March 29, 2024 • 21 mins
Jerri Hemsworth, CEO of Newman Grace Marketing, interviews Jennifer Caruso, Wealth Advisor at Morton Wealth. Jennifer shares her story of how her journey into becoming a wealth advisor began. How did her finance degree prepare her for her journey into her career? What drew her to Morton Wealth? Where is the next marathon she is running in located? Listen to how Jennifer got her start.
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About Jerri Hemsworth
About Echelon Business Development Network
How She Got Her Start is a podcast devoted to the stories of women business owners and women executives. Listening to their stories, their challenges and their successes is meant to inspire other women while they maneuver the world of business. Whether they are attorneys, accountants, marketing and public relation execs, or IT specialists, every woman has a unique journey with shared threads of commonality. Hearing how we are a community of common goals and dreams hopefully inspires those on the journey with us and those coming after us.
Listening to other women business owners and executives allows a listener to tap into a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and support. Actively seeking out and engaging with our community, one can accelerate their own growth. One may also overcome obstacles, and find inspiration and guidance along the way.
Women business owners and executives can bring diverse perspectives and insights to the table. By listening to How She Got Her Start, one can gain a broader understanding of different industries, markets, and client segments. This diversity can inspire fresh ideas, creativity, and innovation in one's own business approach.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:03):
And now from the Echelon Studios in Los Angeles,
California. It's the How She GotHer Start podcast. So let's all
get started with your host,Jerri Hemsworth.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:16):
Hi again, everybody and it's a great day
today it's sunny outside, andit's a Friday, which we all
love. That's I think everybodylives for Friday's around here.
And, and I get to sit here withJen Caruso. Jen is a wealth
advisor with Morton Wealth inCalabasas out here in the
(00:40):
suburbs. How're you doing today?
Jennifer Caruso (00:41):
I am doing very well. Thank you. Thank you for
having me.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:45):
Oh, I'm so thrilled. I've been waiting for
you to come in and chat with mebecause I know you've got a
great story. And a veryinspiring story too.
Jennifer Caruso (00:54):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:55):
So tell me tell me about Morton wealth. It's a
different kind of place. Andit's, it is it has a reputation
of being a different kind ofwealth advisory. Tell me about
Morton.
Jennifer Caruso (01:07):
Well, Morton has been around for almost 40
years. So we are a staple in thecommunity. We are an independent
advisory firm. And we focus onfinancial planning for small
business owners, familybusinesses, individuals, of
course, and professionals,young, young professionals who
(01:29):
are accumulating their wealth.
And of course, retirees
Jerri Hemsworth (01:33):
and your, the culture there is different isn't
it?
Jennifer Caruso (01:36):
Very collaborative. We're we're very,
it feels a lot like a family.
Everyone is very encouraging.
And once their colleague, theirfriend to succeed, and we we
work together to make thathappen as a whole. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (01:54):
And the offices. I've been there,
there's a different vibe whenyou walk through the door.
There's very friendly, very opena lot of glass walls, but I'm
sure a lot of office buildingsout here have that. And this was
not your first office for wealthadvisory that you've worked for.
(02:20):
And how does this now comparedto places you've worked before?
Jennifer Caruso (02:26):
Well, it is larger than places that I've
worked before. I've been withmore smaller boutique firms. But
the attraction for me was thateveryone, and I can say that
everyone in the office, they aresincere. They are genuine.
(02:49):
They're just kind, heartedpeople.
Jerri Hemsworth (02:52):
Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (02:52):
And that's the type of environment that I
thrive in.
Jerri Hemsworth (02:56):
Yeah, it's it's really evident. And I think I've
heard, it's not just me sayingthat it's a lot of other people
who are not in your field, havehave said that, and that's part
of the reputation of Morton.
Jennifer Caruso (03:11):
And you know, the caliber of people working,
they're very intelligent, highlyeducated, but very down to
earth. and just real,
Jerri Hemsworth (03:19):
Real people.
Yeah, that's nice. Now, you area wealth advisor. You're a CDFA?
What is a CDFA?
Jennifer Caruso (03:28):
That is an acronym that stands for
Certified divorce financialanalyst. Yeah. And so the role
of the financial analyst in adivorce proceeding, is to really
bridge the financialcommunication gap between the
legal professionals and theparties involved in divorce. So
(03:49):
it might be one of the parties,it might be both, it just
depends, but really, you know,the family law, professional
league, the legal professional,they don't typically concern
themselves with maybe the taxramifications of a decision or,
you know, for example, if aperson wants to keep the house,
(04:13):
should they keep the house? Canthey afford to keep the house so
they don't necessarily do thecash flow modeling associated in
the financial planningassociated with making
decisions. They're just tryingto divide the assets as
equitable as possible, accordingto what the legal parameters
are. But there are taxconsiderations. There are cash
(04:35):
flow considerations, there arebusiness valuation
considerations, you know, ifyou're selling your business or
selling your home, if you'rewanting to keep your business
and you need to have itevaluated, how much is it worth?
