I immigrated to America from Vietnam at age 8, on a small wooden boat, carrying at the maximum load of maybe 50 families. While at sea, we were intercepted by a US Navy battle cruiser and taken on board. We were taken to the Philippines, where my family was then sponsored by a church and flown to St. Louis, MO. There, the church helped my dad find work and a place for us to live. We moved around, lived in Illinois for a bit, and then settled in Michigan.
I joined the Army after high school to pay for college, and there I was introduced to the world of investments. At age 19, I was chosen randomly to be the “stocks and bonds” guy for our company. Of course, at that age I didn’t know anything about the world or life, let alone stocks and bonds. So I enrolled in some classes at Central Texas College and got a subscription to Money magazine to educate myself. I would ask senior soldiers if they knew what mutual funds or IRAs were, and a lot of them didn’t know. I enjoyed learning more about the world of finance, and after my service in the Army, I got out and got an assistant position at a financial planning firm in downtown Grand Rapids. I would work and take night classes until I earned my finance degree at Grand Valley University.
I worked as a financial planning analyst for many years, where I created and managed investment portfolios and helped develop financial plans for clients for the firm. This path eventually led me to be able to become a licensed financial advisor for a big, renowned investment firm. There I learned how to gain clients, run a team, run a branch office, and build a success practice. However, I was building a practice for the firm, not for myself.
The creation of Third Wave Financial, allows for that entrepreneurial independence. Together with my team, we’ll use an established three-step process to understand where you are and where you want to be, and put together a tailored plan to get you to your goals. In addition, being independent allows more flexibility with financial product offerings and unbiased investment recommendations.
My experiences have taught me that people first, want to be understood. They might come to me for financial advice for their retirement goals or advice on how much life insurance they should have, or how to start a small business retirement account for their employees. And together we assess, strategize, and implement customized plans for them. However, my relationships are enduring because I take time to try to understand each client’s situation. Please call me to discuss your situation and help me understand what’s most important to you.