Jeannette Jones: Changing the Status Quo in Finance
When Jeannette Jones started out in finance in the 1980s, she couldn’t find a workplace that reflected her values or that appreciated her friendly and kind personality. So, she decided to create her own workplace where she could live her values and be her bubbly, lovely self. At the time, The Asset Advisory Group and its people-first attitude were considered unusual. But today, people-centered and value-driven financial planning companies are more and more common. By refusing to compromise on her vision or change her personality to fit the status quo, Jeannette was ahead of the curve.
Interview by Tracy P. Van Wagner. Photography by Moriah Kenton.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I came to Cincinnati after I graduated from Ohio State in accounting and finance. I started out as a financial lending officer at KeyBank in the early ’80s. I had my certified financial planners license and a C.P.A. from being an accountant. So, I decided to launch my own company. I was 28 years old and didn't know anyone in Cincinnati. Looking back, I don't know that I would have had the courage to do that knowing what I know now. But it all worked out! And it's been a wonderful journey.
I’d spent all of my life building the company and running the business. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful life partner whom I met when I was 15. He and I have two great kids, and I spent a lot of time with him and the kids. I really didn't spend much time working with other women in finance because there weren't very many women in finance and accounting when I started out. So, I didn't have a lot of friends through work. And because of workload and family, I really didn't have time to cultivate friends outside of work. The Cincy Women's Salon was a recognition that there might be other women out there who want an opportunity to get to know other women but haven't had the time or the ability to cultivate friendships in a way that didn't feel like they owed somebody networking or a product purchase.
Tell us about the inspiration behind the Asset Advisory Group.
The ’70s was when financial planning first started coming out. It was the concept that you would actually sit down with somebody and get financial advice. But back then, there weren't very many companies that did it without having some sort of financial tie or obligation. In other words, they either wanted to sell you a stock, an insurance policy, or some other product. So whether your question was, “How should I save money for a new house?” or “How should I save money for educating my kids?” inevitably, the answer always was a product that they sold and received a commission for. It might not have been the best thing for you, but that didn't matter because that's how they were compensated.
So I decided to be a financial advisor that worked like C.P.A.s did. I couldn't find a job with somebody else doing it that way, so I decided to start out on my own. I went around and talked to attorneys and C.P.A.s that I'd known as a lending officer, and said, “Hey, I’ve got my C.P.A. and certified financial planner license. If you ever have people come to you with a proposal, like if a client says, ‘This guy wants to sell me this insurance policy. Is this a good idea for me or not?’ Send it to me. I will analyze it for you, write it up, and then you can present it as your information and use it how you see fit.” So, proving my expertise that way, I was able to develop relationships with attorneys, C.P.A.s, and other centers of influence who then referred their clients to me when they needed help.
If you want somebody who's going to hold your hand a lot more, give you advice in the context of your own life and your values, we’re the people for you.
It was a very slow process because you're also having to educate people about financial planning half the time and answer questions like, “Why should I pay you to provide that when somebody else will give me that advice for free?” That advice wasn't exactly free; it was tied to something. So it was a challenge at first. But that old-fashioned perseverance and believing in what you're doing paid off.
Now, 32 years later, there are eight of us. We have a staff. We're in the process of hiring another financial advisor. We're predominantly women here. We only work with individuals and families. We don't do 401k plans or things like that where we don't get to know people one on one. We always want to be giving financial advice to individuals. We do something called a discovery meeting where we talk about things like, “What are your values? What's important to you? Who's important to you? Are there people that you need to provide for?” and really get to know people up front before we even start to put together the first plan. So, it's fun to come to work. You enjoy working with the people that you're working with and with your clients, as well. They become friends. We always say that if you are a person who feels like there are things that you're not doing that could make you more successful financially and you're frustrated by that, then we're a good fit. If you want somebody who's going to hold your hand a lot more, give you advice in the context of your own life and your values, we’re the people for you. We are not the group for you if you say, “What's the hot stock?” or “How can I make the most money within the next year?” You'll never see us on one of those stock-picking contests like The Business Courier puts out or anything like that.
I like the “people first” attitude and that you’re values-driven. When you think of finance, you don’t really think of values, unfortunately.
