Past mistakes made me more effective, says finalist

Like most success stories in the industry, Tom West’s venture as a financial advisor started by accident over 20 years ago. In fact, he wasn’t a financial advisor at all but sold long-term care insurance at John Hancock.

The senior partner at Virgina-based Signature Estate & Investment Advisors admits the evolution of becoming a financial advisor was born out of this early career.

“My survey of the industry back in the 90s showed me that there really wasn't any business model that was there to serve these families,” he says. “There wasn't really a robust RIA industry. It was unsuitable for all the predictable reasons to be selling families high commission products or things that would limit liquidity in a vulnerable situation."

That resulted in him developing expertise in cash flow modeling and different tax planning, where families would have to plan for irregular withdrawals. He noted that eventually evolved into a business, whose process he trademarked, that tried to model financial paths consistent with different plans of care.

“My general thesis was if there's a chronic illness that enters the lives of a retiree, that probably is going to hijack a lot of the priorities that will eventually drive financial decisions. I think my focus on reinventing the financial planning process to be significantly more reactive was part of my history.”

Many others would attest to that, hence being named an InvestmentNews Awards 2024 Excellence Awardee, with the winners announced on June 20 at 583 Park Avenue, New York City in a glitzy, red carpet ceremony. Click here to register to attend.

West admits that while he has made several mistakes when it comes to housing, health care and longevity challenges, those mistakes wouldn't have helped him be as effective and successful today.

“Being able to take advantage of things like this InvestmentNews Award gives me the opportunity to share what those mistakes are gonna be. Hopefully the industry can learn from the path that I've been on and elevate the standard of care that we as professionals use to treat our clients as they move through the latter stages of retirement,” he said.

For more details about the InvestmentNews Awards, including a list of all finalists and details of how to attend, follow this link.