Creative Rhythms

Thoughts on Music & Wealth Management by Damaris Wyand

There are two things I am passionate about – the arts (specifically music) and serving others. You might think these passions would have made my future vocation obvious, but as a little girl I kept envisioning my adult self in a suit and heels. This suited version of me floated in the distant future while, practically speaking, I spent little time imagining what I would do for a career.

I began piano lessons at age seven. Natural talent and hard work made me a good pianist, but music was more than something I was good at, it stirred emotions in me. Even last week as I watched the St. Louis Symphony perform Scheherazade, I broke into wide smiles alternating with pricking tears as the music moved me.

A high school career test told me I should pursue counseling as a career, but neither counseling nor music fit with my vision of a strong, smart, compassionate woman in a suit. Instead, I pursued a business degree, hoping that it would bring me closer to my opaque, suits-and-heels dream. Providentially, that didn’t mean giving up on compassionate service or music. I continued taking and teaching piano lessons and worked to advocate for those around me as Student Body President. I led small group bible studies and poured my heart into mentoring friendships.

Somewhere between fall and spring of my senior year, I got a glimpse of where I might find the intersection of my passions for art, service and relationships – in the wealth management field. I realized that helping families navigate the complexities of the financial world is one of the most direct ways to have a positive influence on their lives…and has striking similarities to the things I love most about music.

Structural Differences

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about music is that it’s not pure random sound. Each style is built on different tones, styles, patterns. There are methods and reason behind both a composition (a written piece) and improvisation. For example, although jazz pianists and classically trained pianists play the same instrument, they will naturally pick different chords and rhythms, creating a unique sound. The building blocks are the same, the result is unique.

Structural variance and styles are also a key component of financial services. While both brokers-dealers, bankers, and investment advisors generally all have access to same investment ‘tools’, the way they use those tools to serve their clients can lead to completely different outcomes. Their training (or business model) is what determines the service the client receives. For example, an advisor acting as a fiduciary is trained to act based solely on what is in their client’s best interest, while a broker would be concerned with what is suitable for the client’s needs. These different styles result in significantly different client experiences.

Strong Emotions

Music has great power to create feelings and sway our emotions. A swelling Vivaldi concerto or my favorite impressionistic work of Debussy’s can reach into my chest and pull at a part of me that’s invisible to the rest of the world. In music, there are crescendos and diminuendos. In wealth management, there are complicated family relationships, conflicts to navigate, and goals to achieve. Of course, there are concrete aspects – numbers, performance, projections – but the beauty of working with a family’s finances is that it’s all connected back to the people. People with hopes, dreams, wishes…and fears. Fears that might be hinted at or whispered like the pianissimo that follows a forte. While you won’t find this in a textbook definition of Wealth Management, sitting down with a family to discuss the ins-and-outs of their financial life often evokes deep emotional responses. Compassion, empathy and reassurance are crucial qualities in an advisor.

Combined Elements

As I was learning to play by ear, I would listen for each instrument in a song until I could hear every element separately. In this way, I was able to build my own improvisations. I was able to know where a melody ‘should’ go. I began to feel when dissonance would add an element of suspense before a resolution. I could sense when to wax and wane. Improvising without understanding each part of a combined whole simply doesn’t work – even untrained ears can hear when something is out of place in a song.

Likewise, a good advisor knows that there are times to push and times to pull back. Lifestyles, priorities, family, markets, timing, and many other factors must be considered because the power of wealth management isn’t in selecting the right investment; filing taxes in a specific way; restructuring estate plans; or having the appropriate allocation (although those are all important). The power is in understanding each piece of a family’s life – where they are and where they want to go – and knowing how to weave it all together into a solid plan.

To me, this is one of the most compelling aspects of wealth management AND music – diverse pieces coming together, at the right time and in the right way, to create something beautiful. Just as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake played without feeling would be lackluster, a financial plan disconnected from real life is dull and useless.

Conclusion

The work that we do with clients lies in a mix of precision and intuition. When all the elements of counsel and wealth management come together, the product can be as intricate and beautiful one of my favorite pieces – Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Click here to listen – I hope it moves you as much as it moves me.