Morningstar Advisor - December 2013/January 2014 - (Page 12)

Advisor Profile Working for Gen Y By Kate Stalter Young adults need education to alleviate the stress that surrounds money, planner Mary Beth Storjohann says. With the launch in August of her San Diego-based financial planning firm, Workable Wealth, Mary Beth Storjohann is on a mission to educate her Generation Y peers about personal finance. Within Generation Y, the cohort born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, Storjohann has narrowed her target to young married couples, military families, and entrepreneurial women. She says that all these categories apply to her: Not only is she running her own business, but she married U.S. Naval officer Brian Storjohann two years ago. boutique wealth advisory and became hooked on the financial industry. Within months, she changed her major to financial services and began taking courses toward her Certified Financial Planner certification. After graduation, she joined Smith Barney, and then moved to Morgan Stanley before the two firms merged. She participated in the Morgan Stanley training program, but became disenchanted because, at age 21, she already had more industry experience than most of her colleagues. From there, she joined Pasadena, Calif.-based Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management, which had four employees at the time, as associate portfolio manager. Tackling Financial Stress Workable Wealth's aim is to help Gen Y-ers let go of money stress, Storjohann says, while getting a handle on their financial situations. Social media and community involvement are key components of her marketing strategy. Growing up in an Italian-American family outside Los Angeles, Storjohann recalls that money was always a hot topic in the household. Her father worked two or three jobs at a time to support the family, but there was always underlying stress. Part of her objective today is to help others avoid those anxieties. She attended San Diego State University, taking various jobs to help pay for her schooling. She landed a receptionist job at a 12 Morningstar Advisor December/January 2014 "Being in a firm that small, I was able to really hone my skills," she says. "You wear a lot of hats. I got to experience compliance; I did a website refresh, worked with clients face to face. I did research, writing, a ton of stuff. It was like a small family, and I really blossomed while I was there." At Osher Van de Voorde, she also started a financial blog for women in their 20s. "I've always been passionate about helping Gen Y, helping my peers," she said. "But early on, others in the advisory community were telling me, 'Gen Y doesn't have any money, you can't make any money that way, they don't care about retirement planning, you need to go after high-net-worth clients.' I was pushed back time after time, but I got followers on my blog, and there was something that kept drawing me back." Storjohann valued her experience at Osher Van de Voorde, but her husband-to-be was stationed in San Diego. She moved there to take a job with wealth advisory HoyleCohen, where her focuses on social media and community outreach took off. She began blogging on the Financial Planning Association's website and became involved with the group's mentorship program for women. Another Gen Y advisor, Brittney Castro, was a strong influence and sounding board during this time. Meanwhile, Storjohann spearheaded HoyleCohen's Giving Back program, which donates to San Diego charities and organizes volunteer events. Being the face of HoyleCohen in the community kept Storjohann in the San Diego spotlight. She was recently included in San Diego Business Journal's "25 in Their 20's." Breaks Out on Her Own While her husband was deployed in early 2013, Storjohann used the time to plan the launch of her own firm to work with Gen-Y clients. "In March, I decided to go for it. I went part-time at HoyleCohen and started Workable Wealth."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - December 2013/January 2014

Morningstar Advisor - December 2013/January 2014
Contents
Contributors
Letter From the Editor
What’s Your Purpose?
Working for Gen Y
How to Allocate College Savings
Mobius Looks to a New Frontier
Investments á la Carte
Investment Briefs
How to Manage Bonds for Today and Tomorrow
Cloud Is the New Engine of Growth
Knowing Where to Look
Economic Vulnerability Varies by Country
Factor Investing in Emerging Markets
Following the Rules
Exploring Indexing’s Next Frontiers
Frequent Fliers
Family Blind Spots
Optimal Portfolios for the Long Run
Finding Value in a Pricey Sector
Our Favorite Mutual Funds
50 Most-Popular Equity ETFs
Undervalued Stocks With Wide Moats
The Emerging-Markets Roller Coaster

Morningstar Advisor - December 2013/January 2014