Heather: How am I gonna be received?
What are people gonna think?
How am I gonna be
received within the firm?
How are other practitioners gonna
look at me like, and I'm a woman?
For me, it was just a, okay, I'm
gonna have to get so crystal clear
about who I am and who I'm not, and
know and be able to discern what
is noise and what is truth, period.
And I had to surround myself.
With people that I trust
to tell me the truth.
Period.
End of story, because sometimes the
noise is so loud you can't discern it.
Stacy: Hey, my name is Stacy Havener.
I'm obsessed with startups,
stories, and sales.
Storytelling has fueled my
success as a female founder in the
Toughest Boys Club, wall Street.
I've raised over 8 billion that
has led to 30 billion in follow on
assets for investment boutiques,
you could say, against the odds.
Yeah.
Understatement.
I share stories of the people behind
the portfolios while teaching you
how to use story to shape outcomes.
It's real talk here, money,
authenticity, growth, setbacks, sales
and marketing are all topics we discuss.
Think of this as the capital
raising class you wish you had
in college mixed with happy hour.
Pull up a seat, grab your notebook,
and get ready to be inspired
and challenged while you learn.
This is the Billion
dollar Backstory podcast.
I got an email from a friend of mine
who leads the investment team at one of
the most successful RIA firms in the us.
He said, I heard you were meeting
with Heather, our c e o quote, who
incidentally is one of my favorite people
in the world and a fantastic leader.
End quote, the, that
was almost a year ago.
I have had many conversations and
interactions with Heather Fortner
since, and I'm honored to have
her in the podcast studio today.
Thrilled to invite you
into the conversation.
Heather Fortner is the c e o and chair of
the board at Signature Fd, an R I A based
in Atlanta with over 6 billion in a u m.
Heather has worked at
Signature FD for over 20 years.
That's right.
She spent at one firm for over
20 years and has grown from a
client service associate to c E o.
Her story will inspire you.
She joined Cig FD when they had
250 million, has been instrumental
in the firm's growth to over 6
billion, and will lead the firm
forward to their goal of 10 billion.
By the end of 2025, Heather has won
numerous awards, c e o of the year,
most admired, c e o, Titan, and for all
her accolades and all her achievements,
she is one of the kindest, most genuine
people I've met in this business.
Heather shows us all that you can
go from an entry level employee.
To the C E O C, she shows us that
trying things is how you grow and
it's okay to not be good at something.
She shows us that true
leadership isn't perfect.
It's progress and it's real.
So to my friend, Tom, if you're
listening, you were right.
Heather is a fantastic leader and
she's quickly becoming one of my
favorite people in the world too.
Without further ado, meet
my friend Heather Fortner.
So Heather, this is an
incredible joy for me.
Almost outside of the fact that
you're on the podcast, because
I love to spend time with you.
And so this is a gift, and I loved, I
mean, besides all the tech blotty blah
that we were dealing with in the Green
Room, I love that we just reached a
point where we're like, you know what?
Let's just hang out
and talk and who cares?
So everybody, that's what
you're gonna get today.
You're gonna get Stacy and Heather
hanging out and talking, and
you get to be a fly on the wall.
There's nothing better.
That's right.
Those
Heather: are the best.
Stacy: The best.
So thank you for being here.
Thank you for having me.
We have to start with my favorite
thing, and that's story backstory, and
I know you have an amazing one and.
I'm gonna let you kind of take
this in any direction you want.
What I've found is when I give people
the floor on backstory, I mean you
can go as far back to like what you
thought you wanted to be when you
grew up and kind of pull forward.
Like what was the unique part of
your journey to becoming c e O of
one of the best RIAs in the country?
Signature FD.
It's crazy.
Heather: It's still funny for
me to hear people say that.
It's like, what?
That's what I do.
That's nuts.
How did that ever happen?
So, my dad was in finance growing up.
My mom was in nursing, in medicine.
And so literally when I went to
college, I was a double major
business major and chemistry, biology.
I wanted to be pre-med.
I know I, I did all this
medical mission work, growing.
Up and then did, uh, my mom worked
in the or and so when I was 17, I did
a internship with a general surgeon
where literally it was amazing.
They just gave me a pager and every
time that surgeon went into surgery,
They called me and I would just
meet them at the hospital and go in
and watch these surgeries happen.
It was phenomenal and I loved every
minute of it, and so my belief
was, you know, I'm gonna get.
A medical degree, I'm gonna
change people's lives.
Like this is what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna travel the world and do all
this mission work, but I'm gonna be smart
about it and I'm gonna have this business
degree so that I know, you know how to run
a practice and do all that kinda stuff.
And in college, you know, doing all the
things and couldn't do organic chemistry.
Stacy: I mean, seriously, can I ask
what is organic chemistry, please?
It's like how
Heather: all the elements come together
to make things, and I don't know, for
the life of me, I j like my brain just
could not process organic chemistry,
but it's one of those things like every
pharmacist you ever see is a genius.
And organic chemistry,
and I couldn't do it.
I just couldn't do it.
And so that was one of the things that
I eventually had to, I mean, I must have
taken organic chemistry like three times.
