Episode Transcript
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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 JerriHemsworth.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:17):
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to How She Got HerStart. This is Jerri Hemsworth
as the intro noted, and todayI'm sitting with a fascinating
woman Thao Truong. How are youtoday?
Thao Truong (00:30):
I am very well,
thank you so much for having me
today, Jerri.
Jerri Hemsworth (00:33):
Oh, I'm so
happy to have you because I've
been thinking about you. And Iknow a bit about your story. And
Thao is with Morton Wealth. AndI think I actually met you, what
about a year ago? And I noticedat the time that you were fairly
new to LA at the time, but youcame up from San Diego. How long
(00:59):
have you been with MortonWealth? And what do you do at
Morton?
Thao Truong (01:01):
Right. So I met you
last year when you were
receiving your award for themost influenced woman in the San
Fernando Valley. Yeah. So I beenwith Morton for a little bit
over then three years now. Goshit's just so fast. Yeah.
Anyway, so I've been a fan ofMorton, as I was just, you know,
(01:22):
going to these financialplanning conferences and seeing
Stacey as the guest speaker.
Yes. And she
Jerri Hemsworth (01:30):
That's Stacey
McKinnon. She's the
Thao Truong (01:32):
She's the COO
McKinnon, COO and CMO of Morton
Jerri Hemsworth (01:35):
Yes.
Thao Truong (01:36):
And she is so
amazing. Yes, not just as a
speaker, but also, she's such aperson who thinking out of the
box and doing amazing thing tothe company and the people and
really transforming the way ofhow financial planning has
always been. And I was just kindof reaching out to her and just
(01:58):
asking her for advice, you know,between like serving clients,
being an advisor versus likerunning the firm, like, how did
she choose her pathway? Right.
And anyway, so long story short,like, maybe this is the firm
that who I want to work with,you know, and Stacey was like,
if you don't mind moving to LA,then let's talk about it. So,
(02:19):
yeah, so, so before LA I wasliving in San Diego for five,
six years. Uh huh. And thenbefore that, San Francisco,
Jerri Hemsworth (02:31):
San Francisco
Thao Truong (02:32):
For a short period
of time,
Jerri Hemsworth (02:33):
right, right.
Thao Truong (02:34):
Yeah Then before
that, New Hampshire,
Jerri Hemsworth (02:37):
New Hampshire
Thao Truong (02:38):
For school,
Jerri Hemsworth (02:39):
I went to, well
that's a little foreshadowing,
but I want to back up where wereyou born?
Thao Truong (02:45):
Vietnam. So born
and raised in Vietnam, moved
here when I was about 15
Jerri Hemsworth (02:50):
15?
Thao Truong (02:50):
Yeah, yeah. So.
Jerri Hemsworth (02:52):
And did you
move here with your family?
Thao Truong (02:54):
No, I was all by
myself. So actually, before I
moved here, I lived in Englandfor a year first. So I got a
scholarship go to England when Iwas what 14-15. But I got a huge
culture shock because I wasNorth of England. And it's a
little cold. And I was the onlyAsian at my school. So kids from
(03:15):
lower grades, I don't know anybetter go to school, like a
bully. You know, firstly, youbeing away from family, by
myself and getting bullied. Itwasn't fun. So after that, I'm
done with England. So maybe Icould find somewhere else that
is more diverse and morefriendly and more welcoming to
foreigners. And then so I applyfor school here in the US. And
(03:36):
then came here. Very shortlyafter that, my family called me
up. And they were like Thao,we've been trying to hide this
from you, because we want you tofocus in school and not be so
worried about our familysituation. But honestly,
speaking, we cannot hide itanymore. We cannot support you
anymore. So it's your choicenow. You want to go home, or you
(03:58):
want to stay and if you stayyou're on your own.
Jerri Hemsworth (04:00):
Whoa, whoa,
Thao Truong (04:03):
yeah. Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (04:04):
Now, were you
always an independent kid? I
Thao Truong (04:07):
think I was. I
think I was because, you know,
honestly, when my parents saythat to me, I know immediately
that I cannot go home. Becauseif I go home, I cannot go back
to the Vietnamese school system.
Because I don't know so muchabout Vietnamese literature. I
don't know much about Vietnamesehistory to go back into their
exam system and schooling. Solike, the only way for me to
(04:30):
continue on is to stay here andfinish up school. And I have to
stay here and finish up schoolas soon as possible, so that I
can start earning money andhelping my family out.
