Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Financial Planning > UHNW Client Services > UHNW Client Advice

From Harvard Law to High-Net-Worth Advisor

By John Manganaro

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Like many financial advisors working today, David Hamilton did not grow up expecting to work in the world of finance, and his path to Northwestern Mutual involved a few twists and turns.

Hamilton is an Indianapolis native who speaks fondly of his roots in the Indiana community and his love for coaching basketball on the weekends. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2011, he began working as a corporate finance attorney, but his dream career was something a little different.

“It was always my childhood dream to work with professional athletes and to be in that world,” Hamilton tells ThinkAdvisor. “After spending a short time in corporate America, I was able to transition and began a career as an NBA certified agent.”

Hamilton says he loved the work and getting to meet and help all different types of successful young athletes. Many of them were the first in their family to earn truly substantial, intergenerational wealth, and it was an eye-opening and gratifying experience to be on that journey alongside the clients.

During his time as an attorney and agent, Hamilton quickly developed a passion for helping his clients accumulate and protect this wealth, such that he often found himself participating in meetings with financial advisors and tax professionals.

“Many of these people were very impressive, while there were also some others who you felt more inclined to steer your clients away from,” Hamilton recalls with a laugh. “Over time, I started to realize what a big impact these advisors could have, and I found that to be really intriguing.”

After eight years and the birth of his first two children, Hamilton says the constant travel demands of the certified agent job started to tell, and it was clear another change was in order.

Naturally, the idea of becoming a financial advisor rose to the surface, and Hamilton took the plunge in early 2020.

An Intriguing and Influential Profession

Some three years into his new career, Hamilton has accumulated close to 200 clients. They come from a wide range of industries and professions, including professional athletes, attorneys, successful small-business owners and medical professionals, and their age range is “all over the board.”

“It’s a diverse set of clients, which I really enjoy,” Hamilton says. “We have people who are starting out as young professional athletes, and we have successful young attorneys, but we also have people who are close to that traditional retirement age, so we get to see the full spectrum.”

Hamilton says he is glad he made the jump, because he feels his impact on the people and the community around him has been amplified. He can see his work have a direct impact not only on the individual clients, but also on their families and their future generations.

“As an advisor, you have a powerful opportunity to get these younger people on the right track to build truly intergenerational wealth that can change the trajectory of their family tree,” Hamilton says. “It also sets them up to have an enjoyable and successful life and retirement. The earlier you start your planning, the better you will be positioned.”

For older clients, Hamilton’s focus is on wealth protection and ensuring the clients arrange for tax-efficient retirement income and estate plan strategies. It’s challenging work, given the near-constant fluctuations in tax laws, but it’s also rewarding to see these retirement and legacy plans come to fruition.

Changing Family Trees

Hamilton says his approach to advising continues to be informed by his earlier work as a sports agent, where he encountered and worked with many highly successful young people who did not have a family history of intergenerational wealth.

“I think one of the distinguishing factors about my approach is that, during those first initial conversations that I have with a potential client, I’m talking with them about their background and their family,” Hamilton explains. “I ask them, what does your immediate family look like? What siblings do you have and what kind of a relationship do you have with them? What lessons did you learn from your family about money?”

In a lot of cases, the goal of building intergenerational wealth is a main ambition for these prospects, and Hamilton leans into that.

“Many clients aren’t just thinking about what they can do for themselves. They want to know, how can they set up their kids and their grandchildren for success?” Hamilton says. “When we are dealing with clients who are the first in their family to generate major wealth, they realize they have the opportunity to really change the direction for their family. You learn what motivates them, what drives them. Those are the conversations I enjoy having the most.”

Hamilton’s tip for other advisors who encounter such prospects is to not jump to conclusions about a highly successful young person’s wealth goals.

“Whenever I meet someone in this situation, I never assume anything about them,” Hamilton says. “I have to learn about them. The key is asking questions — not telling them where their finances should go.”

A Force for Change

Hamilton says he is also motivated to be a part of a change that has to happen in the financial advisory industry. Simply put, the profession is nowhere near achieving adequate representation for Black people, Latinos and other minority groups in the United States. It is also overwhelmingly male.

“The industry has to change,” Hamilton says. “Getting the industry to be more representative is so critical for the future success of this profession. When I was growing up, I didn’t know any financial advisors, and I didn’t think about it as a career path. It wasn’t something I had exposure to. I want to help change that.”

Hamilton says advisors are getting the message, and he is encouraged to see efforts unfolding in the industry aimed at elevating knowledge of and accessibility to the profession.

“We have to show more people what this career path is all about, and how you can have a big impact on your community by being a good financial advisor,” Hamilton says. “In the end, I think the industry will become more diverse, because it just has to. Clients are craving people who have experiences that resonate with their own.”

Pictured: David Hamilton

John Manganaro

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.