Building Your Practice Your Way Featuring Nicole Schelkopf

Every client who walks through the door looking for financial advice has different needs, goals and approaches to their finances, and that means every interaction must be personalized. Today’s financial advisors need modern tools and resources to provide this level of service and grow their practices.

At Edward Jones, we equip our financial advisors to provide clients with the best experience possible – all while giving them the flexibility to grow their businesses their way. It’s critical to who we are as a firm – and don’t just take my word for it.

I had the chance to catch up with Financial Advisor Nicole Schelkopf to talk about a few hot topics including the “Great Wealth Transfer” and serving the women who may inherit many of these assets.

Women are set to inherit much of the $30 trillion expected to change hands between now and 2030 according to research from McKinsey, and they’ll need tailored solutions from their financial advisor. Specifically, we know they’re looking for transparency and authenticity – a recent Edward Jones survey found that 62% of financial advisors said this was a top reason as to why women clients chose to work with them.

With this in mind, I set out to hear from Nicole about how she serves women clients and the resources available as she built her practice. Keep reading to learn more.

David: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. You’ve been a part of Edward Jones for almost 10 years and are a second-generation financial advisor at the firm, and it’s great to see how you’ve built such a successful practice. I want to first focus our conversation on your women clients. What are you seeing as their priorities and goals?

Nicole: All my clients have unique goals and priorities, but I’m commonly seeing that my women clients are looking for a comprehensive financial strategy so that when retirement comes, or an unexpected event, they’re prepared. In other words, they’re looking for a financial cushion.

David: That’s exactly what we saw in our recent survey, which found that a majority of financial advisors said that their women clients’ top financial goals are contributing to their 401(k) (63%), working toward financial independence (61%) and building personal retirement savings (56%), all pointing to women prioritizing long-term term planning and saving for the future.

Of course, these goals aren’t new to us – we see them every single day working with clients. And firm tools and resources, like MoneyGuide, offer solutions for our financial advisors to support clients in helping them reach their goals.

Tell us more about your approach to building your practice and what else you do to attract and retain clients.

Nicole: My clients value my ability to educate and explain complex financial topics, based on what I know about my clients. I hear over and over from them, “Thank you so much, this concept finally makes sense.” That makes a world of difference when they’re considering who to go to with financial questions.

David: That’s such a big piece of the job that is often overlooked. People really appreciate you meeting them where they are and taking the time to help them learn new things. We also found in our survey that the majority of financial advisors (64%) said their ability to offer personalized, tailored financial advice was one of the top reasons why women clients chose to work with them.

With nearly a decade at the firm, tell me, do you have any favorite firm-wide resources or tools you lean on to support educating your clients?

Nicole: Even after almost 10 years in business and a CFP designation, I still lean on Edward Jones’ education tools to help ensure I’m up to date on relevant topics based on my clients’ interests. For example, I regularly check in on the most recent estate strategies resources from the firm. A refresh can never hurt!

Also notably, Edward Jones regularly shares strategist one-pagers and weekly updates on the markets, which have been a super valuable asset for me and my clients. I can digest the information and provide timely updates to my clients. Those are non-negotiable updates for me, and the first thing I do when I step into the office on Monday is read the Weekly Market Wrap.

David: I make a point to read those reports too, they’re so informative.

To wrap up, I want to talk a little bit about your “why.” Why you became a financial advisor and why did you choose to build your career and practice at Edward Jones?

Nicole: I love having the freedom and flexibility to build my practice, my way. My dad is also a financial advisor at Edward Jones, and I grew up with him being very present in my life. For example, he prioritized attending my afternoon golf tournaments when I was in high school. I saw he could have an incredibly successful practice while having the flexibility to be there for the moments that mattered to me. Now that I’m established in my branch with my branch office administrator, I find I’m able to run my business how I see fit and how it best serves my clients. I’m really enjoying the feeling of flexibility my dad had, too.

David: I love hearing about family members who are also part of Edward Jones’ legacy. Appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences at Edward Jones – financial advisors like you are what makes Edward Jones so great!

A big thank you to Nicole for sharing her experience and stories, I loved hearing about how she’s been able to build a flourishing practice at Edward Jones on her terms.

If you’re looking for a place to build your practice, while investing in long-term relationships with clients, Edward Jones may be a great fit.

Interested in the Edward Jones Financial Advisor Opportunity?

If you’re already licensed as a financial advisor, learn how we’re built to take your practice to the next level.