Month: July 2023
Focused on the Future: Heather Fortner: Her Journey, Lessons and Advice on Making it to the C-Suite

Focused on the Future: Heather Fortner: Her Journey, Lessons and Advice on Making it to the C-Suite

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In the latest episode of the new podcast series, Focused on the Future, veteran industry leader Suzanne Siracuse talks with Heather Fortner, CEO of SignatureFD, about the importance of understanding people’s motivations,  the evolution of a firm’s messaging and why inclusion is key to a positive culture.

Specifically, Heather discusses:

  • Her journey from intern to CCO to CEO
  • Why her degree in professional counselling was the most important thing she has done.
  • Her firm’s unique website messaging and how it came about.
  • The one question she was asked influenced how she builds and develops her teams.

 Connect With Suzanne Siracuse:

Connect With Heather Fortner:

About Our Guest:

Heather is the Chief Executive Office and Chair of the Board of SignatureFD, an integrated and comprehensive wealth management firm with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina, recently named to the Inc. 5000.

During her twenty-year tenure at the firm, Heather has created and executed strategies that have exponentially grown SignatureFD’s AUM from $250M to over $7B.  Her unwavering commitment to leading and building teams that exhibit excellence in leadership with heart has garnered her national recognition. Among these accolades, Heather has been awarded CEO of the Year by Wealth Management Magazine in 2021 and Most Admired CEO by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2022. In 2023, she was selected to the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2023 and named to the Titan 100 List. 

She is a longstanding advocate of DEI initiatives both at SignatureFD and within the wealth management industry broadly. Her focus on empowering women to take on leadership positions has helped SignatureFD achieve a 90% female executive leadership team. Her belief that every person has a purpose in life, to which wealth properly aligned can help support, is the cornerstone of SignatureFD’s client promise, Net Worthwhile™.

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Focused on the Future: Peggy Haslach: How Financial Advisors can best serve the LGBTQ+ community

Focused on the Future: Peggy Haslach: How Financial Advisors can best serve the LGBTQ+ community

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In the latest episode of the new podcast series, Focused on the Future, veteran industry leader Suzanne Siracuse talks with Peggy Haslach, financial advisor at The Finity Group, talk about how to best serve LGBTQ+ clients and team members, creating a niche practice that aligns with you as a person, and why she believes our profession “needs more pies!”

Specifically, Peggy discusses:

  •  Why she changed careers and became a financial advisor. 
  •  Critical best practices in serving the LGBTQ+ community.
  •  The importance of discussing ESG with your entire client base
  • Various ways in which firms and their teams can approach DEI effectively.  

Resources:

Connect With Suzanne Siracuse:

Connect With Peggy Haslach:

About Our Guest:

Peggy Haslach, CFP, CLU is a Financial Advisor with The Finity Group.  Peggy has built her practice working with female practice (veterinarians, doctors, and attorneys) and small business owners. At age 53 she made a career change when she saw, first-hand, the effect life events had on women’s financial security. She realized there were very few female financial advisors and financial advisors who could relate to the different planning needs of women and LGBTQ. 

Peggy is a lifelong athlete. She was a Highschool All American Swimmer and a member of the Women’s National Waterpolo Team. As an athlete, trainer and coach, Peggy uses a coach’s approach with her clients. Peggy has also earned her both her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ ( CFP®) and Chartered Life Underwriter ® (CLU®) designations. Peggy is a member of The Finity Group’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee and was honored as a Rising Star at the 2022 InvestmentNews Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Awards for her work promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the financial services industry.

Peggy and her wife Desiree live in Sumner, Washington with their 4 Border Collies.



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