You know, I'm not accustomed to
not being able to do something.
So it was like, I, but I've got
a goal and I'm gonna get it done.
And I literally couldn't do it.
And so, There was a moment in time where
I really had to sit down and, and you
know, I give my dad credit for this
cuz my dad always said, Hey listen,
you know, once you, once you graduate
from college, hey kid, like you're off
the payroll, you gotta be able to pay
your bills and support yourself here.
Stacy: So six years in,
Heather: I was like, I
just gotta get this degree.
I can't fight with organic
chemistry in the rest of my life.
And so I got my degree in
finance and was working, was
working my way through school.
And you know, I was talking to my
therapist one day and he was like,
listen, listen, the whole point of
why you wanted to do medicine was
because you wanted to help people.
There are other helping professions.
That can have impact in people's lives.
And so I had, you know, still been
studying on my own time, took the
MCAT and was like, okay, you know
what, here's what I'm gonna do.
I am going to apply to medical school
and I'm going to apply to counseling
to, for a degree in professional
counseling and whichever one I get into.
That's the way I'm gonna go because
they're both helping professions.
I can make this work.
And so I did not get into medical
school, and I got into the professional
counseling program at Georgia State
and started doing that at night.
I had just.
Started at Signature FD as a
client service associate and
literally still was thinking, you
know, this is just my day job.
I'm just paying the bills like
I my side hustle, you know, I'm
gonna go get this degree and
then I'm, I'm just gonna be done.
And what I found was
that I loved the work.
And very quickly
Stacy: after I got here,
Heather: the s e C said, all
registered investment advisors have
to have a chief compliance officer.
And me in my negativity was
like, well, I can do that.
I raised my hand, like, I just
don't wanna be bored, like, just
let me learn some, some new things.
And so went and got some training,
became the chief compliance
officer, and from there, You
know, that was a boardroom seat.
And so from there really got
into the inner workings of
how do we grow this business?
How do we run this business?
Like what are we doing?
And that's really where once I graduated
with my graduate degree, it was just this.
Beautiful marrying, you know, I had a
decision point to make of, am I going
to go pursue my doctorate and be a
clinical counselor or am I gonna try to
find a way to combine this training in
finance with this training in humankind?
And that,
Stacy: that was just,
Heather: that was where
it ended up, and I've
Stacy: loved every minute of it.
Ooh.
I love that.
I love it.
Such a great story.
Thank you for sharing that.
You know, I had, I have so many like
sort of light bulb moments for me as
you talked, of course, one of which is
chief compliance offer seems daunting.
Not after you've taken
organic chemistry three times.
You were like, compliance.
Bring it on.
Do you know what organic chemistry is?
I'm gonna make
Heather: compliance.
I cannot put a molecule together, but
I can put some documentation together.
Stacy: So that was one thought.
The other thing, and this has also
been a really interesting theme in
almost every conversation I've had
on the podcast, which is the people
who really love what they do in this
industry, to me, seem to have both.
Right brain and left brain sides
that are very, very developed
and in tune and working together,
and I think the perception.
Outside of the industry, maybe even
inside the industry is that, you
know, this is all left brain logic.
These are mathematicians and
scientists and people who think
you know very analytically.
And that's true, but that's
not all we are ands not ours.
And I think your story, Gosh.
I mean, there were so
many ands to that story.
I love it.
Thank you.
It really says a lot about who
you are and how hard you worked
to get to the seat you're in.
It also says, if
Heather: we're being honest, I think
it also says there were a couple of
things that I recognized about myself.
I didn't have the plan.
I think that that is just like,
I don't want anyone who ever
hears anything about me to think.
That I had this all planned out and I
knew exactly what I was supposed to do.
There were two things that
I figured out very early on.
One was that I was my worst self
when I was bored, and so because of
that, I was willing to do anything.
I just was willing to learn
anything, do anything because.
I did not wanna be my worst self.
That was one thing.
And then the second thing was just
because I'm a high performer, I
feel like the world was my oyster.
Right?
It was.
Well, I like all of these things.
It was so much easier for me to figure
out early the things I didn't like than
it was for me to figure out the things
I did like and that freedom, right?
And making those mistake.
Stakes and learning those two lessons
by the school of hard knocks, I think
has given me a framework, you know, to
step into these new roles where these
roles didn't exist before I got into
them, or I've never been a C E O before.
Like I don't know how to do that.
But the
Stacy: backstory of,
Heather: well, but I know what
I don't wanna do and I know I
don't wanna be bored, so I'll
learn whatever I need to learn.
Gave me the freedom and the
ability to just, I don't know,
dive in head first and get wrong.
What needed?
I needed to get wrong and
get right what I needed to
Stacy: get right.
You know?
I love that you shared that.
I relate to that so much.
Of course, because every
conversation we have, I'm like,
yes, we're living the same life.
But you know, it's funny, I think that.
Idea of not having the plan, but
of knowing what you don't like.
That's really tough.
You know, when somebody says, well, what
do you wanna be or What do you wanna do?
You know, those questions
are really tough.
Que like lifelong
questions for some of us.
But knowing what we don't like
is at least a starting point.
And being okay with not knowing the plan.
