Tyler Linsten, CFA

The vast majority of the financial industry has largely existed as a roster full of opportunistic salespeople hell-bent on making a quick buck at any cost (as long as it's yours). Frankly, I'm sometimes embarrassed to meet someone and admit I'm a part of this industry since the precedent in place means there's a presumption of some kind of sleaziness. How backwards is that?

I don't write with this kind of tone to be sensationalist or eye-catching. I say it because I need to declare that I'm 100% committed to not being part of the aforementioned gang of ethically-challenged suits. Thankfully, there is a subsection of the financial world that operates with integrity, swears to ethical conduct and puts investors first. There is momentum in this group and I'm proud to be a part of it.

So, how did I get here, then? I can trace it back to something my dad experienced during the financial crisis in 2008. His advisor - who turned out to be a broker at floundering Wachovia, selling bad ideas on commission - bailed on him at the height of the economic mayhem. She completely abandoned all of her "clients" and moved to Eastern Washington to become a...caterer..., right when they would need a calm and collected voice of reason to settle fears. True story. She wrote a letter about how it somehow wasn't fair that she had to field all sorts of queries from concerned customers. The tide turned and her clients were left to clean up the mess without her.

By that time I had already been immersed in learning about trading and investing while in college, and the rest is history. I can draw a straight line from seeing what my dad went through to me starting an independent, fee-only advisory - the antithesis of the business structure my dad's broker had - and tackling the rigorous process to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.