Thank you for sticking with us during this tumultuous year. We hope you have felt well served, cared for, and supported. Despite the innumerable obstacles we all faced, we did not sit still. We continue to develop our wisdom, tools, and networks to provide great strategic advice to a broad range of clients on a wide number of issues. Here is a snapshot of accomplishments and projects currently in progress:
We expanded our roster of advisors by two. Cole Spence joined us in August of 2019 having previously worked at an advisory firm in Virginia Beach, VA. He passed his CFP exam this fall. Krista Wallace, also a CFP certificate holder, joined us in February after several years of providing financial advice to US military service members. They serve as Support Advisors under our Lead Advisors to some clients and are taking primary responsibility for other clients.
Sophea Vasquez-Solis and Debbie Wyman play central roles in their ongoing development and continue to take on more complex responsibilities themselves with a somewhat smaller group of clients. This enables us to increase the attention each client receives, and the quality of the service provided.
Kevin Rigg, our Director of Financial Life Planning, spent much of 2020 researching and identifying the issues most critical to our clients and found or developed tools to address those issues. Simultaneously, we launched the University of SoundView Advisors (USVA), appointing Ben Jennings as the unofficial Dean. Their work and combined 50+ years’ experience will accelerate our team’s development.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we have invested an enormous amount of time into software this year. We were already deep in converting our major database when COVID-19 hit. With the new world we are operating in, we choose to update and upgrade many other programs. We think you will notice more difference each quarter as more of their work comes on-line.
Nate Porter and Julie Gibson ensured we experienced a smooth transition to remote working. After leading a series of upgrades to our software suite, they are now intently focused on further strengthening our cybersecurity policies and procedures and Annual Review data capture.
Vicki Simpson led a grueling transition from our old portfolio management program to a new platform. She and Lisa Graber act as our lead “Data Hygienists” tasked with maintaining the highest data quality. They are advancing the quality of reporting to clients and the sophistication of trading we can make.
As for me, Kevin Slater, I am spending more time on investment research, firm leadership, and team support. This requires that I reduce the number of clients for which I serve as Lead Advisor. Because of our team and the work we have done, I am confident clients will be better served as a result.
It has been a full year and one we are all excited to put into the past. We look forward to 2021 and the opportunity to know and serve you better than ever.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kevin Slater
CEO & President, SoundView Advisors