Vanessa Martinez is tired of “holistic” planning.
With the entire wealth management industry rushing to embrace it, the term, she said, is starting to lose meaning. Enter Martinez and her firm Expressive Wealth, an RIA focused on “inclusive” planning for women, families and next-generation investors.
Launched in Chicago with $200 million in assets under management on March 8, 2024 (International Women's Day), The expressive property was created by CEO Martinez, CCO Lauren Genuardi and Darlene Duncan, a partner and wealth advisor – previously with Hightower, Telemus Capital and WealthTrust Asset Management, respectively. Also in the staff is Dr. Patricia Villarreal, a licensed clinical psychologist who serves as clinical director.
Far from simply swapping a tired word for a new one, especially one that has become as politically weaponized in recent times as “inclusion,” Martinez believes that inclusive planning goes beyond race and gender.
“There's a lot more to inclusion and diversity that isn't sexuality, race or gender,” she said. “It involves thought, communication and even language.” (Expressive Wealth offers services in English, Spanish and Polish.)
The need for inclusion is made more acute by the proliferation of blended families – or non-traditional families joined into the same family through second marriages or other significant relationships. As the basic family unit becomes more complex and diverse, learning about those who are different in some way becomes more necessary, Martinez said. “Until it's in your house, do you really think about it?”
Martinez retired from her role as a partner and managing director with The Lerner Group at Hightower in 2022 after nearly a decade to focus on building an educational and consulting network for women investors called Em-Powered. Customers felt so comfortable with the Em-powered team, which also included Drs. Villarreal, so they asked, “Why don't we just be our advisor instead of consulting?” And the Expressive Wealth was born. (Em-powered still exists under a non-profit structure and focuses on speaking engagements and providing educational resources.)
As for what exactly a chief clinical officer does, “The chief clinical officer works internally to support counselors and externally when we hold family meetings for our clients,” Martinez said. “These are real family meetings where we talk about wealth beyond dollars. , and there are times when it gets a little loud or a little angry or sad or emotional. We all communicate differently, which means we listen differently.
Martinez has spent the first year of Expressive Wealth's existence focusing on building her team and focusing on employee experience and benefits (both emotional and monetary). She recently added an estate planner, an area she sees as a “huge connector” that goes beyond words on documents.
The next year will be dedicated to growth, with an approximate target of $500 million in AUM by the end of the year.
“The ultimate goal is not to be this huge $20 billion empire, because maybe it's lost at that point,” she added. “A few billion? I'm okay with that.”