Her Story
About Vanessa
Vanessa Martinez has spent 18 years in investment management. She completed her undergraduate business degree in Guatemala before returning to Chicago to earn her MBA. She obtained her Series 6, Series 7, Series 63, and Series 65 licenses. In addition to her work in finance, she has authored the book Family Values at Risk and is finalizing her second book, Emotional Heirloom, which incorporates psychological perspectives on wealth. She co-hosts an annual summit for Latino and Latina financial advisors, now entering its fourth year, and enjoys supporting events as a party planner.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Vanessa
01What do you attribute your success to?
Follow your gut. And that might seem simple enough, but it has truly gotten me to where I am today, because you will be afraid to make certain decisions. But if you're following your gut, it will continue to get you to that next level.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your gut. And that might seem simple enough, but it has truly gotten me to where I am today, because you will be afraid to make certain decisions. But if you're following your gut, it will continue to get you to that next level.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Sometimes perception can be flawed. We're used to typically a man, maybe even specifically a Caucasian man, in the seat of the financial advisor. But over time, this industry has evolved to a very much so relationship business. If you don't want to learn about taxes, join a team that has someone who specializes in that. The relationship piece is the most important piece. Keep asking around, and sit with other financial advisors that are women.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I've noticed between the younger generation right now is they are high earners and budgeting seems to be an issue. They're making $300, $400, $500,000 a year yet still don't have good footing on what should come next. Planning has been a piece that has been put to the side, potentially because of social media and everything online, getting overwhelmed and living day-to-day.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Intentionality with everything that you do. And one of the biggest pieces is communication. On both sides, because I've noticed that with multi-level generations that you're dealing with their wealth, communication seems to be the biggest issue when it's time for gifting or inheritance. Instead of the platinum rule, it's the golden rule... the new rule is the Platinum Rule, which is do unto others as they'd like done.
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