Swiss American Wealth Advisors welcomes Justin Halvorson as a Marketing Associate in our first ever Summer Associate Program!

We at Swiss American Wealth Advisors believe that financial planning can transform people’s lives. Swiss American was founded with the desire to empower multinational families to live meaningful lives, by aligning their finances with their values.

Starting May of 2021, Justin has joined Swiss American Wealth Advisors to help us  develop a video library of financial education content geared toward Swiss American families with US-Swiss crossborder planning needs.

Justin is a recent graduate of  the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, where he earned his BA in Finance with a concentration in Financial Planning & Wealth Management.

Tell us about yourself and what drew you to Swiss American Wealth Advisors?

In college, I was involved in our schools Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program, in addition to serving on the Executive Board of the MSU Wealth Management Association.  During that time, I learned the importance of the holistic financial planning process, through my interactions with professionals in the classroom and as host of the MSUWMA podcast.

Starting August 2021, I will begin a career as a Financial Advisor with Plante Moran, a Registered Investment Advisor in Detroit, Michigan and this summer I will be studying for the CFP Exam, taking the exam in July.

I first heard about Swiss American Wealth Advisors through my Professor Stephen Schiestel, who is a member of the Advisor Growth Community (AGC) with Marina Hernandez. After hearing about Swiss American’s need for a summer associate who could help develop digital media, and the firm’s dedication to helping its clients as a fee-only, fiduciary, I quickly contacted Marina and applied for the position!

Why are you interested in digital marketing?

Digital content, whether it be a blog post, YouTube video or podcast, is being consumed at a higher rate than ever before and that is likely to continue long into the future. The average daily screen time continues to rise, and technology is making is easy for the anyone to produce digital media.

This provides some great opportunities for financial advisors. An advisor such as Marina are now able to spread their message to a wider audience, including a new generation of financial services consumers. I am pursuing a career as CFP professional and myself will leverage digital content to educate clients using their preferred media sources.

I am interested in digital marketing because in my opinion there is not enough quality financial media available to the public and it is my goal to use my educational background in finance to educate others on personal finance concepts using videos, blog posts and podcasts.

What are you looking to accomplish this summer as an Associate?

Going into my senior year of college, the Covid-19 pandemic forced our school to move 100% online for the entire year. During this time, us students faced some enormous challenges, but we were also given unique opportunities because of the online environment.

In August of 2020, the MSU Wealth Management Association started interviewing financial advisors over Zoom for the MSUWMA podcast, and I had the privilege of being tapped as a host. Over this past year I have had the chance to speak with some of the biggest names in the wealth management industry and have discovered a passion for creating educational content about personal finance.

Swiss American’s mission to serve the US-Swiss community at large by providing reliable and relevant free education content fits well into the trend of increased adoption of digital media and my goals of creating digital media as a financial advisor.

This summer I am looking not only to help Swiss American build out their digital media library, but also to creating new resources and tools for their clients, that are easy to understand, and useful above all else.

What are some things you enjoy doing outside of work?

Being born and raised in Michigan, most of my favorite things to do include the beautiful Great Lakes. I am an avid runner and hiker, with a beagle running buddy who keeps my company on most outdoor adventures. I also love to go for bike rides on the river trail near my apartment with my girlfriend, in addition to spending as much time on the beach as possible.

 

Marina Hernandez is an Investment Advisor Representative with Dynamic Wealth Advisors dba Swiss American Wealth Advisors. All investment advisory services are offered through Dynamic Wealth Advisors. Marina Hernandez also offers tax preparation services under MHTax. This is considered an outside business activity from Dynamic Wealth Advisors and is separate from Ms. Hernandez’s activities as an investment advisor representative of Dynamic Wealth Advisors.