Shannon Spotswood, President, RFG Advisory Episode 37
Episode Summary
In this episode, Christine Shaw speaks with Shannon Spotswood, president of RFG Advisory, president of StrongHer Money, and partner at Busy Bees. Shannon shares her incredible journey through the financial services industry, including all the moves that led her to her position as president at RFG Advisory. Shannon discusses the importance of following your dreams as a woman, and describes how she balances her extremely successful career with her family.
Episode Notes
You will learn:
- The steps Shannon has taken throughout her career
- When Shannon realized it was important to take a step back professionally to start a family
- The importance of balance for women between work and home
- How Shannon started a successful children’s clothing brand
- The inspiration for StrongHer Money
- What’s on the horizon for Shannon professionally
- And more!
Tune in to hear the incredible journey of Shannon Spotswood, president of RFG Advisory!
Resources: InvestmentNews | Christine Shaw | RFG Advisory | Shannon Spotswood | StrongHer Money | Busy Bees
Guest bio: Shannon Spotswood was named President of RFG Advisory in February 2016. With more than 20 years of institutional investment experience, Shannon brings a unique perspective to the Registered Investment Advisor industry. Her vision for RFG Advisory is one of rapid, well-executed growth across the U.S.
Her focus is on day-to-day operational excellence. She is committed to supporting RFG Advisory’s high-growth, hybrid Registered Investment Advisor by delivering a robust integrated platform designed to support independent financial advisors. Recognizing that one of the firm’s competitive advantages is the talent and commitment of the RFG Advisory team, Shannon invests significant time in leadership, recruiting and mentoring.
Shannon’s passion for investing was sparked in high school with a 14th birthday wish granted—a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. She began her finance career while in college working at PaineWebber. Since graduating from the University of Arizona with degrees in Economics and Political Science, Shannon spent 20 years in San Francisco working as an Investment Banker, Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager and Entrepreneur. An Analyst/Trader at EGM Capital, a hedge fund, to Investment Banking Analyst and then Associate in M&A at Volpe, Brown Whelan & Co, a technology-focused investment bank, to becoming a Portfolio Manager of a long-short equity hedge fund at Symphony Asset Management, Shannon has consistently pursued opportunities with dynamic growth companies. After six years as a Hedge Fund Manager, Shannon became the Director of Long-only Equity Strategies for Symphony Asset Management, an ~$18 billion hedge fund acquired by Nuveen Investments in 2001, and experienced first hand the excitement of working directly with Financial Advisors. After the birth of her 3rd child, Shannon stepped away from the finance industry for three years to build a luxury children’s clothing brand, Busy Bees. Together with her partner, Busy Bees grew from a trunk-show business based in a garage to a successful brand featured in Vogue and carried in more than 100 stores nationwide and online. Joining RFG Advisory in 2015, Shannon recognized the opportunity to combine her entrepreneurial experience with her passion for investing to help build an advisor focused Registered Investment Advisor.
Enthusiastic, determined and optimistic, Shannon’s management style is to foster autonomy, set expectations high and drive towards achieving Company goals. She believes that being able to reach these goals requires each team member to push themselves, often beyond their personal comfort zone. Her growth mind-set is the reason she’s been chosen to lead RFG Advisory through its next phase of success.