Similar to you, and we've talked
about this, like I didn't think
I wanted to be in investments.
I only took it as a day job to save
money so I could pay from college.
Same thought.
I wanted to be a professor.
Same.
And look, here we are.
We're both here.
We're both killing it.
We both love it.
And we never would've written
that story if someone had asked
us before we ended up here.
Exactly.
Right.
And now we get to write
it the way we want.
And that's so exciting.
And I think for me, part of the beauty
Heather: of that in having young
girls at home now is I don't wanna
put that pressure on it, right?
I want to create that safe
space for them where they can
try a lot of things and decide.
This isn't what I want to do.
Right.
And the earlier that I can get
them started in that, of just,
Hey, you wanna go try this?
Let's go try it.
Let's see what happens.
You know, teaching them that muscle
that if they try something and
they fail or they don't like it,
it does not diminish who they are.
Ugh,
Stacy: that's so good.
And also, by the way, your
organic chemistry part of your
story is really important.
It's really important because you
know what, what happens a lot of
times when people tell their story,
whether it's to other colleagues
in an industry on a podcast or
their kiddos, is they edit out the.
Bad parts.
I'm using air quotes, which
of course no one can see.
Right.
They edit out the messy and they think
that that's like a, you know, here
I'm gonna put my best foot forward.
I'm gonna, I don't need to tell that part.
And what happens when we do that
is, and you acknowledged it when
you said, I didn't have a plan.
When we give them just the perfect
polished bio, people are like, oh my gosh.
Like I can't connect with
her cuz I'm not perfect.
That's right.
Or
Heather: I mean, it's like, are you
making your life Instagram worthy or not?
Right?
And it's, and the reality is,
I'm just not Instagram worthy.
And you
Stacy: know, one of the ways
that I've seen this play
Heather: out is my daughter, I.
Oakley, who's six is very much like
me, very tightly wound, you know, very
competitive, doesn't like to lose.
And so what I was noticing in her
was that if she thought she wasn't
gonna be able to do something
perfectly, she wouldn't even try.
Oh yeah.
And I thought, you know what?
I've got to start teaching her.
How to fail.
Well, and that is one of the
things that we, you know, want to
do here at Signature FD as well.
So I can't bake.
I can't bake for anything.
It does.
It does not matter.
I literally cannot bake.
And so I was like, you know what, here's
what we're gonna do every weekend.
Stacy: We
Heather: are going to make Macrons.
Now, I don't know if there's any
people out on the call who are
culinary experts, but a Macron is a
incredibly difficult cookie to make.
And I was like, I'm gonna pick
the one that I know I am going
to miserably fail every time.
And we did.
We must have made.
Every Saturday.
Every Saturday.
Over the course of several months, we
must have made, I don't know, 50 batches
Stacy: and they were horrible.
They never got good.
They
Heather: were ugly.
I mean, they got better.
Like I got the right mixer.
My husband literally got me a private
Macron baking class so that I could bike.
Like we went all in and every time, you
know, they would come out of the oven and,
and they wouldn't look right or they'd
fallen or they were sticky or whatever.
It was raining outside and you
don't make macrons when it's
raining outside and all the things.
And my daughter got to a point, we
would have the conversation of, you know
what, Oakley practice makes progress.
Practice doesn't make perfect.
Practice doesn't make perfect
practice makes progress.
And you know what?
We didn't get 'em right and I'm a
little disappointed, but you know what?
I'm gonna keep trying and
we'll keep working at it.
And for me, you know, for
me it was just, Oh my word.
If I want my daughter to really
believe this and take this into
the core of who she is, I have to
be authentic with myself as well.
And how often, how often am I
telling myself, you gotta be perfect?
Cuz everybody's looking,
you can't make any mistakes.
Yes.
Stacy: Especially in your role as c e O.
Yes.
Lot of eyes on you.
Yes.
And you know, I love that
story and if there are any
Bakers listening, I need you.
Yeah.
You can send your tips.
We are taking all the baking tips.
How have you kind of.
Squared, if you will.
And it's fine to say you're still
on the journey because starting over
on that question and don't edit it
out because we're here for the real.
Okay.
How have you squared going from
like chief compliance officer, chief
operating Officer, all these very
process system behind the scenes a
little bit rolls to now you are the face.
Of the company as the c
e o chair of the board.
And you do have all these eyes on you,
and especially in an industry where people
are like, oh man, you do not wanna, like,
you know, you gotta be in this suit.
You gotta, you know, there's a part
to play in the investment world.
How have you squared that
ability to stay authentic?
Yeah, that's
Heather: a awesome question.
And um, I think there
are a couple of answers.
One of them is, Let's also be real
in that while my career was built,
building infrastructures in teams
and technologies and uh, regulatory
compliance, I'm also not an advisor.
I am also not A C F P, right?
So my whole professional career, like
I am sitting here leading a firm of
people that I have not sat in their
seat and they haven't sat in mine and in
Stacy: our
Heather: industry.
That is unheard of.
It's just unheard of.
I don't know many other CEOs of registered
investment advisors who have not at
some point in their career, been a
cpa, A C F P, an advisor of some sort.
