We are excited to share some pretty BIG news.  Fyooz Financial Planning was named Firm of the Year during the XY Planning Network (XYPN) annual conference!  The award was given to, “a firm that has shown measurable growth & success over the 2019-2020 year…”  

Here’s how that moment went.  We were watching the virtual award ceremony from the comfort of our living room.  Dan was seated in the middle of our couch while I laid on the recliner (footrest extended, of course).   They started off with the individual advisor awards.  During each award we would stuff our faces with the salted popcorn, clap, and shout, “Well deserved!” nom, nom, nom.    

Finally, they got to the last award of the conference -- Firm of the Year.  We each grabbed another handful of popcorn and waited in anticipation for who would get the big award.  My hand had already grabbed another handful of buttery goodness when I read on the screen, ‘Fyooz Financial Planning’.  We immediately shot up from our respective seats.  Popcorn flying everywhere as if it was our prearranged celebratory confetti.  The details are fuzzy, but what I can recall are a lot of swear words combined with running around the house with our arms flailing every which way.  I’m pretty sure I still have bruises from running into Dan during our many laps around the kitchen island.  I wonder how well we would have kept our cool in Denver, CO where the event was originally scheduled to be held in person.  Nonetheless, it is the perfect award for us.  It’s not advisor of the year.  It doesn’t highlight one of us specifically.  Instead, it’s an achievement based on what the two of us built together.  

We are grateful.  We are humbled.  We are proud.  

Who is XY Planning Network?

XYPN is a network of over 1,300 fee-only financial advising firms.  The advisors who belong to this network cannot sell products to earn commissions, and they must act in the best interest of their clients.  This network also focuses on financial advisors wanting to serve Generation X and Generation Y (AKA millennial) clients.

We joined this network to be a part of a movement within the financial advising industry.  Financial planning is a professional service younger clients want, but at a price and offering that’s suitable for them.  We have been fortunate to be a part of XY Planning Network.  They advocate for what we stand for -- CFP® professionals abiding by the fiduciary model who serve a younger demographic via virtual financial planning services.  Bingo!  

What It’s Like Getting This Award in 2020

Two years ago, I was still working for a reputable firm.  By this time, Dan and I were seriously considering establishing our own company.  We were saving every penny we could, discussing our dreams over each meal, and crunching the numbers late at night.  

If you would have told me two years ago that we would launch our firm months before a global pandemic and recession… I would have told you our dreams can happily wait!

I’m glad I didn’t know then what I know now.  I know my risk averse self well enough to say I wouldn’t have gone through with it.  Yes, it hasn’t been ideal.  We had plans of meeting our clients in person, hosting events, and networking face to face.  All of that is gone.  What did we get instead?  A lot more than I anticipated.  I had no idea that virtual meetings meant we could meet our clients’ children, tour their homes, and drink cocktails together during our late night meetings.  I was certainly not expecting the connection we’d share only meeting via video.  Your emotional stories have made me cry more times than I can count!

Receiving XYPN’s ‘Firm of the Year’ award helps acknowledge all this.  This award feels as though we are being recognized for the relationships we’ve built, and the relationships yet to come our way.  Thank you to our readers, our network, our friends, our family, and our clients. 

We are grateful.  We are humbled.  We are proud.  

- Natalie   

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation of Fyooz Financial Planning, Natalie Slagle CFP®, or Daniel Slagle CFP®. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific security, investment product or investment strategy referenced in the article, either directly or indirectly, will be profitable or equal to the corresponding indicated performance level(s). No portion of the article shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any specific security or investment product or to engage in any particular investment or financial planning strategy. Any reference to a market index is included for illustrative purposes only, as it is not possible to directly invest in an index. Indices are unmanaged, hypothetical vehicles that serve as market indicators and do not account for the deduction of management fees or transaction costs generally associated with investable products, which otherwise have the effect of reducing the performance of an actual investment portfolio.