Why Second-Generation Financial Professionals Chose Their Family Path

If you’ve grown up as the child of a financial professional—whether your parent is a life insurance agent, tax expert, financial planner or all the above—chances are good that you’ve at least considered joining the family firm. You may have gone to industry or company events, watched your parents meet with their clients, and even worked summer jobs answering phones or providing office support.

But is a career in financial services right for you—especially as a second-generation financial professional? As some of the industry’s most successful young professionals will tell you: absolutely yes.

Ameritas is proud to work with over 65 next-generation family financial professionals. These individuals are helping to grow their family business and provide support to clients for generations to come. This article shares the experiences of four of those financial professionals.

Why choose financial services?

A career in financial services can mean many things. You might work with individual clients or businesses. You might focus on one financial product or many. No matter what approach you choose, it’s a career in which you can set your own course.

That kind of flexibility is exactly why it’s been such a powerful choice for Vance Wentz, Tax Favored Benefits—and a third-generation financial professional.

“One of the things I love about our firm and really the industry as a whole—and one of the reasons I got my CFP—is that you can pursue many different paths,” explains Vance. “Whether it’s retirement plans or risk management, or gathering assets and being a wealth manager, the opportunities are endless. It’s a fantastic business to learn many different skills.”

In addition to flexibility and choice, financial services also drew Vance because of the focus on people.

“I like to have every day be a little bit different, so I knew that being in an industry that allowed me to help people in a number of different ways was important to me,” Vance explains. “I played a lot of athletics growing you up, so I’m very goal oriented. This type of career is ideal for that mentality, but I think getting to work with and help people was what really drew me to the industry.”

Zachary Allen, United Professional Advisors, LLC, agrees. “Growing up, I could see firsthand how hard my father worked, and how important his work was to him,” Zach explains. “I also saw how he was able to make his own schedule. He never missed a game I played in, never missed the things that were important to him. Beyond that, I could see how much his clients trusted him. It came through in every conversation he had.”

Earning that level of trust was so important, Zach decided on financial services as a profession at an early age.

“When I was 12 years old, we had a project in school where we were asked to write what we wanted to be when we grew up,” said Zach. “My answer? A financial professional. Being able to help your clients feel good about their financial future is an incredible feeling. The moment I began officially working in the business, I knew I wanted this to be my life’s work.”

The unique paths to following in your family’s footsteps

Not every second-generation professional finds themselves working for the family firm in the same way, however. For Laura Fazzini, Premier Planning, having her father’s encouragement from an early age made joining the family practice a top possibility—but she took her time deciding.

“My father and I have always been very close, and we work together well,” said Laura. “Growing up, he would tell me, ‘You’d be great at the business. I think you should come work with me.’ When I was in college, however, I took on an internship at a company he didn’t represent, Northwestern Mutual. He did a great job of allowing me to find my way and really see if this career was right for me. About halfway through the internship, I knew this was the career path I wanted to take. After that, I majored in personal financial planning and learned as much as I could before eventually joining the family firm.”

Samantha Robbins, Zach’s sister and now a financial professional focused on small businesses at United Professional Advisors, chose a different path.

“Even though I expected I’d eventually come back to the business, I wanted to experience some outside career pursuits first,” Sam explains. “After I graduated college, I went into media sales. For the five years prior to joining my dad’s practice, I was the sales manager at a local TV news station. That work allowed me to bring a different perspective to the firm, as well as a lot of relationships with business owners in the area. Those relationships were extremely helpful during my first year in financial services.”

Continuing—and enhancing—the family tradition

While it can be a challenge to find your footing as a second-generation financial professional, it’s also an opportunity to help keep your family practice up to date with changes in technology, business sectors and even communication styles.

“Working with my father and grandfather and learning from them has been an incredible experience,” says Vance. “But what I’ve observed is that—whether it’s my dad or my grandfather or other people across the industry who are successful, the best people are always trying to pick up new skills and abilities. You need to pivot with changes and be open to new ideas, especially in this industry which can change so quickly.”

Sam agrees. “You’ll never want to exactly follow in anyone’s footsteps. There are always new products and new ways of connecting with clients. Figuring out your own way is part of what makes this career challenging, but incredibly rewarding as well.”

A community of guidance and mutual support

Best of all, the financial services industry is well known for the support it offers to new and emerging financial professionals. In 2021, Ameritas launched the Ameritas Growth Leaders program, an exclusive study group for the next generation of financial service industry leaders.

“There are so many things that Ameritas has done to help facilitate success for younger people, or professionals who are new to the industry,” explains Vance. “With this mastermind group, we get together about once a month to share sales ideas, work through challenges or just become better friends. We’re all in different locations, so nobody’s competing, and there’s been a lot of joint work throughout the group. It’s been an excellent experience all around.”

Curious about what Ameritas has to offer second-generation financial professionals? From onsite internships to comprehensive agent support, you can count on us for the long term. See how Ameritas supports all kinds of industry professionals.

Tax Favored Benefits, Premier Planning and United Professional Advisors, LLC are not affiliates of Ameritas or any of its affiliates.