Jerri Hemsworth (04:43):
Right.So you
were 1516?
Thao Truong (04:46):
Yes,
Jerri Hemsworth (04:46):
At this point,
Thao Truong (04:47):
right.
Jerri Hemsworth (04:48):
And was it a
long conversation with yourself
or was it just instinctual? No,I know what I'm doing and I know
what I need to do.
Thao Truong (04:58):
It was a long shock
and
Jerri Hemsworth (05:00):
Yeah,
Thao Truong (05:01):
it was a long shock
Jerri Hemsworth (05:02):
oh shoot
Thao Truong (05:02):
The decision was
fast. I know immediately that
like, Heck no, I'm not gonna gohome.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:06):
Gotcha.
Thao Truong (05:08):
And I know that my
family needed help. But it was a
shock and it was a lot of anger.
And it was like, Why is myfamily hiding this from me.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:15):
Right.
Thao Truong (05:16):
You know, parents
are not as perfect as I thought.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:19):
Yeah. Welcome
to being a grownup. Now, do you
have siblings?
Thao Truong (05:23):
I do have sibling I
have three siblings.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:25):
Oh wow.
Thao Truong (05:25):
Yeah. And, I mean,
my I was very lucky because I
was already here. And it waseasy for me to stay in school,
you know, becoming a tutor, likebeing teacher assistant, and
just earning money right away.
And I want to have my ownsaving. Be ahead of time
already. So it wasn't like megetting thown into an issue.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:44):
Right.
Thao Truong (05:45):
I just like here,
like, I thought I'd be strong up
and like,
Jerri Hemsworth (05:48):
Sure.
Thao Truong (05:48):
really be serious
here with earning money.
Jerri Hemsworth (05:50):
Sure.
Thao Truong (05:51):
And deciding on
what I want to do for my life.
So two years after my my brotheralso got accepted for UC Davis
here.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:00):
Oh, sure.
Thao Truong (06:02):
With a full
scholarship. Yes. But he at the
time, we didn't have money toeven afford a flight ticket for
him. Oh, he never come.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:12):
Oh, no.
Thao Truong (06:13):
Yeah, yeah. But I
mean, like, I still consider
myself as being very lucky
Jerri Hemsworth (06:17):
Sure.
Thao Truong (06:18):
for having the
opportunity and being here and
right, like making a differencefor my family. So.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:24):
So you were
when you left England, and you
were here. Were you east coast,west coast.
Thao Truong (06:31):
Seattle,
Jerri Hemsworth (06:32):
Seattle. You
were a West Coast girl.
Thao Truong (06:35):
Yes. Wow.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:37):
And then fast
forward, you decide. Okay, I
need to go to university.
Thao Truong (06:43):
Yeah, so actually,
it was Community College first,
because I'm like, I don't havetime to finish high school. I
gotta finish as soon aspossible.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:49):
Sure.
Thao Truong (06:49):
So Community
College was the place where I
can earn both high schooldiploma and college credits.
Jerri Hemsworth (06:58):
Yeah.
Concurrent. Yeah. Just runningat the same time.
Thao Truong (07:01):
Exactly. So yeah,
graduated from community college
and then applied for you know,the last two years of college
and I got accepted to Universityof New Hampshire. And my husband
at the time, we are divorcednow. But my husband at a time,
but he was looking for a job.
Right after school as well. AndNew Hampshire was the only state
accept both of us. And I neverseen so much snow before.
(07:23):
Seattle was kind of disappointedto me because I didn't see as
much snow as I hoped.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:29):
Yes. So Seattle
is very wet and rainy.
Thao Truong (07:33):
Exactly. So I got
to see real snow now.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:36):
Let's go and
surprise New Hampshire. And what
was that experience? Like?
Thao Truong (07:40):
Yeah oh gosh, the
first memory of New Hampshire is
getting out the airport. Our carwas dead.
Jerri Hemsworth (07:49):
Oh,
Thao Truong (07:49):
and it was parked
at the airport. We have to wait
for two hours for someone tocome so that we can check the
car. And started and my hand. Imean, I was dressed very warm.
But my hand I didn't know howcold it was, as I remember, it
was all cracked up. And like,just within the two hours you
already know that like, yourlike your skin is like
Jerri Hemsworth (08:11):
Frostbite.
