TOP FINANCIAL ADVISERS
Retirement planning has been at the heart of Teri Harmon’s practice for the past two decades.
With about $470 million in assets managed, she sets up a typical client with a mix of mutual funds or managed accounts.
Her inspiration to become a financial adviser came when listening to her grandparents talk about charlatans mishandling people’s money.
“It made me angry to think that could happen,” she said. “I see this as a way of helping.”
Harmon said she knew in college she wanted to be a financial planner.
Her clients range in age from their 20s to their 80s. They invest an average of $500,000 with her.
Investments in stocks, bonds and international holdings are compared to benchmarks.
“I treat all accounts as if they were my own,” Harmon said.
As her clients get older, she said she’s found her role as an adviser changes.
For clients who lose their spouses, house calls and counseling are parts of the job.
“It can be emotionally challenging when you have known them for a long time,” Harmon said. “Initially it’s just a business relationship, but it has grown into a special relationship.”
She got her start as the first woman broker in the Palos Verdes office of E.F. Hutton. She told industry publication Investment News, “They weren’t quite sure what to do with me yet.”
“It had been an all-boys club, and all of a sudden that had started to change,” she said.
Harmon came to UBS via PaineWebber, which was acquired by Switzerland’s UBS AG in 2000. For years, she worked at what’s now UBS’ Newport Beach office but currently spends most of her time on a family vineyard north of Santa Barbara.
When Harmon came into the business, she said the sales approach used by brokers turned her off. She said her approach was to create a team that took a whole look at a client’s financial situation.
Harmon is a philanthropist, president of her local National Charity League, a Girl Scout leader and has a black belt in karate.
She’s married with three children.
4. Teri Harmon
– Company: UBS Financial Services
– Location: Newport Beach
– Years in business: 25
– Education: business bachelor’s, financial planning master’s, University of Southern California