You know, and how much shouldyou give the other person to pay
(04:55):
out the other person and shouldyou do that in payments, or
should you do that up Presentvalue of lump sum. There's a lot
of considerations that the legalprofessional, professional
doesn't necessarily want to getinvolved with that part.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:10):
Right.
Jennifer Caruso (05:10):
So so I will come in and I will help with,
basically bridge that gap.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:15):
And so do you come in what at what point do
you get called in? Is it at theend? Who calls you in? Is it the
attorney? Is it the client? And,you know, before the final
papers are signed, I'm
Jennifer Caruso (05:26):
so it could be.
It could be it either juncture,the client might reach out to me
first. If and then I willtypically advocate for one party
or the other the person whoreached out to me. However, if
the financial, excuse me, if thelegal professional reaches out
(05:47):
to me, then I would representall parties involved. Sure. So
it just depends. And it dependson the scale of the mediation or
collaboration or it justdepends, right.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:04):
Where'd you grow up?
Jennifer Caruso (06:08):
I grew up here in Southern California. I'm
actually a valley girl. Triedand true valley girl. Yeah, it's
I don't get to meet too manylocals these days. But yes, I
was born and raised in the SanFernando Valley.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:25):
Oh, my gosh.
And when what happened afterhigh school?
Jennifer Caruso (06:31):
after high school, I got married.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:33):
right away.
Jennifer Caruso (06:34):
Right away.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:34):
Wow. Wow.
Jennifer Caruso (06:37):
I was. That's let's not say impatient. Let's
let's phrase it as I was readyto move on to the next phase of
life. I was eager.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:48):
Yeah. Come on.
Let's get the grown up stuffstarted. Yeah, really? How was
that adjustment for you? Was itokay, was it eh?
Jennifer Caruso (06:57):
the getting married was great. Yeah, that
was great. The adjustment was Ialso moved to Atlanta.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:04):
Oh my gosh, so San Fernando Valley to Atlanta.
Jennifer Caruso (07:06):
That was the adjustment.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:08):
Oh. Oh, okay.
Jennifer Caruso (07:11):
Yes. So I grew up here. Yeah. And I got married
and moved across the country,where I spent the next 10-11
years.
Oh, my goodness.
Without my extended family. Sothat was the adjustment.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:28):
Oh, boy. Yeah.
Now, did you work? Or were youfull time mom?
Jennifer Caruso (07:33):
I was a full time mom
Jerri Hemsworth (07:35):
with how many kids?
Jennifer Caruso (07:37):
At the time one, okay. And then I went back
to get my undergraduate degree.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:43):
Where at?
Jennifer Caruso (07:44):
Kennesaw State University in the Atlanta area.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:48):
Okay.
Jennifer Caruso (07:49):
And then, by the time I was halfway through,
I had another child. And by thetime I graduated finance degree,
I was pregnant with my third.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:02):
There you go.
That's like Jennifer Felten, oneof our attorney members. I think
every time she went back toschool, she got pregnant. It was
crazy. So you you go back andget your undergrad. And at
graduation, you're like, oh, mygosh, I'm gonna have three
little ones. Yeah. Did you gointo the finance business? Or
what happened then?
Jennifer Caruso (08:24):
Not at the time. So I have a beautiful
graduation picture with myyoungest at the time on my hip
and my oldest at the time nextto me and, and I underneath my,
my gown. I, you can't you can'ttell no one can tell. But the
third one was there in the inthe photo with me. But so yeah,
(08:46):
so I focused on raising them.
That was my focus at the time
Jerri Hemsworth (08:50):
For how long?
Jennifer Caruso (08:51):
Until my youngest started kindergarten.
Wow. So yeah, so at least kidsare four years apart. Okay. So
it was about 1213 years.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:00):
Wow. Wow.
Jennifer Caruso (09:03):
And when my youngest was about one, we moved
to Richmond, Virginia at thetime.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:08):
Okay. So that's another adjustment now. I'll be
on the east coast. But threelittle ones moving up the coast
to Richmond. Yeah,
Jennifer Caruso (09:23):
Very different lifestyles very,
Jerri Hemsworth (09:26):
very, what was that like for you?
Jennifer Caruso (09:27):
You know, I loved it. So it was the perfect
little dream. You know, I lovedbeing home, being able to stay
home and raise my children and Ivalued that more than anything.
And so I was the that corporatewife and but I enjoyed that
(09:50):
season. And when my youngest wasold enough to go back to school
to start school. She was in apre K program, and it was time
for me to start, you know, okay,I have this finance degree what
am I? You know, it's time tostart using it.
Jerri Hemsworth (10:04):
Sure. So how did you start?
