Dayana Velasco
Dayana Velasco is the Chief Growth Officer at Aventura Private Wealth, where she leads the firm’s advisor recruitment strategy, business development, and overall growth initiatives. Based in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, she works closely with firm leadership to position the organization as a leading destination for financial advisors seeking independence and long-term platform support. Her role focuses on identifying and attracting high-quality advisory talent while clearly communicating the firm’s value proposition, including autonomy, infrastructure, and client-centered service models.
With more than two decades of experience in financial services, Dayana’s career spans leadership roles at major institutions including Wells Fargo Advisors and J.P. Morgan. She previously served as a Financial Advisory Area Manager at Wells Fargo, where she oversaw more than 45 advisors and led recruiting, development, and performance management across a large regional territory. Prior to that, she spent over 20 years at J.P. Morgan, where she advanced through multiple leadership roles, including Market Director in banking and senior leadership within wealth management, helping develop and promote advisors while driving market expansion.
Dayana began her career in financial services at age 16 as a banking intern, an experience that sparked her long-term commitment to the industry. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northwood University and has been recognized throughout her career for leadership and performance, including honors such as “Person to Watch in Wealth Management” and multiple national achievement awards. Today, she continues to focus on empowering advisors, strengthening client relationships, and shaping the future of independent wealth management.
• Northwood University- Bachelor's
• Person to Watch in Wealth Management
• Platinum Council Award for Exceptional Leadership
• Four-time national achiever at JP Morgan
• Association of African American Financial Advisors
• Women in Wealth and NextGen chapters
• Hispanic Dallas Chamber of Commerce
What do you attribute your success to?
I have always prided myself on leading from a very empathetic perspective, truly understanding and customizing my approach to how I help and support people as human beings. I see them for their value, I see them for their strengths, and I try to capitalize on the strengths of the individuals that I get the opportunity to help support and lead. Getting to know them as human beings, as people, and always going back to ways that I could make their days better is so important to me. I truly don't believe anybody wakes up saying they're going to do a bad job today at work, so if something's off, I don't want to be that person that is not contributing to a positive environment for them, or a positive outcome, or finding ways to find solutions. I think when people are asked about who I am, my leadership style, or my brand, they would say that I always lead with positivity and enthusiasm.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Focus on people first—when you invest in relationships and truly understand others’ goals, success will naturally follow. This principle has guided her leadership style and long-term career growth.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Women are incredible financial advisors. The top financial advisors are always women across the board, and the reason for that is women are able to be more relatable and have more of that emotional intelligence that our male counterparts lack. You're somebody's mother, daughter, sister, and as the CEO of your household many times, you're able to add significant value and bring a very unique perspective to personal finance and education. We as women always approach things from a problem-solving and decision-making perspective, which offers a very fresh insight to a crucial industry that's traditionally been dominated by men. With our higher levels of emotional intelligence and empathy, we can truly understand clients at a whole other level. Our communication builds trust, and the way that we collaborate with other women is very, very hard for our male counterparts to do the same.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is the competitive landscape where many advisors have multiple options to decide where their next step is, and breaking away from a current situation can be extremely overwhelming for them. It's a very significant life-changing decision, and I don't take lightly the responsibility that you have as a leader to help individuals be in a better position. Sometimes individuals are not looking at the entire picture and they're getting misled, or they're not getting all their facts, or there's a big influence from a monetary incentive that they're receiving and they're disregarding other factors. At the same time, that fierce competition is also very healthy for the business because leadership teams and firms are taking a deeper look to ensure they have the right culture and resources. The other major challenge I see is the next generation of advisors coming in, because of our aging advisor population - the average age of advisors right now is in the 60s. We've got to act a lot quicker to have that next bench of pipeline and get the opportunity to continue to develop and cultivate future talent quicker. Diversity is probably the biggest challenge. On the opportunity side, for individuals looking for a career, the job market is really scarce right now when it comes to opportunities available. If you are an individual that enjoys building relationships and truly being able to be an advocate for your clients and help them steward their financial decisions, the best career you can position yourself for is a financial advisor. There's always two things that make the world go round - people's health and the money aspect - and to be able to be of impact with the economic aspect is an incredible opportunity. A career in wealth management, being a financial advisor, could be an extremely fulfilling career personally and from the aspect of providing for your family.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For me, the values that are most important are really giving it 110% in all I do personally and professionally. That comes with me taking care of myself personally - I do pride myself on breaking a sweat at least 5 times a week, because if I can have that time for myself and be the best version of myself, then I'm going to be the best version for everybody else. Staying curious and staying very engaged with things that can be applicable from a personal and professional perspective is crucial. I think that if you truly lead with looking at the best opportunity that you have in front of you, or whatever the situation is, and really making the most positive aspect of it, that's what I always lean on. Leading with integrity and leading right by people, doing the best you can by people - I think it just always comes full circle.