The financial world is still a male-driven industry. Let’s meet Mckenzie Frankel, who is the co-owner of Entrust Financial, an advisory firm that engages in holistic wealth management. Keep reading to learn more about it!
What does your day-to-day job entail?
My title is principal, which means that I am part owner of the company. My role is to work with clients to help them achieve what is most important to them in life by providing financial advice. I evaluate where they are today and what they want to accomplish and then help them fill in the gaps. This involves everything from wealth enhancement, legal documents, and different types of investments.
What was your path to get into this line of work and/or this specific job?
Upon graduating college, I had a degree in psychology and I went to a career event where there were a lot of financial representatives, because even from childhood, I was big proponent of saving money. Though I came into the financial world thinking that my degree in psychology may not be of much relevance, I have found that money and psychology go hand in hand. It’s taught me how to better relate to people and how to understand them. From there, I started out at a wealth management brokerage firm; it was a real learning process for two years and I found a mentor, which was extraordinarily important to my growth. After completing some extra coursework, I moved to Entrust Financial.
Did you face any adversity or challenges getting into your job as a woman or for any other reasons?
The first corporate financial firm that I started off only had two female employees on a staff of 50 people. On top of that, I was still young; being young and a woman was a challenge in the financial world. In the beginning, I overcompensated to try to get people to take me seriously. I would dress in a full suit every day and became quite cold and had to foster a no-nonsense attitude. I then realized that by being myself, I will naturally attract more people to my business and gain respect that way. At Entrust, I am able to be myself more, which allows my self-confidence to shine through. I appreciate not being in a large corporate setting anymore, because the male-driven, dog-eat-dog world was difficult to navigate.
Your website mentions a holistic wealth management process. Can you explain this concept a little further?
It’s a technique that only 5% of financial advisors practice. Basically you look at person as a whole; sure, investments are important, but you also consider their personal and professional priorities to develop a comprehensive wealth management plan. Investments should be thought of as tools to achieve what is important instead of focusing only on them and selling products. I think of it as being similar to a doctor’s role. Usually they look at the patient as a whole and suggest life-long treatments to compare where they are now to where they want to be in the future.
What is your favorite aspect of your work?
Helping clients is definitely my favorite aspect of my work. Helping them achieve what’s most important to them and reaching financial security while attaining these other goals brings me a lot of satisfaction. I love watching them progress positively and knowing that I helped them get to that place.
Who is one of your female role models, and why?
Tory Burch—she’s tenacious and has always had the mindset of doing what she wanted to do and thought was right. No matter what other people told her, she stood her ground and went off of her instinct to be a trendsetter. She also has a foundation for women entrepreneurs to support the advancement of women across different industries.
What advice do you have for girls who want to go into finance positions?
Be true to yourself. At the end of the day, what’s driving you should be helping people, so try to start incorporating a holistic approach into your practice.
Contributor: Megha Keshav
Helloitsnia June 1, 2016 at 6:27pm
Definitely love having a holisitc approach to things, it keeps you more open-minded. My father is in the finance industry and I have always been really interested in it. Thank you for telling us about your career!
Mckenzief July 5, 2016 at 3:00pm
Helloitsnia- I am happy to hear that you are interested in the finance industry! Women make great financial advisors and we definitely need more of them!