Jennifer Caruso (10:06):
So, I so in Richmond, Virginia, there's a
huge company they they'reheadquartered there, Genworth
Financial, they sell lifeinsurance long term care. And so
I started there just because itwas convenient. And it was more
(10:26):
of a, a call center environmentsupporting financial advice
advisors with immediateannuities. Okay. So I felt like
that was in the vein of my fieldshould the customer service
environment was not good for me.
Here I came from, I am managerof my home, I am CEO of my home.
(10:50):
Yep. To being told when I cantake a break and go have lunch.
Oh, that just didn't work. So itlasted about a year. But every
day, I was talking to financialadvisors on the phone. I was
like, You know what? I need tobe on the other side of this
phone.
Jerri Hemsworth (11:10):
Now. Could you understand what they were
talking because of your degree?
And all of that you were? Yeah.
I
Jennifer Caruso (11:16):
mean, I was offering product support to
them. And I knew what I was. Iwasn't selling it. I was
offering the support. Sure. Iknew what I was talking about. I
you know, I got to learn there.
Okay, verbiage, if you will, onany thought, oh, I need to. I
like that I
Jerri Hemsworth (11:32):
be doing what they're doing.
Jennifer Caruso (11:34):
Yeah. So that's probably how it started. And so
I ended up interviewing withsome some firms, I didn't want
to be at a large firm, becausewell, the firm I was at was
huge. But I knew I wanted to beat a smaller firm, a little bit
more family friendly, so I canhave some work life balance. And
(11:58):
so I ended up working for asmall boutique independent,
actually he was a broker dealer,hybrid RIA. And that's where I
started to learn the trade, ifyou will.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:14):
How did you feel? Taking that industry on?
What did that do for youinternally, when you started
learning? Was it right away? Didyou know this is what I was
meant to do? Or did you have toease into it that way?
Jennifer Caruso (12:30):
No, I knew. So when. When I was in my
undergraduate program. I was afinance major. So funny a little
bit to me, I find it funny. WhenI first came out of high school
before I went into myundergraduate program, I loved
Suze Orman.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:51):
Yes. Yes.
Jennifer Caruso (12:53):
Loved Suze Orman. And I learned everything
I could about personal financefrom interest her watching PBS
specials and get a hold of herat the time CDs.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:08):
Yes, yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (13:09):
And I would read every book, I could, you
know, even if I had to go to thelibrary. So I learned a lot
about personal finance.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:16):
Interesting.
Jennifer Caruso (13:17):
And the reason why I wanted to teach myself
that was because I didn't learnabout personal finance or
investing or money growing up.
It wasn't something that wastaught and
Jerri Hemsworth (13:28):
I didn't either.
Jennifer Caruso (13:29):
Yeah. Even now, it's not taught in school. I
understood cash flow and Iunderstood about budgeting
because I grew up in a singlefamily home. And so I knew how
to make $1 stretch.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:45):
Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (13:46):
But I didn't learn about investing and
personal finance. Yeah. So I,for some reason, thought that if
I became a finance major, Iwould learn more about
investing. And I did I learnedabout the analysis of stocks and
all of that, but it's so boring.
I was so bored, but I am a nontraditional student. Yeah. So I
(14:14):
was at the point of no return.
Yeah, it was just faster tofinish and get my finance
degree. And I'm so happy that Ihad that foundation. And I did
learn about you know, all of thetechnical skills behind
investing. But what I loved wasdealing with people. Gotcha. And
(14:34):
so personal finance, andfinancial planning made more
sense to me. And so I wasworking with financial planner,
after my first real full timefinancial planning firm, yeah.
And so I learned a lot from himand move but it was time to move
(14:57):
back home at that point. I wasthere for few years, couple few
years, and I finally had anopportunity to move back home to
Southern California, in '09.
Okay. And so yeah, so I
Jerri Hemsworth (15:11):
Packed it all up to the West Coast. Nice.
Yeah. And then what happened outhere? And what was your journey
like once you landed back here?
So you're taking care of thekids? How did the kids make that
transition? Okay. Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (15:25):
You know, yeah, typical. Yeah. Typical. Yeah.
Typical story, right. Yeah. Butyeah, we it took, it took a
while to settle in. You know,and there were so many different
things going on at the time,personally. So you know, it was
a hard transition. If you recallin '09. There was some some jobs
(15:49):
scarcity there. And so I didn't,I started working right away,
but more in the banking realm.
But that's not where I wanted tobe. I knew I wanted to be back
in wealth management. So ittook, it took about a year.
Okay. But it took about a yearto get back in a firm. And so I
found a position with a companyin the Westlake Village area.
(16:14):
And that lasted for severalyears, and then moved up to
another firm and in the samegeneral area.
Jerri Hemsworth (16:23):
Sure.
Jennifer Caruso (16:23):
And so yeah, I was there for eight years. But
yeah, I've been in the industry.
Gosh, I guess now it's beenalmost almost 20 years, about 18
years. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (16:36):
So it's shocking when you stop and think
about how many years I've beendoing this? Oh, dear.
