Stories Between Numbers

"They are great clients, this is going to be so much fun!" The advisor’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as he burst into the office, face lit with excitement. After weeks of meetings, he had finally closed the deal. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn't help but wonder about these mysterious clients. What stories were hidden within the documents I'd soon handle?

As a paraplanner almost twenty five years ago, I relied heavily on advisors who provided perfectly meticulous onboarding questionnaires known as fact-finders at the time. These documents captured every nuance of their interactions and the aspirations that went beyond investment documents and tax returns. Each financial plan I helped craft aimed to map out the roadmap clients were hoping to create.

A CPA mentor once said, "Opening a tax return is like opening someone's life story." Between lines of tax deductions and credits, I saw life's transitions clearly: child tax credits signaling new families, alimony payments marking the end of marriages, self-employment income highlighting leaps into new careers. Every portfolio had its tale, conservative bonds for cautious savers, diversified mutual funds for balanced investors, and more ambitious investments into separately managed accounts, commodities or art.

In those quiet hours spent manually entering data from stacks of investment statements, I absorbed invaluable lessons about financial wisdom. Cryptocurrency wasn’t yet on the scene, but the fundamental question remained - what risks were people willing to take with their dreams?