We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Phil Weiss, CFA, CPA, RLP. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Phil below.
Phil, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
There are two kinds of role models. Some are good. Others aren’t. You can learn a lot from either. When it comes to managing your finances, I had the second kind. I learned everything not to do from my father.
Growing up in NJ, my family’s finances were managed by my father; he wouldn’t let my mother help. He wasn’t good at it, which frustrated my mother who was kept out of the loop. Bills were often paid late; we occasionally had services shut off. We had no savings. We got calls from creditors looking to get paid. My father even went as far as forging my signature to get credit cards he could use.
Despite these challenges – some of which happened after college – I pursued higher education at Duke with plans of going on to med school. What stopped me? My father didn’t pay for it. I did what I could to stay in school. But after my junior year, I left for financial reasons. I moved to Tucson and worked hard to repay my debt.
When I was ready to return, med school was no longer in my plans. Due to my affinity for numbers, I decided to pursue a BS in accounting. Duke doesn’t offer an accounting major. I ultimately moved back home and went to Rutgers.
Two years later, I graduated with honors – and debt. I often paid for tuition and rent with credit cards. After graduation, I realized how much interest I’d paid. I made a plan to repay my debt. I did so ahead of schedule.
The financial situation at home was always difficult. Like many women, my mother had little control over the family finances. She ultimately went back to school so she could make her own choices and survive on her own.
Watching my mom struggle to get through this was very heart-wrenching. I give her so much credit for going back to school later in life and becoming an occupational therapist. She did this to help her gain control and relieve the frustration she felt from not playing a role in the family’s finances.
I received a severance bonus I chose to take when the company I worked for after leaving Deloitte was taken over. I used that money to pay off the last of my student loan debt. The rest was used to buy an engagement ring for my wife of 28 years, Diana.
Experiencing all these financial issues was hard. I knew I never wanted to repeat what I’d seen growing up. I became educated about personal finance and resolved to not make the same mistakes I’d seen throughout my life. I also vowed to pay my bills on time and in full. Plus, I started saving for the future.
Throughout my life, I’ve experienced many ups and downs. I went through a lot. I found a better path. I learned to look forward rather than backward. I can’t change the past, but I can make a better future for myself, for my family, and for my clients. I strive to live my best life. I want my family and clients to live their best lives as well.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started my career working for Deloitte as a tax professional. Initially, I did all different kinds of tax work. I earned the CPA designation and ultimately specialized in international corporate tax planning and research. I reached a point where I no longer enjoyed doing taxes for large companies. I became cynical about my work and decided the purpose of what I did was to tell companies how to shuffle paper around to increase the national debt. (Believe it or not, that statement really is true. For example, where title (ownership) to a good passes determines the tax treatment. You can simply change the documents to state that the title from a good manufactured in the U.S. passed outside the U.S. That resulted in a foreign tax benefit.) I worked for some large multinational companies after leaving Deloitte. Losing my mom also had an impact on my thoughts and feelings about my work.
Near the end of my time working as a tax professional, I started doing some part-time work at night for The Motley Fool, helping to manage one of their online portfolios. I learned about the CFA designation from a co-worker. Before I graduated from Rutgers, I considered doing some type of work related to investing. I felt that if I could become a CFA charterholder, I would be able to get out of the tax department. I started working towards the CFA designation and got a job at T. Rowe Price as a writer/editor. After passing the last of the three levels of the CFA program, I was ready to be an analyst. I wrote a detailed research report on a company and used that to help me get an interview with a private research provider. I got a job as an analyst covering oil & gas companies. I did that for seven years.
I then went to work for another Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with the responsibility of analyzing and recommending stocks and funds for client portfolios. Ultimately, that wasn’t a good fit. I tell people that I got tired of working for idiots, so I decided to be the idiot and start my own firm. That’s what ultimately led me to launch Apprise.
Shortly after starting Apprise, I learned about George Kinder’s three life planning questions. I appreciated the opportunity to ask those questions and learn more about my clients and what’s most important to them. I took a course about a year ago to learn more about the Kinder life planning process. I found out there’s much more to it than asking those questions. I decided to pursue the Registered Life Planner designation through the Kinder Institute. I finished my mentorship in September and earned the designation in October.
