Actively Growing Our Expertise: Grand Wealth’s Residency Program

Do you remember your first internship or maybe your first opportunity to start working in the career you had dreamed of? These moments are often pivotal to growth as a professional – they build your network, your professional skill, and your desire to become the best in your field.

One of our core values at Grand Wealth Management is to actively grow our expertise. We want to always be growing as professionals, whether that is a new certification or degree or becoming an expert at an internal process. This value reminds us to dig in and be curious about how we can be better every day.

Planting the Seed

In 2022, Grand Wealth Management created a Financial Planning Residency. The idea for this program came from other pioneers in our industry and we took the best of other programs to fit our needs. Our goals for the program are to help new professionals obtain their CFP® Certification, gain broad experience giving and implementing financial advice, and to be prepared to lead client relationships going forward in their career.

Financial planners have a high standard for fiduciary advice and service to clients. The CFP® Certification is the premier certification that professionals can obtain, and Grand Wealth also recognizes this as a standard for our financial advisors. The education and experience required to be a CFP® Professional are extensive and enable our team to give comprehensive wealth management advice that is in the best interest of our clients. Studying for and taking the CFP® exam is a priority of the Residency program.

The second goal for the program is to give Residents broad experiences in implementing and giving financial advice. Our program teaches Residents (and provides plenty of practice) on how to complete client transactions, financial planning analysis, and deliver advice in a helpful way.

The First Resident – Meet Mark Clark

Our first Resident, Mark Clark, started with Grand Wealth in October of 2022. Mark graduated from Western Kentucky University’s Financial Planning program and made the move to Grand Rapids to pursue the first steps in his career in financial planning.

In the first year of the Residency, Mark has been spending most of his time managing portfolios and learning how to complete client service tasks. He has become an expert in these areas and will use his knowledge in portfolio management and client service to help deliver financial advice over the next 2 years of the program.

In year 2, the focus of the program will be becoming and expert at retirement, tax, and estate planning. Mark will be joining more client meetings and learning from our team how to effectively deliver recommendations to clients with empathy and expertise. In year 3, the program will shift to be even more focused on providing advice to clients. Mark will become more responsible to make sure that Grand Wealth helps clients make financial decisions and that we follow through on implementing the decisions that are made.

Who’s Next?

Actively growing our expertise is at the core of who we are at Grand Wealth. It feels natural to incorporate this mindset in how we approach training the next generation of financial advisors. Through the Residency, we hope to provide opportunities for people who are eager to dig in and grow, a chance to start a career in financial planning with holistic coaching and mentorship. Who knows the impact that the commitment to growth can make? We are excited for who is next!

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_{Disclosure:
Grand Wealth Management ("GWM") is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about GWM including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2, which is available upon request.}