Thao Truong (08:12):
Exactly, exactly.
Wow. So yeah, it's fun. It'slike, was so beautiful. Yes. I
would love to come back andvisit it. But living there
again, um, like in California isdefinitely a better place.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:26):
Not, not in the
winter?
Thao Truong (08:28):
No.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:29):
What was your
degree and major?
Thao Truong (08:33):
I majored in
Business Administration, with
finance focus. And then I alsohave a minor in Economics,
International Economics.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:42):
Did you know at
that time you wanted to go into
something finance financial?
Thao Truong (08:46):
No, I had always
wanted to become a doctor.
Jerri Hemsworth (08:48):
Doctor.
Thao Truong (08:49):
Yeah. Okay. And
finance was because my family
situation
Jerri Hemsworth (08:54):
yes.
Thao Truong (08:54):
And
Jerri Hemsworth (08:55):
you probably
have that voice in your head.
Thao Truong (08:57):
Right
Jerri Hemsworth (08:58):
Money. I have
to make money out
Thao Truong (08:59):
Yes, exactly.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:00):
Understand it.
Work with.
Thao Truong (09:02):
like trying to
understand how to become a
financial advisor. I mean, Ididn't even know what is a
financial advisor. Right. Like,there's a program for it. So I
thought that I have to become afinancial analyst, you know,
studying companies studyingstocks, and what type of
companies build up my experienceenough so that I can eventually
become an advisor.
Jerri Hemsworth (09:22):
Gotcha.
Thao Truong (09:23):
Little did I know
that studying company stocks
versus studying people personalfinance is very different.
Because stock is just part oflike a small, small tools that
you use to help people you know,worth their money. And also back
in the day, I thought that worthinvesting in stocks, I can
(09:43):
quickly become a millionaire atage 18. And, you know,
Jerri Hemsworth (09:47):
it sounds like
we all think
Thao Truong (09:49):
It was short term
thinking and I thought that
like, you know, stock market canbe a quick fix for myself. Yeah,
but the more I learned about it,the more I know that no, I gotta
shift my mind. Okay, so I've gotto shift my mindset between
short term to long term, becauseif it's just short term, it's
not gonna work. And I just likebasically gambling out all my
money all the money that Iearned, I earned so hard.
Jerri Hemsworth (10:11):
Yeah so and
that's a frightening situation.
Yeah. So you make your way yougraduate and you make your way
to San Francisco.
Thao Truong (10:19):
Right so it wasn't
a disappointment that I didn't
get a good job at, you know,the, one of the big Wall Street
firms. And I thought it was avery lucky thing also, because
instead of that, I landed a jobat a well as a very well known
wealth management firm in SanFrancisco. And I didn't know
(10:41):
what wealth management means atthat time, like English was my
second language. I didn't reallyhave any good mentors. And then
every school like everybody inthe East Coast, they are so
focused, you know, in corporatefinance, institutional finance,
and like financial analysts, solike, hardcore number, right.
It's nothing about personal andplanning for generational
(11:03):
wealth, wealth transfer, and youknow, nothing about that. Right.
So I didn't know like, I landeda job there. But I didn't know
this is exactly what I wanted todo. What my future.
Jerri Hemsworth (11:13):
That was lucky.
Thao Truong (11:13):
Yeah, it was, I
think the courage chose me. You
know.
Jerri Hemsworth (11:18):
there are no
mistakes. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. And
then you make your way down toSan Diego.
Thao Truong (11:23):
Right, right. So
while I was living in San
Francisco, my husband, and hehad a job in LA, okay, in right
here. So we just like commutingback and forth, back and forth a
few times a month. Sure. Andthen we're, like, too tired of
this, he can move to SanFrancisco because of, you know,
union. And like all the stuffthat's going on in his career at
(11:44):
It's nice down there too.
that time. And then I cannot,you know, move down to LA and
we're like, what else can wemove to, and we can afford a
house and finally settle down.
And then we remembered that hisfamily's actually from San
Diego, so why not move back tobe closer to his family. That
way, he can also take care ofhis family and we can buy a
house and, you know, plan forkids and what so...
(12:09):
It's beautiful.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:10):
Yeah.
Thao Truong (12:10):
Yeah. It's funny,
because when I first come to the
Jerri Hemsworth (12:10):
Yeah.