It's true. Finance and financial planning has always been people wanting to crunch numbers. The way I wanted to do things was almost looked down on. I would go to industry conferences and they'd say, “What's your A.U.M. [Assets Under Management]?” and, “How have you structured your business so you can do work with as many people as you possibly can at once?”
That was one of those moments where you realize, “I am going to have to be somewhere else in order to be true to myself.
And it's like, “No, that's not how we do things.” Things have evolved. People are talking more about working with people on a fiduciary basis, which was always the core of how we operate. This means putting the client's interests first at all times. That's actually a legal standard, but not everybody does it.
It was kind of like an act of rebellion.
I will say I am proud of holding my values intact that whole time, instead of feeling like I had to sell out in order to get ahead. That is one of the things I'm most proud of. When I worked at K.P.M.G. in Columbus, they would rank you from one to 40 and then, based on your ranking, they would “cull the herd,” if you will. The bottom 10% would be fired and it would happen every year as you moved up the ranks. When I was ranked, I was told I was number three in my class, which I was happy about. But then I learned why I was number three: It was because I smiled and laughed too much. The partners who had not had a chance to work with me thought I was a ditz. I needed to work on being more serious and not as nice to the people who worked under me, because they thought I was a pushover. I walked out of that meeting and I was just crushed; I thought, “How in God's name am I going to change my personality? My nickname as a kid was Giggles!” It’s in my D.N.A. I cannot change myself. That sense that in order to be successful you had to be somebody else was kind of crushing. That was one of those moments where you realize, “I am going to have to be somewhere else in order to be true to myself. I'm not going to be able to make it here this way.”
Tell us about the Women’s Salons.
I wanted to bring women together in a way where there wasn’t any financial or networking obligation to them. That's been a really fun experience because I’ve read articles and books and have met people in different situations and thought, “Well, that's fascinating! I think people would like to learn more about what you do.” Or if I feel there's something that needs to be brought to the fore. Like after the election, I felt like people were hateful. That's where the unconscious bias program came from. Then there have been fun things like “Women in Food,” which featured the Findlay Market Kitchen. So, it's been a nice spread of fun and serious topics.
Where can people find information about the Women’s Salons?
They can reach out to me by e-mail to get onto the invitation list.
Tell us about some women who have had an influence on your life.
I would say definitely my mother. She is somebody who was ahead of her time because she had her own ideas and she wasn't a typical person of her age. She's 83 years old this month. She's an organic gardener. She made our cereal from granola. She was into keeping us out of sugar and things like that back in the day when Velveeta cheese and those kinds of things were basic staples of people’s diet. So, her health and body conscious health was influential. She was also very much, “You can do whatever you think you can do or want to do.” In high school, I wanted to take drafting. The instructor who taught that locked me out of class. This was pre-Title IX, before women legally were allowed to go into whatever classes they wanted to and promoting sports for both women and men was a law. I literally was walking through the door. He said, “What are you doing here?”
I said, “I'm here to take this class.”
He said, “Oh no, you are not!” and shoved me back and the door was locked from the inside. I couldn't get the Board of Education to allow me to take that class. This is how old school it was where I grew up. There were 33 kids in the graduating class; it was a small school in Portsmouth, Ohio. My parents supported me and allowed me to change schools. I ended up going to Notre Dame of Portsmouth. My junior and senior years were a lot different than most junior and senior year kids in high school because my mother didn't let them just push me around. She was very supportive in a non-supportive, male-dominated area.
She speaks her mind. I can remember being in situations where I'd be in the room and my mom would give her opinion about something. The men would say, “Well, that's not right,” or, “You really have no say in this.”
She'd say, “Well, why don't I?”
She and my father ran a farm together and she would be patronized during conversations about their business decisions. She would not put up with it. It was nice to see her model positive behavior instead of being passive.
From there, it's mostly just been women that I really didn't get to know, but women that I would read about that had their own businesses. One woman is Muriel Siebert, who was the very first woman who had a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. In the ’70s, I remember reading about that and thinking, “You can be a business owner in the financial field.” I always thought that was so unusual, interesting, different, and exotic compared to all the women I knew who were either teachers or nurses. If you were going to work, that's what you were going to be. In fact, I was told by my guidance counselor in high school those were my two choices because I am a nurturing person. Which, personality-wise, she wasn't too far off the mark. But this career is something where I was able to marry love of finance and business with taking care of people.
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