And so when you talk about
pressure and you talk about.
How am I gonna be received?
What are people gonna think?
How am I gonna be
received within the firm?
How are other practitioners gonna
look at me like, and I'm a woman?
For me, it was just a, okay, I'm
gonna have to get so crystal clear
about who I am and who I'm not,
and know and be able to discern
what is noise and what is truth.
Stacy: Period.
And I had to surround
Heather: myself with people
that I trust to tell me the
truth, period, end of story.
Because sometimes the noise is so loud
you can't discern it, and sometimes.
Having those people that you can
go to that you know are truly
objective, that can look you in the
face with love and say, Hey, listen,
here's the thing that's invaluable.
It's invaluable to figuring out how
you're going to stand authentically,
um, in who you are and who
you're not, and lead as you were
Stacy: created to lead.
Gosh, I love that so much.
There's always this moment in the podcast
where I just, whatever like the guest
says is so good that I just wanna throw
my own mic, like mic drop for them.
That's what I wanna do right now.
I mean, that is so good.
There's so many levels to that.
What fabulous advice.
And it's so interesting the things
that you pointed out that like in
your seat you're like, you wanna
know what's challenging for me?
I've never been an advisor and
I'm leading a team of advisors
and I'm building an advisory firm,
having never been in their shoes.
Like those are things I
wouldn't have even thought of.
But yet here are challenges that you're
facing and trying to figure out, well,
how do I lead authentically with some
of these obstacles that I, that I really
feel, I also love the acknowledgement.
And you didn't share it as advice, but
it is advice that we all need somebody in
our circle that can call us on our crap.
That's right.
That can call us on what is this with
peace and love as you said, but you
can't just surround yourself with people
that are high fiving you all the time.
I'm a big, high five person and I'm here
for it, but like you also need someone.
That can tell you when, hey,
like, what's going on here?
I see this and is this what's happening?
Let's talk.
That's right.
So great.
So amazing.
You know, I have to tell you something.
When I was prepping for this podcast,
so this is gonna tie back to what you
said about being a a female executive.
So I was prepping for this podcast.
I'm like, yeah, you know, I've known
Signature Rty for a really long time.
By the way, your office is one of my
favorite offices, just the physical space.
I love it so much.
We might have to talk about it before
we break, but I went on your website.
I was like, lemme just see what's new
and what they're talking about over here.
And there were so many things I was vibing
on, not the least of, which was the quiz.
So I did the quiz.
I don't know if I actually like hit
complete, cause I'm like, ah, there's
gonna be like, what is she doing?
She's just completed a quiz.
But, so I did the quiz cuz I wanted
to talk to you about who you serve.
And I was like, wow, this quiz is kind
of all these identifying questions.
And at the end of the quiz, what
I loved is you gave me a choice
to select, like what type of
group do I identify most with?
And one of those groups I
believe was female executive.
Can you talk about that?
So do you, the whole quiz was fascinating.
A and people should really consider this.
It's a great fun kind of way
to, you know, qualify and
better serve your target market.
But do you have specific teams
of advisors within SIG FD that
serve different target markets?
Can you talk about that?
I love that idea.
Heather: Yeah, we do.
And I'll tell you how that
came about was incredibly
unintentional in the very beginning.
When I joined Signature FD at the
beginning of 2003, we were about
250 million under management.
And you know, when you're 250
million under management, I mean,
you're taking everybody, right?
Like you're just trying to, to
get the business off the ground.
Stacy: What we
Heather: realized when we made our first
female advisor hire in 2008 was that
we had brought someone who had enormous
experience into the firm, and she was
very, very passionate about serving women.
And so we said, oh, Dana,
that's very interesting.
Like she's got a niche,
she's got a community.
We wanna try a lot of things
and, and see what happens there.
Fast forward several years, we did
our first merger and that team, two
of those advisors had niche markets.
Their entire books were in serving
corporate executives and attorneys,
and so we brought them in.
Stacy: Oh, interesting.
Yeah, and it was
Heather: like, Oh wow, okay.
We're starting to see a trend and
add in and everything in my head
works like, you know, a math formula
cuz I can't do molecules, right?
But math formula.
So the third piece of that was that
our advisors who had been here all
along their books had started to
transition to the types of clients and
communities that they were a part of.
And so we saw this just like
natural evolution happening where.
Very clearly advisors were
starting to build their businesses.
In specific communities, and you talk
differently to a professional athlete
than you, to a corporate exec, than
you do to an entrepreneur, than you do.
And in our world and our belief,
the belief around community and
the belief around belonging is that
it is critical to who people are
and that you treat people with.
The respect and what they want to
hear and how they need to hear it, and
how they need to be communicated to.
And so that's where the evolution
of our niches came into play.
And what it has blossomed into is just
this really beautiful way for people who
joined Signature FD across the entire
firm to experience different communities
of people that they're passionate about.
And then build their careers
serving those people because
they all have different needs.
Stacy: So we are gonna park
on this one for a while cuz
there's a lot here that I love.
You know, I think one of the challenges
for most companies in our business
is the idea of kind of owning a
niche or owning a target market.
People don't wanna do that.