Jennifer Caruso (16:42):
So I've been able to see how, you know, three
or four different firms rantheir business and ran their
investment strategy and
Jerri Hemsworth (16:53):
and who is your typical client?
Jennifer Caruso (16:55):
My typical client, our families, I work
with a lot of multigenerational, meaning parents
who are in their 60s and 70s.
And so their children are grownadults, about my age. That's,
that's the typical client, a lotof retirees and pre retirees
(17:15):
helping them get to that stagewhere they can pull the trigger.
That is my typical client. Andthen of course, I have been
working with clients who aregoing through the divorce
process quite a bit.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:32):
Which you ended up going through yourself.
Jennifer Caruso (17:35):
I did go through my own divorce back in
that same timeframe around 09.
Yeah, yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:40):
Lots of turmoil.
Jennifer Caruso (17:42):
Yeah, it's a fun fun year.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:45):
Wink wink, nod nod.
Jennifer Caruso (17:46):
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:48):
What do you do when you're not working? What do
you enjoy doing?
Jennifer Caruso (17:52):
I enjoy long distance running long distance,
Jerri Hemsworth (17:55):
Long distance running. Yes, that's right. She
said long distance running?
Well, when she told me that Isaid why?
Jennifer Caruso (18:00):
That's a subjective so as to some to some
people, what I do is not thatlong of a distance. So my short
runs are four or five miles.
Long distance longer runs areanywhere from eight to 20. But
when I'm training, if I'mtraining for something
Jerri Hemsworth (18:15):
An you do marathons?
Jennifer Caruso (18:16):
Yes. Yeah. So I tried to do one marathon a year,
a couple, two or three halfmarathons. The last couple of
years. I've slowed down a littlebit. But
Jerri Hemsworth (18:27):
yeah, do you stay local for the runs, or, or
do you really travel?
Jennifer Caruso (18:31):
I've done several local, but I prefer to
travel. Last year, I ran theLondon Marathon.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:37):
Did you? Oh, my goodness,
Jennifer Caruso (18:40):
This year, I'm going to be running Berlin now.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:40):
now you see like the International stuff?
And then next year, my goal willsay, I'd like to get into Tokyo.
And
Jennifer Caruso (18:52):
I just started the international stuff. But
it's the best way to travel.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:56):
Why not?
Jennifer Caruso (18:57):
Yeah, I only have so much time off. I'm
working so hard. I have tocombine activities. So run and
travel.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:05):
But see, here's a good question. So you're
running through a city you'venot really been out before? or
been in before? Are you payingattention to what's around you?
Are you just concentrating onyour breathing and getting
through the pain?
Jennifer Caruso (19:17):
I'm paying attention.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:18):
Are you.
Jennifer Caruso (19:18):
Yeah, I don't run for speed anymore. I just
I'm pretty consistent in mypace. And I really just enjoy
being present.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:25):
It's got to be, is a great way to take
everything in that. And you gooh, I want to come back to that
diner or Yes, sir.
Jennifer Caruso (19:33):
You never go and then you never go back.
Yeah, yeah, I do that. Ofcourse. Yeah, you know, it's
just it takes so muchpreparation and effort to get
there.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:42):
Sure
Jennifer Caruso (19:43):
That once you're there, I prefer to just
be present and enjoy beingthere. And
Jerri Hemsworth (19:49):
do you pinch yourself in? I'm running through
London right now.
Jennifer Caruso (19:51):
Absolutely.
Very thankful.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:53):
This is London.
Jennifer Caruso (19:53):
Very thankful.
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:55):
And then hopefully Berlin and then maybe
Tokyo.
Jennifer Caruso (19:58):
Maybe Tokyo.
Awesome. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:02):
You have a grandbaby?
Jennifer Caruso (20:03):
I do.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:04):
Tell us about your little grandbaby.
Jennifer Caruso (20:06):
She is one years old. She is the daughter
of my oldest son and his wife.
They live in Florida. Now. Itwas a recent move, so I don't
get to see her every day. I'mnot the traditional grandmother.
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:24):
Yeah. Thank goodness for zoom though or
Jennifer Caruso (20:27):
Yes. Oh, yes.
Interestingly, though, it's veryFaceTime
difficult to schedule thoseFaceTime calls. They're busy
working
Jerri Hemsworth (20:37):
three hours difference.
Jennifer Caruso (20:38):
Yeah, the time difference. Yeah. But when we
roll with the punches.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:44):
how was it for you to take on the role of a
grandmother was that an easy?
Jennifer Caruso (20:49):
I've only recently used the word
grandmother,
Jerri Hemsworth (20:51):
What was it before?
Jennifer Caruso (20:53):
my son's daughter.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:54):
Oh.
Jennifer Caruso (20:58):
So he's mainly my son's daughter.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:03):
Beautiful.
