Steve Branton
Gold star experts say…
Steve Branton is a Senior Vice President and Advisor at Wealthspire Advisors, where his mission is to serve clients as their key thought partner in designing their financial life plans. He took some time from helping his clients to do a Q&A with us.
You're a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and an Accredited Domestic Partner Advisor (ADPA). What attracted you to want to work in finance?
I’ve always been attracted to helping professions. I’ve always had a natural affinity for finances, so it seemed like a great combination for me.
What does a CFP do, and what does an ADPA do?
A CFP is an advisor who holds themselves out as a fiduciary for their client, putting their client’s best interests ahead of their own or that of their company. An ADPA gets special training to work with couples that don’t enjoy the benefits of federal marriage.
We hear a lot about estate planning and retirement planning. What are the differences, and when should someone begin to plan for these?
We should all start estate planning now and not wait because estate planning doesn’t just address end-of-life planning but also incapacity planning, who do I want to care for me if I am unable / how do I want to be treated if I am incapacitated? LGBTQIA+ people have been especially harmed by the default estate planning structures in place, so we need to be extra thorough in this space.
Retirement planning differs from estate planning in that it focuses on how we sustain our expenses after we cease to work and throughout the remainder of our lives, which, in some cases, can be 30-40 years. These can be huge numbers with lots of variables and unknowns. We should all start planning for this today.
Regardless of age, as someone begins to review their financial future, what should they keep in mind to help set them up for success?
Start with your short—and long-term goals. I also think it’s worthwhile to consider what values are important to us in terms of our financial planning. Do we have charitable goals or other people we are concerned about? Do we value our freedom and independence throughout life, or are we more community—and family-focused? The actual planning is easier when we know what the big picture ideally will look like.
Are there roadblocks you've seen that are preventing BIPOC and Latinx LGBTQIA+ folks from seeking out professional financial guidance?
The surveys show that our community is among the least satisfied with their professionals in the financial sector. I think this lack of satisfaction and trust is a major hurdle. The financial community hasn’t made much of an effort to make LGBTQIA+ clients feel valued and desirable. So it’s not a surprise there continue to be roadblocks. I wouldn’t want to work at or work with a firm where there is no representation of my community. And I think that also factors into people not reaching out for guidance because they see this uniformity in the advisors in the financial sector.