They wanna cast the widest net.
It's like, look, I'm just
focusing on retirees.
And it's like, okay, that is just, that's
not, it's very hard to say something
specific when you don't have an identified
community or niche and you don't.
Understand their specific problems, how
they speak, all the things you said.
That's so great that you were
able to see it happening early
and sort of lean into it.
What I find also super interesting
is that you are now over 6 billion.
What's your a u m today?
It's almost 7 billion.
Almost 7 billion.
So think about this, what you've built,
and I love that it wasn't intentional.
Is basically a collection of
boutiques inside of a boutique, r i a.
You now have these teams that are almost
like little standalone boutique businesses
serving a very specific target market,
and they get to have, as you said, kind
of a team that you know, really loves that
target market, really understands it and
build that business inside of the amazing.
Infrastructure and support system that
you've created at Signature fd, that
is how you scale independently and
cohesively and authentically because
you're letting people be themselves.
Yes.
Heather: And can we talk about
for a minute why people, so here's
where I go, all counselor on you.
Why people are afraid of that, why
advisors are afraid of that, I believe.
That many times there is a mindset
of scarcity rather than a mindset of
abundance, and we're always afraid of
what we're going to miss out on versus
having the confidence and the belief
and the faith in how good we are that
a whole new world will open up if we
actually take the time, you know, to
be super intentional about that one
Stacy: thing.
I agree with that.
It's that idea of attract and repel,
you know, because the group that's
serving professional athletes, they
know what their dream client DNA n a is.
That's exactly right.
And if a big.
Fancy.
C e o comes to them.
They're like, sorry, I
mean, you're a great person.
It's no harm, no foul.
But that's just not who
we're built to serve.
We serve athletes.
They have very different
problems, needs, you know, all
the things versus an executive.
And so from a marketing perspective, the
content that that team is gonna create,
And is gonna be incredibly different
than somebody serving, you know, females
in finance or whatever it is, right?
So I think it's such an important
lesson for advisors who are
boutiques to think about.
I obviously, you know, think
it's critical for the other side.
The asset managers need to get
really specific on who they serve.
But it's a great lesson and
it makes me think about.
Some things I've read, and I know I've
talked to you about your goal is to get
to 10 billion, and what's interesting, am
I right that you are totally independent
or have you taken private equity money?
You have not.
I didn't think so.
And that's rare right now.
Because there's so much money sloshing
around and so many people who wanna
get, you know, into the R I A space.
Can you talk about it?
Are you at liberty to talk about just
your decision to remain independent?
Yeah, sure.
Heather: When I became C E O in 20 20,
1 of the things, so obviously I am G
g2, I'm a successor in the organization.
But one of the things that was.
Critically important.
You know, I, I did my first a hundred
days and I interviewed everybody,
and I did all the listening and,
um, the conversation from everyone.
The one thing that every single
owner, and we had, you know, 54
owners at the time, was equity.
The transition of equity, this basically
the financial succession of the firm.
How is the financial succession
of the firm going to happen?
Especially in a market where
valuations are so high.
And so that was a year long work
in progress within the organization
of, you know, who do we wanna be?
Who do we wanna be?
What matters to us long term?
What do we want for our clients?
What matters to us in a resource
capacity, in a service line capacity, in
a quality of life and culture capacity.
And ultimately the best way that I know
how to articulate the vision of our board,
which this is one of the reasons PE people
ask me all the time, you know, I can't
believe you've been somewhere 20 years.
And it's like, here's the reason why.
Here's why.
If you laid it all out, here is why,
Stacy: because.
Heather: As independence, we have
the ability as a group of owners to
make the best decision for our team
and our clients, regardless of if
it is the best decision financially
for the firm and that flexibility.
To be of humans, first and
of profit second, just the
flexibility to do that and to have
that and to say, you know what?
We could make more money.
But at the end of the day, it is
more important to us to be about
our team and about our clients.
We want to retain that
flexibility and that is the
Stacy: place I wanna be.
Yeah, that's so well said.
So obviously because you are leaning into
these niches in these target markets,
organic growth is gonna happen and I'm
sure the stats would bear that out,
but is that acquisition strategy, how
you envision getting to 10 billion?
Is that play a big role?
I
Heather: have to say, you know, in
2000, what, 20 when I took over, just
quick back of the napkin math, was
that if, if we grew it 20% year over
year, we could get to 10 billion.
I mean, that it was just that
Stacy: easy.
I.
Heather: Which is not easy.
Let's be real.
Like I'm not sa, I'm not,
I'm not saying that's easy,
Stacy: which is not.
Yes, that simple.
It was
Heather: simple math in the sense
of, all right, what does that mean?
How much could we hit organically?
Are we in.
Centering the right behaviors in the firm
are, are people excited and motivated?
What do I need to do in my new seat?
And that has been almost, I would say,
freeing for me in the ability to start to.
Turn where I was probably my entire career
with my back, externally and focused
internally to be able to just turn around
and focus externally, all of that energy.
It has been unbelievable when you
actually start to lean in from a service.
Perspective from a community
perspective, all of those things
that we've always believed.
But now I'm doing all the things right?