Jennifer Caruso (21:06):
So because I am a younger grandmother, you know
the word I so so my title isLita. It's short for Abuelita.
So Lita is my nickname.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:19):
I think that's beautiful. Oh, I would totally
embrace Oh, yeah. I can see youas Lita. Yeah. I won't call you
that. But it's great. It's fitsyou perfectly. Jennifer, thank
you so much for sitting downwith me. I just love it. I love
chatting with you. Thank you andI'm really grateful that you
(21:39):
came in.
Jennifer Caruso (21:40):
Absolutely.
Announcer (21:44):
You've been listening to the How She Got Her Start
podcast. Brought to you byEchelon Business Development.
More than just networking. Waymore!
And now from the Echelon Studios in Los Angeles,
California. It's the How She GotHer Start podcast. So let's all
get started with your host,Jerri Hemsworth.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:16):
Hi again, everybody and it's a great day
today it's sunny outside, andit's a Friday, which we all
love. That's I think everybodylives for Friday's around here.
And, and I get to sit here withJen Caruso. Jen is a wealth
advisor with Morton Wealth inCalabasas out here in the
(00:40):
suburbs. How're you doing today?
Jennifer Caruso (00:41):
I am doing very well. Thank you. Thank you for
having me.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:45):
Oh, I'm so thrilled. I've been waiting for
you to come in and chat with mebecause I know you've got a
great story. And a veryinspiring story too.
Jennifer Caruso (00:54):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:55):
So tell me tell me about Morton wealth. It's a
different kind of place. Andit's, it is it has a reputation
of being a different kind ofwealth advisory. Tell me about
Morton.
Jennifer Caruso (01:07):
Well, Morton has been around for almost 40
years. So we are a staple in thecommunity. We are an independent
advisory firm. And we focus onfinancial planning for small
business owners, familybusinesses, individuals, of
course, and professionals,young, young professionals who
(01:29):
are accumulating their wealth.
And of course, retirees
Jerri Hemsworth (01:33):
and your, the culture there is different isn't
it?
Jennifer Caruso (01:36):
Very collaborative. We're we're very,
it feels a lot like a family.
Everyone is very encouraging.
And once their colleague, theirfriend to succeed, and we we
work together to make thathappen as a whole. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (01:54):
And the offices. I've been there,
there's a different vibe whenyou walk through the door.
There's very friendly, very opena lot of glass walls, but I'm
sure a lot of office buildingsout here have that. And this was
not your first office for wealthadvisory that you've worked for.
(02:20):
And how does this now comparedto places you've worked before?
Jennifer Caruso (02:26):
Well, it is larger than places that I've
worked before. I've been withmore smaller boutique firms. But
the attraction for me was thateveryone, and I can say that
everyone in the office, they aresincere. They are genuine.
(02:49):
They're just kind, heartedpeople.
Jerri Hemsworth (02:52):
Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (02:52):
And that's the type of environment that I
thrive in.
Jerri Hemsworth (02:56):
Yeah, it's it's really evident. And I think I've
heard, it's not just me sayingthat it's a lot of other people
who are not in your field, havehave said that, and that's part
of the reputation of Morton.
Jennifer Caruso (03:11):
And you know, the caliber of people working,
they're very intelligent, highlyeducated, but very down to
earth. and just real,
Jerri Hemsworth (03:19):
Real people.
Yeah, that's nice. Now, you area wealth advisor. You're a CDFA?
What is a CDFA?
Jennifer Caruso (03:28):
That is an acronym that stands for
Certified divorce financialanalyst. Yeah. And so the role
of the financial analyst in adivorce proceeding, is to really
bridge the financialcommunication gap between the
legal professionals and theparties involved in divorce. So
(03:49):
it might be one of the parties,it might be both, it just
depends, but really, you know,the family law, professional
league, the legal professional,they don't typically concern
themselves with maybe the taxramifications of a decision or,
you know, for example, if aperson wants to keep the house,
(04:13):
should they keep the house? Canthey afford to keep the house so
they don't necessarily do thecash flow modeling associated in
the financial planningassociated with making
decisions. They're just tryingto divide the assets as
equitable as possible, accordingto what the legal parameters
are. But there are taxconsiderations. There are cash
(04:35):
flow considerations, there arebusiness valuation
considerations, you know, ifyou're selling your business or
selling your home, if you'rewanting to keep your business
and you need to have itevaluated, how much is it worth?
You know, and how much shouldyou give the other person to pay
(04:55):
out the other person and shouldyou do that in payments, or
should you do that up Presentvalue of lump sum. There's a lot
of considerations that the legalprofessional, professional
doesn't necessarily want to getinvolved with that part.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:10):
Right.
Jennifer Caruso (05:10):
So so I will come in and I will help with,
basically bridge that gap.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:15):
And so do you come in what at what point do
you get called in? Is it at theend? Who calls you in? Is it the
attorney? Is it the client? And,you know, before the final
papers are signed, I'm
Jennifer Caruso (05:26):
so it could be.
