Building trust and balancing life: Adam Suwyn reflects on a year at JVL Wealth Strategies

Beyond the numbers and strategies, lasting relationships are a cornerstone of JVL Wealth Strategies. How have the relationships you've built over time influenced your career?

I've been fortunate to have solid relationships in every stage of my career so far. Each of my managers, teammates, and clients has genuinely impacted my life in some way, and many of them have become lifelong friends. Some of the most meaningful relationships are with the people who have been with me through many stages of my life and career. From my family to college roommates, church friends to coworkers - my closest relationships truly understand who I am as a person and are willing to stick with me through the ups and downs of life. 

Additionally, I recognize that relationships are a two-way street, requiring both parties' work to flourish. In many ways, I'm thankful that my career has allowed me to meet so many great people, and I look forward to continuing to develop long-term relationships over time. 

You've been a valuable member of JVL Wealth Strategies over the past year. How have the firm's core values guided your service to clients?

The JVL core values that stood out the most in my first year here are service and trust. As a financial planner, I know that financial peace of mind is often the ultimate goal of the planning process for our clients. Our commitment to serving clients and putting their interests first while helping clarify the complex is what I strive to uphold every day for every client. 

At the same time, all our work would be meaningless without having the trust of our clients. I believe that relationships are built through a sequence of seemingly small moments over time. I want my interactions with our clients to continue building trust, which means acting with integrity at all times. 

Lifelong learning is a key component of success. What role does continuous learning have in your professional development?

I've always wanted to be intellectually curious in every aspect of my life. I see everything as a learning opportunity and enjoy finding new perspectives by exploring topics I don't know much about. The financial services industry is always changing and it's my view that if you are not continuously learning, you are slowly falling behind. One way I enjoy gaining different perspectives is by reading books from various authors to gather input from various sources to help myself grow. Although there will always be unique and challenging situations that arise in my role at JVL, I find it helpful to view these questions as development opportunities. 

Finding balance is crucial for personal well-being and professional success. How do you balance your professional responsibilities with personal interests and family time?

I am blessed with the opportunity to play many different roles in my life. Son, brother, husband, dad, friend, and employee come to mind, not even mentioning my personal interests like baseball, biking, and reading. All of these roles and activities have different responsibilities, which sometimes compete for my time and attention. Defining what "balance" looks like is important. I try to be intentional with measuring my time and protecting my calendar to create boundaries between my different roles as needed. Just as we help our clients achieve their goals amidst competing interests both financially and personally, our team at JVL recognizes that we each have roles outside of work and is supportive of balancing those roles. 

Looking to the year ahead, what are you most excited about, personally and professionally?

Professionally, I am excited to continue building relationships with our clients and team members here at JVL. I am passionate about simplifying the complex and love that my career allows me to help individuals and families determine what goals they want to reach and then set a plan to achieve them. 

Personally, my daughters turn 7 and 5 this year, and I am excited to see them continue to grow and develop more unique personalities and skills. Additionally, we are currently in the home-building process and are looking forward to moving into our house this summer. I also recently started assistant coaching a high school baseball team and can't wait to see what the season holds for our team!

Considering your career journey thus far, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to enter the fields of financial planning, investment advisory, and wealth management?

As someone who tends to overanalyze, the best advice I can give is to be open to whatever the next best step might be. Some people have a very clear career path, but for others, the path might be more of a winding road. I am a firm believer that no experience that is learned from is wasted, which gives me the freedom to recognize that a closed door isn't a bad thing if it leads me to the right open door.  

With a decade of professional experience, including financial planning with Midwest-based wealth management firms and general management for a multinational bank, Adam is committed to providing personalized financial advice to clients, taking time to understand their unique goals and circumstances before developing tailored strategies to help them achieve their objectives. 

At JVL Wealth Strategies our mission is to create a financial strategy that helps our clients withstand the ups and downs of the markets. We deeply value the trust our clients place in us. If you know of someone who could benefit from our experience, please let us know.