Because if we believe these things,
and this is another philosophy I
have, which is like, just experiment.
Don't be afraid to experiment.
Do small experiments and whatever
works, do more of that and whatever
doesn't work, just don't do that.
Stacy: And so for me it
Heather: was like, oh, well,
okay, we believe in communities.
I'm gonna go get involved in community.
I'm gonna go do a
leadership Atlanta class.
I'm going to go figure out how
does Signature FD better serve
the community of people that we
are in the neighborhood with?
You wouldn't believe what's come out.
I mean, it's
Stacy: just, isn't that crazy?
It's
Heather: unbelievable, and I.
Sometimes sit back and think, man,
I wish everyone felt the freedom
to simply go in and serve well,
because out of that service, and by
service, I simply mean involvement
in the community in a measurable way.
You do that and you stick in there
and you do that, you know, time
after time, after time, after time.
That's where relationship
happens, and let's be real.
People want to work with an advisor
that they feel connected to, that they
recognize in their own community and
that they have a relationship with
Stacy: that is belonging.
Oh, that is so good.
I'm gonna throw my mic again.
You know, it's interesting.
I was chatting with a founding,
um, partner at one of our
clients yesterday and you know,
it was like, kind of like us.
It was supposed to be like a 30 minute
chat and, you know, Over 90 minutes
later, we're still sitting there and we've
talked about this exact thing, which is
when you work on an activity together,
it does not matter what the activity is.
It could be literally playing Legos
or it could be, you know, building
a house, habitat for Humanity or
whatever, whatever the activity is.
When you work on an activity together,
the connection and relationship happens
so much faster, deeper, more levels to it.
All the things, just the act
of doing something together.
Absolutely.
And so I think you hit on something that.
Again, it's simple.
It's not easy.
It requires time.
It requires support of your organization.
I saw you guys were just out
doing something as a group.
I think Ronald McDonald House,
you did something right.
I saw on social, great job.
But look at like, that's how
you build connection internally.
But you can also build
connection externally.
It doesn't have to just be like, go play
golf, and, you know, whatever we used
to do in the eighties, I don't know.
Doesn't have to be that anymore.
Um, Stacy, they're still
golfing, by the way.
Oh, they are?
Well, I thought we moved past that.
I, I've never golfed, so I've
never been cool in this biz.
Yeah, me either, but I, I
Heather: think I probably need to learn at
this point because it's still happening.
Stacy: So can I tell you, I went
through this phase in my career.
It must be the counselor in
you that's got me talking now.
So I went through this phase in
my career where I was like, oh
my gosh, what am I doing here?
I.
Like it really hit me hard.
I was really successful, but
I'm like, I don't fit the mold.
And you know, you go through all
these imposter syndrome things,
but almost just like, oh my, I
wanted to fit in more, I think.
So I decided I was gonna take golf
lessons, and at the time I lived
in Boston and I didn't have a car.
I was like, okay, that's fine.
There's like this city golf thing.
It was this tiny little hole in the wall.
And it underground, and
it had a golf simulator.
And I mean, I've never played golf, so I
decide this is how I'm gonna learn golf.
And I go and I do it.
And I'm horrible.
And I'm horrible and it's a different
instructor every week and I'm
like, You know, this is not for me.
This is just not for me.
And of course people were
like, that's not golf.
You don't golf like in a basement.
And I was like, well,
I was trying to learn.
It's just not gonna happen.
I was like, it's just not for me.
If you wanna come and have a
drink after and hang out at at a
beautiful golf course, I'm so game.
But don't ask me to hit
any, I'm not gonna hit 'em.
I
Heather: will drive the
cart any day of the week.
I will drive the cart and I
will try, but it, it is, it is
definitely not a skill of mine.
Stacy: It's funny how that is such a
linchpin, but it doesn't have to be.
And I think that's the point.
So if there's anyone else out there
who's raising their hand, like I
also am not a golfer, that's okay.
I know lots of advisors who do pickleball
or tennis or, so you can find something
else, or you can go get involved in the
community as a way to connect with people.
And hi to all the salespeople of
asset management companies who are out
there trying to network all the time.
Go do something.
Go get involved.
Don't just like ask people to go
out to lunch or whatever, like
go get involved and do something.
I mean, this is a great example of how
that can help you build any business.
I agree.
So, so
Heather: your question is, you know, are
we looking, I think our answer is we are.
Always looking for amazing advisors,
especially if they are passionate about a
certain niche that we've already created.
Because we already have the teams,
we've got the infrastructure,
we've got the platform.
And so, man, if you want to just serve
clients well and you are passionate
about a certain niche, like Signature FD
is the home that you need to look into.
Stacy: I love that message.
I hope people hear that message loud and
clear, and so I don't know if, is there
a way on your website to see all the
niches, or do you have to do the Yeah.
Who we
Heather: are, who we serve, right there.
Stacy: Okay, so go check that out.
That is phenomenal.
And again, I love this.
I say this a lot in the
asset management space.
The sign of a healthy industry,
of a healthy ecosystem is
when the bigs actually feed.
The next generation, right?
The bigs aren't competing
with the boutiques.
They're sort of taking their success
and investing in the next generation,
and I think you've created that.
