We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Belshe recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience is fueled by love. In the course of about a year, I had a baby, was turned down for a promotion, started a new job that was 100% commission, got divorced and was given primary custody of my child. My ability to not only survive difficult situations, but thrive in the face of those challenges, was essential for me to take care of the person who mattered to me most – my son. This resilience led me to co-found Novus Advisors, as a single mother with a one-year-old child.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about your business before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Novus Advisors is an independent, fee-only, SEC-registered investment advisor based in Greenville, SC. We are a team of investment professionals with expertise in investment management, financial and retirement planning, and 401(k) services. Our investment advisors have on average more than 25 years of experience helping clients reach and exceed their financial goals.
Novus Advisors serves individual and institutional clients across the United States. As a fully independent firm, we take our fiduciary role very seriously. We provide financial advice while making suitable choices for our clients tailored to their individual situations and desires. Our team structure allows us to provide specialized advice for every dimension of our clients’ financial lives. As an experienced ERISA 3(38) investment manager, Novus Advisors has vast knowledge of retirement plan structures, portfolio construction for retirement plans, and fiduciary governance.
The Novus Advisors brand focuses on innovation. The word “Novus” is of Latin origin and means “new, innovative, extraordinary”. Since our inception, Novus Advisors has been a company focused on innovation and bringing appropriate investment solutions to our clients. We do not simply provide an investment platform for our clients; we create investment strategies with the goal of making our clients’ financial lives better.
Throughout our history, we have developed and implemented innovative, well-researched investment solutions for both individual and institutional clients. From retirement plan structures and risk-based tactically managed investments offered to our institutional clients, to sophisticated investment strategies specifically tailored to the needs of each individual investor, we work tirelessly to achieve our clients’ goals.
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?
Self-Motivation – Create your own opportunities. Do not rely on anyone else to help you achieve your goals. Find something that you are passionate about, work hard, learn as much as you can, and keep moving forward.
Confidence – For women especially, I think it’s often hard to exude confidence early in your career, particularly in male-dominated industries. Consciously put yourself in uncomfortable situations that force you to be confident, even when you may not always feel extremely confident inside. It will help you grow.
Determination – More than likely, you will hear “no” (perhaps many times) on your journey. Do not let that stop you. As a female in the largely male-dominated investment world, I faced many hurdles. I reached a point in corporate America where I was told I could not go any higher in my company – my glass ceiling – so I took that “no” and made it my catalyst for success. I left the stability of my corporate job to pursue my dreams. I joined a small independent investment firm, a 100% commission job, and worked incredibly hard in building my business. The following year, I launched an investment firm, Novus Advisors, that celebrated its 12th anniversary this year (2023).
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents taught me to be independent, to develop a solid worldview, and to be comfortable regardless of a person’s title or status.
We moved around a lot when I was a child as my father pursued his career goals. By the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in seven states. Because of these transitions, I learned to adapt to new people and places and to become independent. This independence was also fostered when my parents sent me abroad to live in China for the summer when I was fifteen years old. I spent time in both rural towns and big cities in China that summer. This was an eye-opening experience for a young teenage girl from the States and had a great impact on my worldview.
My father’s hard work paid off, eventually earning him a spot in the C-suite of a large publicly traded company. He also served on advisory boards around the world. As his daughter, I occasionally found myself in the presence of some very successful people. For instance, one summer I was invited on a trip with my father to Singapore, where he served on an advisory board to the nation of Singapore. During this trip, I had the opportunity to attend the National Day of Singapore celebration. As I was sitting in the stadium enjoying the celebration, I conversed with a gentleman seated to my right who had a great sense of humor and seemed to know every single person entering the stadium as part of the parade and generously shared this information with me. Little did I know that this gentleman I was casually speaking with was a notable Lord of England (my father only shared this with me after we left). From this experience and others, I learned you never know who you may be seated next to and to be comfortable with anyone, regardless of title or status.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.novusadvisors.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbelshe
Image Credits
Eli Warren
