Private wealth advisor Christine Gustafson, operating as Phoenix Wealth Management in Phoenix, has joined the branch channel of Ameriprise Financial Inc., Ameriprise announced.
Gustafson was formerly with UBS, where she and her team, comprised of private wealth advisor and managing director Norman Lemus; senior registered practice associate Amanda Morrell; and senior registered client service associate Lisa Campbell, managed more than $450 million in client assets.
“We’re delighted to have Christine and her team join Ameriprise,” Ryan Lurie, who supports Gustafson as her Ameriprise branch manager, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to partnering with her to build her practice according to her values and vision, which is to ultimately help more people through comprehensive financial planning.”
Gustafson has more than three decades of experience working in wealth management for high-net-worth individuals, family offices and charitable foundations.
“We take a holistic, custom-tailored approach to wealth management,” she said in the news release. “In our search for a new firm, it was clear that Ameriprise’s values aligned with ours and they shared our goal of managing money for wonderful clients—many of whom are philanthropically oriented.”
In an email, Gustafson offered her suggestions for other women seeking to make inroads in a wealth management industry where the majority of professionals are males.
“Take advantage of the natural strengths that women tend to bring to our field: listening skills, empathy, creative solutions, and the willingness to think out of the box,” she said. “Acknowledge and realize your gifts: lean into your advantages and be confident when dealing with prospects, clients, management and your peers.”
Gustafson said that because many women outlive men, they often seek out another woman to help them manage their finances. But all too often, women advisors fall prey to what Gustafson calls the “perfection syndrome.”
“They are afraid to make a client proposal or approach a wealthy prospect unless they know every concept, strategy, recommendation, plan, idea, paragraph, phrase, and word are perfect,” she said. “This striving for perfection can leave us with analysis paralysis while our male peers are more likely to just go ask for the business.”
Gustafson’s advice to aspiring women advisors is not to second-guess themselves.
“Just get yourself out there and win the relationship by being yourself and sincere,” she said. “We have succeeded by working tirelessly for the clients we care about, and in turn, they send us great family and friends as referrals. We can never be all things to all prospective clients, nor do we want to be —so remember that your time is incredibly valuable and spend it with the quality people you can best serve.”
Gustafson said that the wealth management business is a great fit for female advisors because it provides them with a flexible schedule, allowing them to balance family and career.
“Having raised two kids while building my business, I came to appreciate the opportunity to control my calendar and schedule without having to ask for permission,” she said.
Gustafson said that when her client is a couple, she emphasizes equal participation in the financial planning process. To that end, she and her team created “The Arizona Women’s Symposium” to reach out to spouses and partners seeking a financial education in a comfortable, non-threatening environment.
Now that she and her team are partnered with Ameriprise, Gustafson said her short-term goal is to seamlessly transition from UBS to Ameriprise, while her long-term goal is to work with Ameriprise in managing the proprietary Tobacco-Free Portfolio for the American Heart Association’s Donor Advised Fund (DAF).
“Ameriprise recognizes the power of the donor advised fund platform and what this strategy can bring to clients who make charitable giving a priority,” she said in the email. “We also look forward to working with Ameriprise’s amazing client event team to host “The Arizona Women’s Symposium” twice per year to meet demand. Our clients are requesting to bring their daughters and granddaughters to this event, which we are thrilled to hear!”
Founded in 1894, Ameriprise Financial Inc., is a diversified financial services company and bank holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn.
