CFP Holly Hunter has an emphatic message for clients: Money won’t buy happiness.
Ms. Hunter, 51, has gleaned this knowledge from her travels around the world and time spent among penniless people along with her training as a registered life planner.
InvestmentNews talked with Ms. Hunter, principal of Hunter Advisor LLC in Portsmouth, N.H., about her passion for traveling and her efforts to pass on her acquired wisdom to clients. She manages $70 million in assets for her clients.
IN: What drew you to traveling?
It’s in my blood. My mother has been a globetrotter since she went to Cuba in the 1950s. My first trip was to Mexico with her when I was 8. I usually travel two or three times a year now. We have property in Mexico, about two hours south of Puerto Vallarta, and we spend Christmas, New Year’s and usually the month of January there.
IN: Where are you going this year?
I started a women’s travel club about five or six years ago. This fall four of us are going to Bhutan, a Buddhist country that’s between Nepal and India. After that, two of us will go on to Rajasthan, India. Then my husband [Dan] will join me.
IN: What’s been your favorite place so far?
Probably Zimbabwe and Botswana. We lived in nature for our entire trip. It was also the first time I discovered how it felt to be a minority. I was standing on a street corner in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and as far as my eye could see, there were no white people. I was the only white person. I felt like everyone was staring at me, which they probably were. It was a good experience for me.
IN: What did you take away from it?
Sensitivity to minorities. I’ve had additional opportunities to build on that, because of trips to Asia. I feel much more comfortable now when I’m the minority, no matter where I am.
IN: Have you been able to transfer that to your work? Or is there simply not the opportunity, given the demographic makeup of New Hampshire?
Yea, we have only white people here. There are no minorities. [But my work] lets me live part of the year in Mexico. As for relating to my clients ― well, there are days when it’s difficult to have compassion for whining from people who have a lot of money, because I’ve spent time in countries where people have nothing.
IN: What did you learn?
Money won’t make you happy.
IN: Can you convey that to clients?
Interestingly, studies estimate that about 10% of the U.S. population suffers from depression. We have more than any other country, and it is not making us happier. So if somebody comes in my door saying, if you can earn a certain amount on my portfolio, or if you can help me retire by a certain date, I’ll be happy, I’ll say the first thing we need to work on is that myth. It will not make you happy.
IN: How does that go over with clients?
People who want to work only on the exterior will not end up working with me. I say I’m not a stock broker. I’m not just going to talk about numbers; I’m going to talk about your life. I’m a registered life planner [through the Kinder Institute]. The financial plans I prepare for clients are useless without life planning. I could make someone tons of money, but if it has no bearing on the quality of their life, it’s useless. We need to do the work involved in finding meaning in their lives, their dreams, values and goals, and what they want to make sure happens for them during their time on this planet. Nine times out of ten, it has nothing to do with money.
IN: How do arrange your business so you can take extended trips?
I have a fulltime administrative person and a part-time licensed paraplanner. They’re both very competent and I pay them so well that they can’t go anywhere else. Also, I manage client expectations. I meet with most of them twice a year, so the work is concentrated around specific times. And if someone says, What do you mean you’re going to Mexico for a month? Who’s watching my money? I say, What are you talking about? I’m role-modeling for you.
IN: Do clients get it?
Not everybody. In most places in the world, people’s lives are not about work, but about family and friends. In this country, God forbid you take a day off to play golf and people find out. You hear all kinds of crap. Things like, Didn’t you just have a vacation? Don’t you ever work? Or, Gee, it must be nice. People think others need to live on the same hamster wheel they’re on. Personally, I’m not playing that game, because I choose not to. It is definitely a choice.
