Mission Wealth's Spotlight on the Team for June 2018 is Client Advisor Jenna Rogers. In this interview, Jenna reveals how traveling played a formative role in her life and why taking trips is key to refreshing her perspective. In her role as an advisor with the firm, Jenna becomes intimately acquainted with the specific goals and financial lives of her clients and then delivers customized financial planning, risk management and tax planning solutions to assist in their goal achievement.
What are a few childhood experiences you had that formed who you are today?
Every year my Grandparents would take my sister and me on a two-week RV trip along the coast of California. We started going when I was around 5 years old and continued all the way to high school. I have very fond memories of visits to Hearst Castle, making s’mores over the campfire, Junior Ranger camp, playing card games with new friends we met along the way and exploring the redwoods. My Grandma was a retired elementary school teacher, and she made sure to keep learning a priority in everything we did. As we drove she would quiz us on the types of trees and flowers we saw out the window. We would spend hours and hours in museums learning about the history of each city we visited. I feel as though I owe a lot of my curiosity and interest in learning to her.
How do you like to spend time outside of Mission Wealth?
I love taking photos. It’s as if time freezes and I am fully focused on whatever it is I am seeing through the lens. I could spend an entire Saturday walking around taking photos and then spend the following Sunday editing the images. My husband has learned that sometimes I will see something that appeals to me visually, squeal with excitement and then stop in the middle of the road to take a picture of it. It used to drive him crazy, but now he just stands back and waits for me to capture it. He’s been well trained.
Are you a raving fan of anything, and why?
Jenna and her husband Ryan in Japan
I am a raving fan of the power of travel. I find that I return home with a fresh perspective and new outlook on life after every trip. Learning about cultures different than my own and ways of living that are foreign to me are incredibly interesting. Magical almost. Something about being somewhere unfamiliar and out of my comfort zone of everyday life forces me to be in the present moment. It is so easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and forget to stop and look around at the beauty that surrounds us. Traveling reminds me to slow down, to watch the sunset, and to be in the here and now. I like to pick out a new perfume in each country I visit and wear it while there, that way when I come home, the scent will bring back my memories of how I felt there. It’s a fun way to use scent memory to bring back positive feelings.
If you could offer any advice to your younger self, what would it be?
You can do anything as long as you believe in yourself. No circumstances or obstacles or situation can define you.
At Mission Wealth we talk to people all the time about what their goals and aspirations are. So what’s on your bucket list?
Where do I even begin? My bucket list is HUGE! On my 16th birthday I wrote a bucket list of 30 things to do by 30. By my 30th birthday, I had accomplished less than 20% of the list. So I’ve since extended it to be my lifetime bucket list. A few of my top ones are: to live 3 months abroad (a country house in France would be ideal), to write a book (most likely around empowerment around money) and to continue the tradition my husband and I started 6 years ago of visiting somewhere we have never been before, each year for the rest of our lives.
What do you think makes you well-suited for your current role?
I am one of those rare people who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up at a really young age. When I was around 11 years old, I helped my Mom create and follow a monthly budget, and I enjoyed the process so much that I remember saying, “I am going to help women with their money someday.” I maintained that goal throughout high school and took as many online money courses as I could. I had never even met a financial advisor before, so I didn’t realize at the time what the job entailed. I just knew that I loved the feeling of empowerment around money and wanted to help facilitate that feeling for as many people as possible. I think having a true, deep-rooted passion for what I do makes me well-suited for being an advisor and helping others gain money confidence.
Is there something about your personality that guides your approach?
Jenna enjoying the view in Santorini, Greece
When one thinks of a financial advisor, they typically envision someone sitting behind a screen running numbers, spreadsheets and calculations all day. Very left-brain, analytical thinking. While a large part of my day entails those aspects, I also bring a creative, visual, right-brain approach to my work. Ensuring my recommendations and advice are simple to understand (and presented in a positive and aesthetically pleasing way) is one of my No. 1 priorities. I feel as though this makes me well suited to work with women and creatives who would prefer to see visuals rather than spreadsheets.
What is a subject or area of finance that not many people know a lot about, but understanding it could really help their financial picture?
Behavioral finance, which involves understanding why people make the money choices they do. Being familiar with your money personality (i.e., Are you a spender, saver, hoarder, risk-taker?) - and on an even deeper level, understanding what experiences in your life helped shape your money values - can be incredibly eye opening. People often don’t realize that hearing their parents argue over money when they were 5 years old - or having a grandparent buy them whatever they wanted as a child - can have a pretty significant impact on their money choices as adults. Becoming aware of those childhood experiences and being mindful of how they impact you today is the first step to becoming financial independent on your own terms.
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