do before we dive in and implement anything. Um, and walking through that, they quickly understand and realize how the information works against them. And people just to me, I'll say this to me, finance is one of the most intimate things in somebody's life. It can transcend into relationship issues, physical, mental issues, stress. Uh, so it touches every area of a person's life. And that's kind of what always fired me up is being able to sit on the same side of the table with them, help them in all the areas that are specific to them. Uh, where, yeah, Google and chat can offer some insight, but how does that really fit into a person's life? And I feel like that was so missed in our industry. So that's kind of been the emphasis of our model of how we interact with clients, whether they're individual professional clients or businesses. So, you know, the TikTok space and social media space is filled with people that can make any claims out there. And our industry is very flawed in the fact that to make certain claims, if you're licensed as a true uh professional, and that comes in the context of uh many different designations, etc. But if you're a fiduciary, you can't go out there and say those things you can on social media. So there's a ton of horrific bad advice or just general blanket advice that an individual, you or me, we might look similar in certain fashions, but the financial world is so different. So that's kind of the emphasis on I think what what kept us running, what drove us together as a as a firm, uh, independent people that kind of felt the same way about our industry, had enough of the older big broker dealers that are just product-centric and limit what we can and can't do with our clients, even if it was really beneficial to them. So that's how we, you know, Valent Wealth was born, and that's how we operate still.

SPEAKER_01:

So as you're looking for these individuals and these corporations that want the services that you're offering, and we're thinking about marketing as the heart of any business, right? How are you attracting them to the firm currently?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, there's a there's a number of ways. I I've been in this uh capacity for 23-ish years. So a lot of the people that I meet come from word of mouth from my personal clients. Um, in the business space, we work with many business planning professionals across the country. So a lot of that is, you know, when an owner gets to a specific time, whether it's an exit of a company or selling something highly appreciated, we have tax strategies that are very centric to that transaction and limiting and diminishing as much as possible. So that word spreads fast. So we get a lot of introductions from maybe CPAs, uh attorneys in that space that deal with businesses, etc. Uh, so that's typically how we meet people.

SPEAKER_01:

Gotcha. Have you ever thought about maybe doing your own podcast to reach your audience?

SPEAKER_02:

I have, yeah. I have done that. And and you, you know, it's it's one of those areas where I would like to do that. I think it's fun. I've I've done interviews with clients before and use that in uh like a large industry advisor session when we're doing coaching with multiple advisors. Uh, but it's just that whole time, you know, just trying to find the time and a busy practice to do it. And and that's not a great excuse. And I feel like today you can just take out your cell phone and do it. So, you know, don't need to have a whole studio, but sometimes perfection gets in the way of like good.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure, sure. Yeah, and sometimes done is better than perfect, but I understand that. So, outside of work, what do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh well, travel a lot. I do a lot of business travel. Um, I do enjoy spending time with clients. I mean, we're relationship-based, so clients are like friends after a while. So that's a lot of fun. Um, pretty big in the personal health space. So working out, doing things like that are great. I've had previous poor health issues in the 30s that came out of nowhere that caused me to be hyper focused on it. And I've got two kids. One's in college right now, second year at the University of Alabama. That keeps us busy. It's nice to go down there and catch some SEC football. And then my youngest son, I've always coached all his sports. Now he's deep into high school and beyond my coaching abilities. So it we have a good time going to sporting events and doing things like that as a family.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, very cool. Very good. So, Tim, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Valent Val.

SPEAKER_02:

I think one thing is we are outside of the industry norm. I think that's you know, spoken a lot. Every firm says they have unique abilities, capabilities, etc. But, you know, we are just really in tune with the relationship and being involved in that. Products, all those things come after the fact. So, you know, we look for, and and I myself, I don't like transactional business. I like the relationships. That's why I think we thrive so well in that personal feed-based planning space.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And how can our listeners learn more about Balent Wealth?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, our website is a good resource. Uh, Visenvictor, A-L-E-N-T Wealth.com. Uh, we do constant coaching, we do education through there, we do whether it's a niche like investing, we'll do a couple podcasts or I'm sorry, we'll do a couple presentations per month. Uh, so they can always come in and register for those things. That's a great way to learn about us and get experience with hey, these people actually educate, they're not salespeople.

SPEAKER_01:

They know what they're talking about.

SPEAKER_02:

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Very good. Well, Tim, I very much appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on the show. We wish you and the business the very best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, thank you. Same to you, and it's a pleasure getting a chance to share a talk with you today.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburgh.com. That's gnppittsburgh.com or call 412 561 9956.