“It certainly has been an interesting year in a lot of ways. What’s exciting for the company overall is taking a step back to a 30,000 foot overview and recognizing that it seems we’re returning back to normal to some extent coming out of the COVID era. We’re getting back to normal operations with our clients and getting out to see them in person. While the world has certainly changed forever, we’ve maintained an old-world values approach and have placed an importance on being in person and building relationships with our clients. I’ve seen that in the first half of this year and it’s something I’m excited to see moving forward in our return to normal…”
In the 2024 Q-3 edition of the “From the President’s Chair” quarterly update, John G. Ullman & Associates President & COO, Jason Nickerson, CFP®, EA sits down to discuss the first half of 2024, his excitement surrounding continued strategic growth, getting back out to see clients and previews what to look forward to in Q-3. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Alright, we’re at the midpoint of 2024. What has been your biggest takeaway thus far?
A: It certainly has been an interesting year in a lot of ways. What’s exciting for the company overall is taking a step back to a 30,000 foot overview and recognizing that it seems we’re returning back to normal to some extent coming out of the COVID era. We’re getting back to normal operations with our clients and getting out to see them in person. While the world has certainly changed forever, we’ve maintained an old-world values approach and have placed an importance on being in person and building relationships with our clients. I’ve seen that in the first half of this year and it’s something I’m excited to see moving forward in our return to normal. It’s interesting because we’re here in 2024 and it feels like it was so long ago that the COVID era was an impact on us. When you take a step back, you really see that it wasn’t that long ago and it was going to take us a while to adjust and include the new norms and bring back some of the old norms that we operated by. Certainly an interesting year so far and I’m excited that we’re kind of bringing some things back.
Q: We’ve had some new Associate Advisors start since our last conversation, Alex Boychuck and Andrew Dolan in particular, how exciting has it been to see the Advisor team grow?
A: I am really excited. It’s part of a continued strategic approach on our part. Specifically to Alex and Andrew, and some other recent hires in the last couple of years, we’re seeing this specialization or approach to specialization in academics towards financial planning. These are the types of Advisors we’re finding now. Historically, it was those recruits with transferable skills that were in other areas of the financial world. Now we’ve got folks who have dedicated education towards this space and really focusing around financial planning. It’s not that the other type of recruit won’t continue to come in, this just really is a nice complement to the team overall in continuing to add younger talent to build this generational firm that will go on long into the future. Alex and Andrew are going to be key pieces of that along with others that we’ve added recently – Leyah Dauber, Lyndsey Payne, Jakob Brost – these are truly the next generation of not only Advisors, but potential leaders of the firm long into the future.
Q: The back half of 2024 is seemingly packed with more events, seminars, webinars, going out in the community and continuing the partnerships we’ve built. It’s become a big part of who we are over the last two years. What are you most looking forward to in this space as we move forward?
A: Well, there’s really two things in this area. This is a testament to our dedication to building strong relationships within the communities we serve and operate in. What we’ve learned is how important relationships are, both personally and professionally. Through these relationships with these organizations and institutions, we’re bringing our own spin to them which is hopefully benefitting them through financial education and support. It goes a long, long way in building out those relationships and that’s what is really exciting. The second point is something I already mentioned. I’m a big believer that this country needs far more focus on appropriate financial education and literacy. It’s something that we can’t take for granted in our profession, helping to educate communities on what having a good fiscal strategy or good fiscal health means. I look forward to us expanding that contribution, I do believe that financial literacy is suffering in this country – there is so much misinformation being disseminated out there – I think it’s incumbent upon us to take the skills we have, the care we place on relationships and expand that to our communities and partner organizations.
Q: Last question, just like I asked you in the last interview, what can our clients look ahead to in Q-3 of 2024? What’s coming that excites you?
A: Something we already mentioned is the new recruits and their impact on the firm in a very quick way. Part of our overall growth strategy is not just about growing the number of clients we work with and the assets we have under management, but growing the team. Not just in headcount, but in the skillsets and diversity that will ultimately serve our clients and make us a stronger firm going into the future. The various areas we’ve already touched on throughout this, not just in the second half of the year but moving forward, the impact we can have on our communities and our clients by adding tremendous people to the team across the company. Increasing our reach geographically, building out those communities which we are serving. This is the continued focus. Where do we go from here? Maybe the second half of the year or sometime in 2025 will be time where we are ready to take our next leap into a new market or location. I’m excited to continue to implement our strategy which is really an expansion to serve, build relationships, develop the relationships more and build our company more in a way that is beneficial to everybody. I hold true to the belief that there are more people out there that deserve to have a relationship with a firm like ours and coming up with ways that we can continue to expand upon that.
About John G. Ullman & Associates, Inc.
John G. Ullman & Associates, Inc., was founded in Corning, N.Y. in 1978. The firm is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registered federally with the Securities & Exchange Commission*. As an independent, fee-based investment management firm JGUA provides comprehensive wealth management strategies and services to their clients. The firm manages over $1 billion in client assets, with a staff of more than 70 employees over four locations, including Horseheads, N.Y., Rhinebeck, N.Y., Charlotte, N.C. and Corning.
If you are interested in learning more about how JGUA could help you, visit our website HERE, or call 1 (800) 936-3785. You can follow us on, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and The JGUA Blog.
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