At Apprise, I have the privilege of working with amazing, affluent women who are looking to gain clarity about their financial future. I ask questions to help clients better align their spending with what matters most in their lives. I also plan to start a small scholarship that grows over time to honor my mother’s memory. It will help women who – like my mom – return to school later in life.
You can find an overview of the life planning process here: https://apprisewealth.com/life-planning/. You can also read more about my personal life plan here: https://apprisewealth.com/news/life-planning-training-reinforcing-my-purpose/
If you’re looking for someone to help you achieve financial clarity and align your spending with what matters most to you, please schedule (https://calendly.com/philweiss_awm) a free Strategy Session with me!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First, I would point to resilience, which I talked about earlier. Life will not always go as planned. Being able to keep pushing forward can get you far in life. I try to visualize what the future might look like. To me, that makes it easier to achieve.
Second, I recommend continuous learning. The financial profession is ever-changing. This applies whether it relates to taxes, investing, or personal growth. I read all the time. There’s an old Charlie Munger quote that I often think about. (For those that don’t recognize the name, Warren Buffet describes Charlie as his right-hand man.) Here’s the quote:
“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren (Buffett) reads–and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
It’s rare that you find me sitting and doing nothing. During my “downtime,” I read as much as I can. I share some of my favorite reads in one version of my weekly blog.
Third, remember that finance isn’t about building the biggest pile of money. It’s important to determine what that money is for. Life planning helps you do that. Life planning can also help you identify those things that are important to you, so you can do them now. That way you won’t reach the end of life with regret about what you haven’t done. Instead, you can live your most fulfilled life.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
It’s hard to focus on one person, so I’m going to name more than one.
I first learned about investing when my great-grandmother gave my mother shares of stock as a gift. The company was Shaw Industries, a carpet manufacturer. Shaw is now part of Berkshire Hathaway. I was intrigued by the idea of investing. From then on, I started to follow the stock market.
I took my first accounting class at Duke. The professor had a reputation as one of the school’s best professors. He was a great teacher. I remember learning about ratio analysis in that class. That was another connection to the world of investing.
At Rutgers, I took an Investment Analysis class. After that, I wanted to take a course in Portfolio Theory. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the course was only offered in the Economics Dept. I was in the business school and the two did not have a good relationship. I complained to my professor when I didn’t get into the class. I told him I was in school to get an education that would help me get a job. I wanted to take a course that would help me take the money I earned and use it to make more money. I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t take that course. He agreed with my argument and let me take the course with him as an independent study. This added another leg to my interest in investing.
While working for one of the multinational companies that employed me after I left Deloitte, I came across an article on The Motley Fool about international taxes, and their impact on a company – Iomega – that was popular with readers. There were some things in the article that I didn’t think were correct. I reached out to the writer. I asked him how he got to do what he did. He suggested that I start contributing to the message boards. I did. Then Tom Gardner – one of the Fool’s co-founders – decided to start an online portfolio following what he referred to as the Cash King strategy. He needed some writers to help. I volunteered and was hired as an independent contractor. I loved the work, which helped increase my interest in investing.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I learned about the CFA designation. I became a CFA charterholder after passing the three exams – a year apart. Then I was able to get a job as an analyst. This progression of events ultimately led to my launching Apprise. I am expecting to merge Apprise with another firm effective January 1st. I am excited to work with this person (Megan Kopka) as we have been through every stage of the life planning journey together. We have gotten to know each other well and have a similar thought process and approach that should serve us well.
As I’ve outlined in my responses, it hasn’t been an easy path. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have never been happier in my career than I have since I realized Apprise would become a viable business. I have a wonderful family, good friends, and get to do work that I love. Plus, I get to help others live their most fulfilled lives, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://apprisewealth.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phil.weiss.330 and https://www.facebook.com/AppriseWealth/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-weiss/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdxgFt2cD1r5WP0-Y6LqMDg/
- Other: You can also find me as a panelist on the MoneyTree podcast: https://moneytreepodcast.com/episodes/
