Today we’d like to introduce you to James DesRocher.
James, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up, money was very tight for my immediate family. Money was so scarce in our house that talk was always about what sacrifices we needed to make because we didn’t have enough money. We missed out on events because we couldn’t afford a phone. My Mom was a waitress and my Dad was a truck driver. My mother was one of 11 kids and both my parents were very old school about money but had a great work ethic- they kept telling me if you just keep working and work harder, you can do anything you set your mind to. This mindset fueled me to get my first job delivering newspapers when I was 8. I immediately became hooked on earning my own money, buying things I needed, helping the family with other items like groceries. When I was 16, I got my first “real” job and was shocked at how much was withheld in taxes, etc. I remember sitting down with my grandfather, who treated money a bit differently than my parents. I knew he thought money should work for you too, so when he said “Jim, let me show you how you can make your money work for you so it earns more and you pay less in taxes,” he had me.
He got me involved in his investing club at 16, and from then on, I started investing half my paycheck. I learned everything I could from him and from books I could find and experimenting with my own money. Naturally, I went on to college and decided to major in it- financial planning was not just a career, it was a calling for me by that point.
I started working officially in the financial planning industry in 2007, right before the financial catastrophe that affected so many of us in 2008. I saw people losing everything they worked for, not having a backup plan, and just not knowing what to do. Their American dream was gone. It kept me awake at night thinking about things I could learn and do to make sure that never happened to one of my clients. I kept learning, taking seminars, etc. and the more I learned the more I disagreed with the standard spiel from wall street companies and wall street investors. Selling this or that financial product because of a commission, just wasn’t what I wanted for my clients.
After studying with Nobel Prize winning academics and putting their teaching into practice for my clients, I knew I had to start my own firm. There were just too many limitations working for a traditional wall street company. I knew the strategies I had developed and put in place had turned the tables for my clients in their favor. They had created financial freedom. I took the gamble and opened my own firm in 2015 and my clients followed me and referred even more friends and family members.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The financial industry overall and financial advisers in general have created somewhat of a problem. Their standard product-based approach creates financial disorganization. The products fail because of no central strategy or limitations built in with the product itself. The industry is great at producing mounds of marketing material, creating information overload for most clients. This results in confusion and distrust. Consumers are left unsure, unaware, and uneasy about their financial investments, their financial future, and even if their current financial plan will get them where they need to be with all the changes and obstacles life throws at you.
My biggest challenge early on was overcoming this industry-wide morass of problems. Fortunately, I’ve acquired the tools over the past few years and knowledge to address most of these concerns early on. I am glad I made the move to open my own business- recently, I won the 5 Star Wealth Manager Award and it is featured in an upcoming Boston Magazine and Wall Street Journal article. This acknowledgement of my work and the continuous referrals I get from my current clients since I opened my own firm has been awesome validation that the struggle was worth it.
Please tell us about TrueView Financial.
The vision I had when I started my company is very much in place today. I provide my clients with the tools necessary to create a better life, and to achieve their American dream. Through coaching sessions, I can educate clients with a “TrueView” of their financial situation and make recommendations that are fact-based, statistically-based, and grounded in academic research. TrueView Financial thinks differently and our clients benefit.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have taken more risk sooner if I knew then what I can do now. I was very conservative early on in my career. I kept pushing off starting off my own business. Looking back, I wish I had done it sooner. Opening my own firm has been not only a financially sound move for myself, but it has benefited my clients so much more than what I was able to do for them working for other firms back then.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mytrueviews.com/
- Phone: 978-972-5114
- Email: jdesrocher@mytrueviews.com
- Facebook: Facebook.com/
trueviewfinancialcoach.com - Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11386537/
Image Credit:
TrueView Financial LLC.
Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Supervised from 800 Westchester Avenue, Suite N-409 Rye Brook, NY 10573, (914) 288-8800. Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian. TrueView Financial LLC is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. TrueView Financial LLC is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. (2018-52753 exp 1/2020)
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
