The Financial Advisor of the Future is a Life Coach
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[Music] This is the biz of wealth challenges rumblings and evolution of the wealth management industry. [Music]
The Business of Wealth Introduction:
Welcome again, today I had the pleasure of speaking to Mike Venuto, an ETF industry veteran with over a decade of experience in the design and implementation of PTS based investment strategies.
Michael is the managing director of tidal growth consultant and the co-founder and chief investment officer of total investment before that he was the head of investments at global X funds where he provided portfolio optimization services to institutional clients.
Michael was instrumental in the establishment of multiple strategic investments and partnerships related to the ETF industry and he was chosen as one of the ETF dot-com all-stars for his research and it’s often quoted as an ETF experts in a wide array of publications, we had a lot of fun talking about the evolution of what management in general and the markets in particular in these turbulent times so, I hope you enjoy without further ado here we go.
Alejandra:
Okay Mike thank you for being here, we know each other for a long time so I’m not gonna take and go right into you know a quick question that is like what got you here and what’s here?
Mike:
Yeah, such a I like I asked a question because it’s like if I don’t answer the first one this first the second question first then I get lost but where is here today I run a company with my partner Guillermo Trias called Toroso Investments and basically we wanted to become the thought leaders in the ETF space, you know from how to use them how to pick them, how to build them, how to launch them, how market them.
We try to cover everything through our various different brands, when you’re talking finance everybody always goes to numbers so I think today we’re like 2.6 billion we have the biggest blockchain fund and the best performing mutual fund of ETFs out there, that’s performing mutual fund out there but it’s a mutual fund of ETFs and we have our think tank and we’ve helped companies like soap I and Blue Cross Blue Shield’s launched ETS, so that’s what here kind of looks like, we’re a small business with 21 employees and 7 different states.
How I got here? well I had worked on Wall Street for 13 – 14 years in the traditional big banks and hedge funds and I just watched all the innovation and transparency get washed out and starting Toroso for me was about embracing creative and financial freedom for our clients and for our families and we’ve tried to live it that way, the road was not a linear straight line, it was a lot of bumps which participate in some up it down with us, you know figuring out who our client was figuring out what your value purse but we are here now.
Alejandra:
One thing that I’ve seen always about you guys we can be you know the life work balance, you mentioned families and that’s one thing that it’s always been part of the core values of Toroso that I’ve seen.
Mike:
Absolutely true in terms of our messaging and how we interact with our clients and our employees, not so easy for Guillermo and myself.
Alejandra:
To actually do it!
Mike:
I did just take two days off, and I went fishing every day with my kids and you know we’re in New York City or New York Long Island so we’re like 13 week into quarantine, so at this point to have two children or three children depending on which one’s want to go on the boat together, it’s like a nightmare, so yesterday I took each one of them for an hour separately, it was a great relaxing fishing trips, you know like they almost like us at this point they want some personal time right there on top of each other in a house for 13 weeks, there’s a lot worse things going on out, there but that work-life balance super important, I wish that I personally would embrace it a little bit better because it’s kind of our the reason we’re doing this company.
Okay, you know, we see the reefs this pandemic everybody studying would be health issue in how you know it’s a very severe health issue for everybody but I kept thinking you know the greatest impact was all this in the long term it’s not only the economy which you know much better than I do, but also, we mental, the health impact on every person and kids too, I see them like they need to get out we keep asking about their friends they keep asking like what am I gonna be able to
So, we came up with an idea so although most of my family is actually in Florida close to where you are my wife’s family is all here in New York like within five miles two sisters and a brother and cousins and all and so it’s been difficult to have everybody separate because they’re used to seeing each other and weekend, so what we did is we went on Amazon and we bought a 16-foot movie screen for the backyard.
Alejandra:
Right, it was pretty!
Mike:
Its employable like a blow-up and so we’ve been doing movie nights in the backyard and I used like rope lights to mark out areas so they’re there 10 15 feet apart sitting in bean bag chairs in the dark watching gremlins or guardians of the galaxy or we watch back to the future, all the old 80s movies, we’re doing clue on Friday but it’s like we’re able to get two families together but we’re literally 10 feet apart for two hours outdoors watching a movie so innovation that’s the best we have.
We’re pretty, we’re pretty appreciative of it, you know but at the same time the kids are they are scared I mean you know the protest now is another scary situation because the kids they just see but they walk by they see the news is showing the looters about the protesters yeah and so in the midst of having to explain to them a global pandemic now I have to explain to them something even harder what protesting means and what the difference is between protesting and looting and like because immediately they think these are bad people and I had to like stop my son I’m like these are not bad people these are people who need to be heard and you know still like it’s gone from the some of the other kids at school being a bad influence to the news is the bad influence
Alejandra:
Yeah, yeah! I definitely yeah!!! I’ve been going through that I believe it’s really the media party.
Ok, getting back to wealth management, I want to ask you this question that we had started: what do you think is the best compliment you are receiving in your career?
Mike:
So, I guess I jumped ahead so that the best compliment I’ve ever got is from my son, telling me I’m the best fisherman there ever has been right, so like I think it’s all finance it’s off everything and I’m like oh yes, I’m great!
The very next day he got mad at me for something else before we that I’m so terrible that not even my mother would like me so he definitely… I thought I’d throw in the best compliment and best.
From the business world I would say the best compliment was probably from Guillermo my partner when he said I am in this company because of you and that’s… that just that’s… like him explaining that he trusts me with better words and saying I trust you.