It could be it either juncture,the client might reach out to me
first. If and then I willtypically advocate for one party
or the other the person whoreached out to me. However, if
the financial, excuse me, if thelegal professional reaches out
(05:47):
to me, then I would representall parties involved. Sure. So
it just depends. And it dependson the scale of the mediation or
collaboration or it justdepends, right.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:04):
Where'd you grow up?
Jennifer Caruso (06:08):
I grew up here in Southern California. I'm
actually a valley girl. Triedand true valley girl. Yeah, it's
I don't get to meet too manylocals these days. But yes, I
was born and raised in the SanFernando Valley.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:25):
Oh, my gosh.
And when what happened afterhigh school?
Jennifer Caruso (06:31):
after high school, I got married.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:33):
right away.
Jennifer Caruso (06:34):
Right away.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:34):
Wow. Wow.
Jennifer Caruso (06:37):
I was. That's let's not say impatient. Let's
let's phrase it as I was readyto move on to the next phase of
life. I was eager.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:48):
Yeah. Come on.
Let's get the grown up stuffstarted. Yeah, really? How was
that adjustment for you? Was itokay, was it eh?
Jennifer Caruso (06:57):
the getting married was great. Yeah, that
was great. The adjustment was Ialso moved to Atlanta.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:04):
Oh my gosh, so San Fernando Valley to Atlanta.
Jennifer Caruso (07:06):
That was the adjustment.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:08):
Oh. Oh, okay.
Jennifer Caruso (07:11):
Yes. So I grew up here. Yeah. And I got married
and moved across the country,where I spent the next 10-11
years.
Oh, my goodness.
Without my extended family. Sothat was the adjustment.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:28):
Oh, boy. Yeah.
Now, did you work? Or were youfull time mom?
Jennifer Caruso (07:33):
I was a full time mom
Jerri Hemsworth (07:35):
with how many kids?
Jennifer Caruso (07:37):
At the time one, okay. And then I went back
to get my undergraduate degree.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:43):
Where at?
Jennifer Caruso (07:44):
Kennesaw State University in the Atlanta area.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:48):
Okay.
Jennifer Caruso (07:49):
And then, by the time I was halfway through,
I had another child. And by thetime I graduated finance degree,
I was pregnant with my third.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:02):
There you go.
That's like Jennifer Felten, oneof our attorney members. I think
every time she went back toschool, she got pregnant. It was
crazy. So you you go back andget your undergrad. And at
graduation, you're like, oh, mygosh, I'm gonna have three
little ones. Yeah. Did you gointo the finance business? Or
what happened then?
Jennifer Caruso (08:24):
Not at the time. So I have a beautiful
graduation picture with myyoungest at the time on my hip
and my oldest at the time nextto me and, and I underneath my,
my gown. I, you can't you can'ttell no one can tell. But the
third one was there in the inthe photo with me. But so yeah,
(08:46):
so I focused on raising them.
That was my focus at the time
Jerri Hemsworth (08:50):
For how long?
Jennifer Caruso (08:51):
Until my youngest started kindergarten.
Wow. So yeah, so at least kidsare four years apart. Okay. So
it was about 1213 years.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:00):
Wow. Wow.
Jennifer Caruso (09:03):
And when my youngest was about one, we moved
to Richmond, Virginia at thetime.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:08):
Okay. So that's another adjustment now. I'll be
on the east coast. But threelittle ones moving up the coast
to Richmond. Yeah,
Jennifer Caruso (09:23):
Very different lifestyles very,
Jerri Hemsworth (09:26):
very, what was that like for you?
Jennifer Caruso (09:27):
You know, I loved it. So it was the perfect
little dream. You know, I lovedbeing home, being able to stay
home and raise my children and Ivalued that more than anything.
And so I was the that corporatewife and but I enjoyed that
(09:50):
season. And when my youngest wasold enough to go back to school
to start school. She was in apre K program, and it was time
for me to start, you know, okay,I have this finance degree what
am I? You know, it's time tostart using it.
Jerri Hemsworth (10:04):
Sure. So how did you start?
Jennifer Caruso (10:06):
So, I so in Richmond, Virginia, there's a
huge company they they'reheadquartered there, Genworth
Financial, they sell lifeinsurance long term care. And so
I started there just because itwas convenient. And it was more
(10:26):
of a, a call center environmentsupporting financial advice
advisors with immediateannuities. Okay. So I felt like
that was in the vein of my fieldshould the customer service
environment was not good for me.
Here I came from, I am managerof my home, I am CEO of my home.
(10:50):
Yep. To being told when I cantake a break and go have lunch.
Oh, that just didn't work. So itlasted about a year. But every
day, I was talking to financialadvisors on the phone. I was
like, You know what? I need tobe on the other side of this
phone.