You've created a way where, A larger
r i a doesn't necessarily have to go
gobble up everything or, you know,
take private equity money to go scale
and be the biggest and, and whatever.
You can actually build this collection
of specialists and give them a home
and a platform to continue to grow.
That's different.
That's really different.
And I think for
Heather: us, the beauty in all of
that is that our belief is that
healthy families change the world.
Stacy: I love that sentiment.
Financially
Heather: healthy families change
the world, and so we want to
be a collection of individuals.
Who bring our passions and our expertise,
specifically in the financial world to
help families become financially healthy
so that they can go change the world.
Because if you have financially
healthy families, That are changing
the communities that they live in.
That is how you make generational impact.
And so being a platform for the
people to go and do that and serve
well and have a wonderful life.
Integration and wealth creation
opportunity, uh, while doing that.
I mean, that's just,
Stacy: that's awesome.
I love that.
Right.
It really is.
And I know you're not an investment
person, but since I know some of your
investment team really well, I have
to ask this question, and this is not
by the way, There's no good or bad to
this question that I'm about to ask
because every advisor builds their
practice and their firm differently.
So I'm wondering how investment
management plays into Signature fd.
Do you consider it one
of your differentiators?
Like, Hey, we're really talented
at investment management and we
have a team that's dedicated to it
and they're thoughtful in building
portfolios and we create differentiated
portfolios for our clients, et cetera.
Or is it more like investment
management is kind of not one of our
sort of, Edges or something that we
really think defines us as a firm.
I think you see flavors of that.
You have some advisors who are like,
you know, I don't want investment
management to be like part of my, my vibe.
Like, yes, I do it, but I'm not
leaning into it, and I just wonder
how you think about it as a firm.
Can
Heather: we be an and
Stacy: like a partial in?
Partial in both.
You can totally be an and.
Absolutely.
So,
Heather: and this is Heather's belief.
Stacy: I
Heather: don't believe that results,
performance results differentiate
Stacy: you.
Oh, I agree with you a hundred percent.
As an organization, I believe there are
Heather: hundreds and hundreds
of very, very good organizations.
There are a ton of them here in Atlanta,
right, that are doing great work,
that have great performance results.
I believe that's a skin in the game.
I.
To be a quality
Stacy: R I A
Heather: shop.
I do believe investments
are a core part of an entire
Stacy: Yes.
Okay.
That's what I was trying to get at.
They are a
Heather: core function of an
entire financial design, so you
best be as good as you can be.
Right.
And we invest a lot of money.
We have a fantastic team in
being the best that we can be.
At that core pillar.
But what we believe is that it is
one piece of the overall design.
And our belief is that wealth
falls into four pillars.
There's only really four
things you can do with wealth.
You can grow it, you can live it, you
can give it, and you can protect it.
And so thinking through, you know,
helping clients think through,
What is the purpose of this wealth?
What is the purpose of this bucket?
Let's be sure that we have protected
everything that needs to be protected
so that you then have the freedom that
we have appropriate live assets for you.
For income purposes, let's be sure
that we have clearly laid out.
We incorporate voluntary and
involuntary giving in the give bucket.
So not only, not only your voluntary
philanthropic desires, but what you're
gonna have to give away in taxes.
Let's be real.
You're giving, right?
Stacy: Yeah.
It's funny that that's in give,
but yes, it's gotta go somewhere.
You
Heather: are giving it away and
you are giving it to somebody
that you don't want to give it to.
Let's be real.
And then in your grow, right, that all of
that structuring, that design frees you
up to have less anxiety from a behavioral
perspective around the things that are
in your grow bucket because we have
taken away anxiety when it's all mixed
together and you don't know the purpose
and there's not a great design when you
understand how your wealth is serving you.
From a behavioral perspective, you
are much more able to follow a plan
over the longevity of time that is
required for that plan to be successful.
And isn't that our real goal?
A hundred percent isn't that Our real
goal is to be sure to help our clients in
the best way we possibly can to achieve
the things that they want to achieve.
Stacy: Yes.
And I love how you said you know,
the performance is not the thing.
It's not, it's a means to an end.
It doesn't differentiate you the result,
like whether or not you beat your
buddy at the cocktail party, if your
portfolio outperformed theirs or if
you beat the, it doesn't really matter.
What matters is what you're trying to
build, what you're trying to achieve.
And do you have the right.
Pieces, right pillars, as you
said, to make that happen.
What I love about your and comment
is I think there's a perception.
For some advisors that it's like I either
am a holistic financial planner, or I
am more focused on the investment side.
And so if I wanna be really into
helping people live the life they
want, maybe I'll find a way to just
outsource the investment piece or just,
I don't know, it's not that important.
Let me just, whatever.
And what you're saying is you can be both.
You can specialize in all
four of those pillars.
And actually, if you wanna build.
You know, a 10 billion sustainable,
you know, legacy in the R I A
space, you need to be an expert
in all four of those pillars.
I think that's, that's wonderful.
And then as an
Heather: advisor, if you
Stacy: don't want
Heather: to go through what it takes
to build the platform, to be an expert
in all four of those, you can come
join a signature fd, do what you love,
and utilize the resource of the team.
