I started 2024 in a pretty dark spot. Our business had taken a big hit at the end of 2023 when one of our advisors left for a "low cost" allocator. This combined with several advisors who sold out to private-equity owned advisories led to 1/3 of our revenue leaving at the end of 2023. Personally it hurt because I'd worked alongside these advisors for over a decade and in my mind the hard work and personal service didn't matter when the private-equity backed firms come in with offers that are simply too good to refuse.
This led me to start the year looking to sell whatever personal assets we could including our home so we did not have to layoff any employees, or worse finally accept those "too good to refuse" offers from private equity firms to purchase our company.
As has been the case throughout our marriage, my wife said, "why don't you see what God will do. He's never let us down when we trust in Him." We've been at this place before in our marriage and in our firm, and she is right -- God has always come through.
So we continued to pray for guidance and to find advisors and clients who needed our help. We continued to work harder than ever and doing what we've always done. It wasn't easy at first, but the sense of peace at simply pouring ourselves into our business and trusting God to take it where He wanted it to go made this the most rewarding year in my 30+ year career.
God brought us advisors who like us, strived to follow Him with their businesses. They weren't seeking the most profit possible for themselves, but instead wanting to honor Him in their businesses. This mutual trust led these new advisors to have their best year yet. We've had many conversations the past few months where we share our awe at how God is blessing our businesses.
So as we start a new year at SEM, we are sitting at an all-time high level of assets. Yes you read that right. God more than completely replaced all of the assets that left at the end of last year. It was a record year of account openings, new clients, and new deposits. Even better, over 60% of the new money flowed into our Biblically Responsible Investment models (Cornerstone) (The assets that left were not invested in these models.)
I post this, not to brag or puff ourselves up, but as a reminder to anybody out there who is in a dark place -- listen to my wife's advice -- "why don't you see what God will do. He's never let us down when we trust in Him." I also post this because I know there will be dark times again. We live in a fallen world and Satan loves to attack those who are doing God's work.
One of the things which helped along the way last year was the Cornerstone series put together by Courtney D.. Studying Daniel and Esther, two people who went through far more trials than I could ever imagine helped keep things in perspective.
I'm very much looking forward to this year's series and pray that you too will be blessed by this content.
Happy New Year! We’re excited about what’s in store for 2025! What are some of your goals for the new year?
Join us starting next week as we begin a new monthly Cornerstone study: The Sermon on the Mount. We challenge you to read through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) before we start the study next week.
#WednesdayintheWord #NewYear #Cornerstone #NewYearsResolutions #goals #SermonontheMount #MatthewStudy #newstudy
Head of Programme at B:Music & Saxophonist always ready for a gig
3moIt was a great night, thanks for having us with you and best of luck for the rest of the run!!