Jerri Hemsworth (11:10):
Now. Could you understand what they were
talking because of your degree?
And all of that you were? Yeah.
I
Jennifer Caruso (11:16):
mean, I was offering product support to
them. And I knew what I was. Iwasn't selling it. I was
offering the support. Sure. Iknew what I was talking about. I
you know, I got to learn there.
Okay, verbiage, if you will, onany thought, oh, I need to. I
like that I
Jerri Hemsworth (11:32):
be doing what they're doing.
Jennifer Caruso (11:34):
Yeah. So that's probably how it started. And so
I ended up interviewing withsome some firms, I didn't want
to be at a large firm, becausewell, the firm I was at was
huge. But I knew I wanted to beat a smaller firm, a little bit
more family friendly, so I canhave some work life balance. And
(11:58):
so I ended up working for asmall boutique independent,
actually he was a broker dealer,hybrid RIA. And that's where I
started to learn the trade, ifyou will.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:14):
How did you feel? Taking that industry on?
What did that do for youinternally, when you started
learning? Was it right away? Didyou know this is what I was
meant to do? Or did you have toease into it that way?
Jennifer Caruso (12:30):
No, I knew. So when. When I was in my
undergraduate program. I was afinance major. So funny a little
bit to me, I find it funny. WhenI first came out of high school
before I went into myundergraduate program, I loved
Suze Orman.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:51):
Yes. Yes.
Jennifer Caruso (12:53):
Loved Suze Orman. And I learned everything
I could about personal financefrom interest her watching PBS
specials and get a hold of herat the time CDs.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:08):
Yes, yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (13:09):
And I would read every book, I could, you
know, even if I had to go to thelibrary. So I learned a lot
about personal finance.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:16):
Interesting.
Jennifer Caruso (13:17):
And the reason why I wanted to teach myself
that was because I didn't learnabout personal finance or
investing or money growing up.
It wasn't something that wastaught and
Jerri Hemsworth (13:28):
I didn't either.
Jennifer Caruso (13:29):
Yeah. Even now, it's not taught in school. I
understood cash flow and Iunderstood about budgeting
because I grew up in a singlefamily home. And so I knew how
to make $1 stretch.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:45):
Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (13:46):
But I didn't learn about investing and
personal finance. Yeah. So I,for some reason, thought that if
I became a finance major, Iwould learn more about
investing. And I did I learnedabout the analysis of stocks and
all of that, but it's so boring.
I was so bored, but I am a nontraditional student. Yeah. So I
(14:14):
was at the point of no return.
Yeah, it was just faster tofinish and get my finance
degree. And I'm so happy that Ihad that foundation. And I did
learn about you know, all of thetechnical skills behind
investing. But what I loved wasdealing with people. Gotcha. And
(14:34):
so personal finance, andfinancial planning made more
sense to me. And so I wasworking with financial planner,
after my first real full timefinancial planning firm, yeah.
And so I learned a lot from himand move but it was time to move
(14:57):
back home at that point. I wasthere for few years, couple few
years, and I finally had anopportunity to move back home to
Southern California, in '09.
Okay. And so yeah, so I
Jerri Hemsworth (15:11):
Packed it all up to the West Coast. Nice.
Yeah. And then what happened outhere? And what was your journey
like once you landed back here?
So you're taking care of thekids? How did the kids make that
transition? Okay. Yeah.
Jennifer Caruso (15:25):
You know, yeah, typical. Yeah. Typical. Yeah.
Typical story, right. Yeah. Butyeah, we it took, it took a
while to settle in. You know,and there were so many different
things going on at the time,personally. So you know, it was
a hard transition. If you recallin '09. There was some some jobs
(15:49):
scarcity there. And so I didn't,I started working right away,
but more in the banking realm.
But that's not where I wanted tobe. I knew I wanted to be back
in wealth management. So ittook, it took about a year.
Okay. But it took about a yearto get back in a firm. And so I
found a position with a companyin the Westlake Village area.
(16:14):
And that lasted for severalyears, and then moved up to
another firm and in the samegeneral area.
Jerri Hemsworth (16:23):
Sure.
Jennifer Caruso (16:23):
And so yeah, I was there for eight years. But
yeah, I've been in the industry.
Gosh, I guess now it's beenalmost almost 20 years, about 18
years. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (16:36):
So it's shocking when you stop and think
about how many years I've beendoing this? Oh, dear.
Jennifer Caruso (16:42):
So I've been able to see how, you know, three
or four different firms rantheir business and ran their
investment strategy and
Jerri Hemsworth (16:53):
and who is your typical client?
Jennifer Caruso (16:55):
My typical client, our families, I work
with a lot of multigenerational, meaning parents
who are in their 60s and 70s.
And so their children are grownadults, about my age. That's,
that's the typical client, a lotof retirees and pre retirees
(17:15):
helping them get to that stagewhere they can pull the trigger.