Stacy: Exactly, and I think
that's a really interesting point.
You know, if I put myself in an
advisor's shoes, Kind of understanding
what my options are for, whether it's,
you know, thinking about succession
or how, like what's the next gen?
Is that G2 by the way?
Yes, g2, yes.
Um, we actually have G2 G
Heather: three.
Stacy: We're on G three
at this point, so yes.
Okay.
So I love that I learned something new.
I didn't know that was like the
generation second generation.
Generation two, generation three.
I love it.
Okay.
So I mean, I think that's brilliant
and I, I think it gives advisors
another avenue that maybe they're
not necessarily thinking about.
So I appreciate you sharing
that, and I hope people.
Are inspired by what you're
building at Signature fd.
I'm inspired by all of it, what
you're building, who you are, your,
your backstory, but also the future
story and what you're creating.
And I really loved the moment where
you shared, you know, I've spent so
much of my career with sort of my back.
External and facing internal,
and now I'm pivoting.
And I can tell you you're doing a fabulous
job and it's very authentic and it's
very real, and I'm cheering for you.
Thank you for that.
Yeah.
I wanna end with a couple
of these questions.
You've been very real and authentic.
If you have time for a few of these, this
is inspired by Bruce questionnaire, which
helps us get to know you a little more.
Start with the easy one.
I think it's easy.
I don't know what book inspires you.
Does not have to be a
business book, by the way.
Oh, it's the Bible.
Oh, that's the first times
anybody said that on the show.
Really?
I love that you said that.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's my go-to needs.
No explanation.
Okay, so let's take it from book to place.
What place inspires you?
Like what's your happy place?
I am
Heather: happy.
So I have a 17 month old and we have a
special little glider upstairs in the
nursery that when I'm with my, my girls,
you know, reading or in some kind of,
I'm just anywhere they are, being with
them is, you know, it's my special place.
Stacy: I love that.
And it's a moment in time, isn't it?
It's a season and it's very challenging,
but it doesn't last forever.
And I love that you are
acknowledging that it is so fleeting.
Yeah.
And leaning in.
I relate to that very much.
Okay, now a little bit of a fun one.
So we're gonna pretend that you,
well, you are a rockstar, but
now you're a literal rockstar.
You're, Ooh, I love being a rockstar.
Yeah.
Okay, so you're walking out.
On stage somewhere.
Okay?
You're going to give a presentation
and they're gonna play a, a hype
song, a walkout anthem for Heather.
You're walking out to thousands
of your screaming fans.
What is the song that they play?
She's a
Heather: brick.
P
is that?
Stacy: Sang it is the best.
That is so good.
I might have to require people to sing.
From now on, you can all call Heather
and thank her that you'll be singing on
Stacy's podcast from this point forward.
That was amazing.
Oh, that's so good.
Okay.
What profession, other than your own.
Would you like to attempt?
Heather: Oh yeah.
Mm.
I really have this thing and one
day if I retire, I may go back to
school and, and do organic chemistry.
I really, I'm not kidding you.
I
Stacy: was gonna say, that's
the answer to the next one.
I'm probably
Heather: gonna take that class just
to pass it one day in in my life.
I'm just not usually okay with,
um, You know something besting me.
Stacy: Yeah, I get that.
Have you read the book
Lessons in Chemistry?
Uhuh.
Okay, so I read it this year.
Lessons in Chemistry when you're not
reading books to the girls and you know,
running a company at all and how like.
This is a good book for you.
Okay.
I'll write it down.
Lessons in Chemistry.
I think you would really like
the main character a lot.
Perfect.
Okay.
Um, so now I don't know what's
gonna happen on the next question.
What profession would you not like to do?
Heather: Oh, well there's a lot of those.
You know, I would not like
to do anything on a big boat.
Because I get really motion sick.
Stacy: How about if
it's a bakery on a boat?
Is that like the worst?
That would be the worst.
Nope.
Heather: No.
Nothing on a big boat.
I just, I can't do anything on a big boat.
I can do a little boat,
but not a big boat.
Stacy: That is amazing.
I love that.
Okay.
What do you want people to say about you
after you've retired or left the industry?
That one's very
Heather: easy.
So my mission statement for myself
is to love and lead well, and that's
what I want people to say that I did.
She loved me well, and she led me well.
Stacy: I think you're already doing it.
And they're probably already saying it.
I'm saying it.
Yes.
You do.
You love and you lead.
Well, Heather, thank you
so much for being here.
This is one of my favorite
podcasts I've done.
I mean, I don't know if you can say
that as a podcast host, but I just
love how authentic and real it was.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
This podcast is for
Heather: informational purposes only
and should not be relied upon as
a basis for investment decisions.
The information is not an offer,
solicitation, or recommendation of any
of the funds, services, or products,
or to adopt any investment strategy.
Investment values may fluctuate
and past performance is not a
guide to future performance.
All opinions expressed by guests
on the show are solely their own
opinion and do not necessarily
reflect those at their firm.
Manager's appearance on the show does
not constitute an endorsement by Stacey
Havener or Haven or Capital Partners.