Sometimes, in professional circles, a manager or colleague sees greater potential than certain talented employees may see in themselves. Such was the case with Brandy Nicole Ebron, ChFC, today an accomplished and highly respected financial advisor at Broadway Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California. After working as part of the support staff at various financial services companies for more than 20 years, Ms. Ebron was approached by an office mentor, David Earl Spencer, about training to advance her career after he noticed that she possessed the analytical and organizational skills and talents necessary to become a financial advisor. She was hesitant at first because she had become comfortable in her earlier jobs, but after more encouragement, she transitioned to the more lucrative role.
As a financial advisor, Ms. Ebron enhances the lives of clients and their families by providing personalized service, objective advice, guidance and disciplined investment management. As the mother of three children, she often works with women experiencing various life stages and milestones, including divorce, the loss of a spouse, or promotions to executive positions. Early in her career, Ms. Ebron, the only member of her family working in financial services, noticed that women comprised a majority of the office support staff and financial advisors were mostly male, but now more women are breaking into the latter.
Ms. Ebron considers landing her current position as a career highlight and an honor, yet she recognizes how much she learned on the job as a senior registered wealth associate working with many different teams as similarly valuable, as it allowed her to reach the point of being “in the driver’s seat” in financial planning. Her impact on helping customers make decisions is tangible. Many have grown to trust her so much that one client, even before informing her mother, called Ms. Ebron first to ask whether she should accept a new role she was offered within her company. Ms. Ebron attributes her success to her own mother, who always modeled hard work. While in high school, her mother would select business courses for her disappointed daughter, who preferred more fun classes. She now appreciates and has adopted her mother’s work ethic and the knowledge she was trying to instill in her.
Before joining Broadway Wealth Management, Ms. Ebron was a certified financial advisor, a registered wealth management associate, and a senior registered client associate at Merrill Lynch; a registered associate with Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; a sales assistant at Dean Witter Reynolds; a front desk receptionist at Fisher investments; and a systems trainer/subject matter expert at Franklin Templeton. She is a 1995 graduate of South San Francisco High School. In the coming decade, Ms. Ebron would like to see the Broadway Wealth Management brand go independent, after which she plans to have a family office and specialized clientele. Another of her goals is to pay it forward by mentoring those entering the industry who otherwise may not have the opportunity to work at a reputable financial firm.
As Ms. Ebron looks to the future, she is taking with her the lessons of her experience. She recommends that others find the right set of partners who share and support the same goals and can see past gender to clear a pathway for everyone to succeed. She also saw what worked for previous bosses, including the values and work ethic of the teams they chose. Ms. Ebron notes that it’s also important to respect and learn as much as possible from others who have been in the business for a long time. She stresses the value of always accepting advice, taking notes, and learning new things. The most important advice Ms. Ebron can offer new financial services professionals is to come in with an owner’s mindset rather than wait to be handed anything. Lastly, she advises listening and reflecting on the experiences of other professionals’ mistakes to gain foresight to avoid repeating them.