That is my typical client. Andthen of course, I have been
working with clients who aregoing through the divorce
process quite a bit.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:32):
Which you ended up going through yourself.
Jennifer Caruso (17:35):
I did go through my own divorce back in
that same timeframe around 09.
Yeah, yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:40):
Lots of turmoil.
Jennifer Caruso (17:42):
Yeah, it's a fun fun year.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:45):
Wink wink, nod nod.
Jennifer Caruso (17:46):
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:48):
What do you do when you're not working? What do
you enjoy doing?
Jennifer Caruso (17:52):
I enjoy long distance running long distance,
Jerri Hemsworth (17:55):
Long distance running. Yes, that's right. She
said long distance running?
Well, when she told me that Isaid why?
Jennifer Caruso (18:00):
That's a subjective so as to some to some
people, what I do is not thatlong of a distance. So my short
runs are four or five miles.
Long distance longer runs areanywhere from eight to 20. But
when I'm training, if I'mtraining for something
Jerri Hemsworth (18:15):
An you do marathons?
Jennifer Caruso (18:16):
Yes. Yeah. So I tried to do one marathon a year,
a couple, two or three halfmarathons. The last couple of
years. I've slowed down a littlebit. But
Jerri Hemsworth (18:27):
yeah, do you stay local for the runs, or, or
do you really travel?
Jennifer Caruso (18:31):
I've done several local, but I prefer to
travel. Last year, I ran theLondon Marathon.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:37):
Did you? Oh, my goodness,
Jennifer Caruso (18:40):
This year, I'm going to be running Berlin now.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:40):
now you see like the International stuff?
And then next year, my goal willsay, I'd like to get into Tokyo.
And
Jennifer Caruso (18:52):
I just started the international stuff. But
it's the best way to travel.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:56):
Why not?
Jennifer Caruso (18:57):
Yeah, I only have so much time off. I'm
working so hard. I have tocombine activities. So run and
travel.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:05):
But see, here's a good question. So you're
running through a city you'venot really been out before? or
been in before? Are you payingattention to what's around you?
Are you just concentrating onyour breathing and getting
through the pain?
Jennifer Caruso (19:17):
I'm paying attention.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:18):
Are you.
Jennifer Caruso (19:18):
Yeah, I don't run for speed anymore. I just
I'm pretty consistent in mypace. And I really just enjoy
being present.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:25):
It's got to be, is a great way to take
everything in that. And you gooh, I want to come back to that
diner or Yes, sir.
Jennifer Caruso (19:33):
You never go and then you never go back.
Yeah, yeah, I do that. Ofcourse. Yeah, you know, it's
just it takes so muchpreparation and effort to get
there.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:42):
Sure
Jennifer Caruso (19:43):
That once you're there, I prefer to just
be present and enjoy beingthere. And
Jerri Hemsworth (19:49):
do you pinch yourself in? I'm running through
London right now.
Jennifer Caruso (19:51):
Absolutely.
Very thankful.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:53):
This is London.
Jennifer Caruso (19:53):
Very thankful.
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:55):
And then hopefully Berlin and then maybe
Tokyo.
Jennifer Caruso (19:58):
Maybe Tokyo.
Awesome. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:02):
You have a grandbaby?
Jennifer Caruso (20:03):
I do.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:04):
Tell us about your little grandbaby.
Jennifer Caruso (20:06):
She is one years old. She is the daughter
of my oldest son and his wife.
They live in Florida. Now. Itwas a recent move, so I don't
get to see her every day. I'mnot the traditional grandmother.
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:24):
Yeah. Thank goodness for zoom though or
Jennifer Caruso (20:27):
Yes. Oh, yes.
Interestingly, though, it's veryFaceTime
difficult to schedule thoseFaceTime calls. They're busy
working
Jerri Hemsworth (20:37):
three hours difference.
Jennifer Caruso (20:38):
Yeah, the time difference. Yeah. But when we
roll with the punches.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:44):
how was it for you to take on the role of a
grandmother was that an easy?
Jennifer Caruso (20:49):
I've only recently used the word
grandmother,
Jerri Hemsworth (20:51):
What was it before?
Jennifer Caruso (20:53):
my son's daughter.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:54):
Oh.
Jennifer Caruso (20:58):
So he's mainly my son's daughter.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:03):
Beautiful.
Jennifer Caruso (21:06):
So because I am a younger grandmother, you know
the word I so so my title isLita. It's short for Abuelita.
So Lita is my nickname.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:19):
I think that's beautiful. Oh, I would totally
embrace Oh, yeah. I can see youas Lita. Yeah. I won't call you
that. But it's great. It's fitsyou perfectly. Jennifer, thank
you so much for sitting downwith me. I just love it. I love
chatting with you. Thank you andI'm really grateful that you
(21:39):
came in.
Jennifer Caruso (21:40):
Absolutely.
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