Thao Truong (12:10):
Beautiful.
States, I don't want to beassociated with the Vietnamese
community, because I want to besubmerged in and become as
Americanized as possible. Butthen I'm like, that's such a
mistake. Like, I would never belike, fully Americanized. And
(12:30):
like, that's part of me thatlike, I should embrace more.
Jerri Hemsworth (12:34):
But doesn't
that come with with, you know,
as we age, and we get withwisdom, I think as young,
younger adults, we're like, oh,break away and make my own way.
And leave this behind. And thisis what I want to do. And then
as we age, we go, Oh, that's notso bad over where I was with
this.
Thao Truong (12:52):
Yeah. So much
support, like, you know, like,
the community is verysupportive. And like, there are
so many Vietnamese people outthere that need help with
financial advising.
Jerri Hemsworth (13:02):
I bet
Thao Truong (13:02):
But, don't have
anywhere to go because they
don't speak fluent English. Orif they do, they don't have
enough knowledge about financialterm to really speak to anyone.
So I mean, the more that Iembrace my background,
Vietnamese, I mean, yes. Like,there's so much opportunity,
right, so much that I can helpto the community. So
Jerri Hemsworth (13:22):
That's, I think
that's actually really
brilliant. In in, as I said,there's, there's no mistakes as
you as you mentioned, the careerkind of chose you, but it's what
you found is makes your soulsing. And you focus on women in
transition. Why? Why do you dothat?
Thao Truong (13:41):
I mean, being
through bankruptcy, come here,
Jerri Hemsworth (13:41):
Of course,
and becoming financially
independent at very young age,went through a divorce. I feel
like I've been through so manychanges in my life. And as I was
going through it, the process
Thao Truong (13:57):
and emotionally
chaotic, right. So if they have
itself, I feel very lonely. Andit was very sad. I'm like this
for guilt and shame and all thenegative emotion. Sure. But now
as I go through it, I look backand I'm, like, you know,
essentially was very, verytransformational for me. So for
(14:17):
me, I had always been in lovewith the wealth management
someone who can be there forthem, guiding them through, yes,
industry, but I didn't feel sofulfilling until after my
divorce, which is when Irealized that I have so much
power and I have so much that Ican provide an offer to the
world and helping these peoplewho may be you know, going
through the same process. Youknow, just the fact that people
(14:40):
can go through these feel thisfeeling of guilt and shame. They
feel very lonely,it means the world. And, you
know, I want people tounderstand that you life changes
is very inevitable. You canavoid it, it will always happen.
Jerri Hemsworth (15:04):
And it's scary
as heck. And I think if you've
got a friend that can walkthrough it with you,
Thao Truong (15:09):
Right.
Jerri Hemsworth (15:11):
I understand
what you're saying, when I was
18, my family went through aforeclosure, we lost our house.
And we were literally homelessfor six months.
Thao Truong (15:24):
Oh, no.
Jerri Hemsworth (15:24):
And we lived
with our neighbor. And she was
kind enough to take in myparents and my brother and I,
and I was miserable at the time,I thought, how could this happen
to my family? So I understand alot of what you're talking
about. But from that moment andon, I was driven to not let that
(15:46):
happen to me. On the flip side,I learned it doesn't kill you.
Thao Truong (15:52):
It will make you
stronger.
Jerri Hemsworth (15:53):
It makes you
stronger.
Thao Truong (15:54):
Exactly.
Jerri Hemsworth (15:55):
That those are
all incredible learning
experiences that allow you tonow walk through those
situations with somebody that'sin the middle of it. And they
have a friend because they knowthat you've been there. Right.
And you're that hope and keepingthem afloat. You know.
Thao Truong (16:15):
right.
Jerri Hemsworth (16:16):
is so
important.
Thao Truong (16:17):
Yeah. A lot of time
when they going through these
changes, the shutdown a wall.
Yes. between themselves and theoutside world. Yes. Right. And
it can be very scary,So many friends
that like after the events would
Jerri Hemsworth (16:27):
Very scary.
even tell me that, like, I wasso scared. I don't think I will
be able to make it without myhusband. You know, life has shut
down now like the world hate me.
Yes. But honestly, speaking,like, it's a much battle world
afterwards. Yeah, you know I amnot supporting divorces, that's
a personal decision foreveryone. But I want people to
(16:49):
understand that changes willhappen, but you have to embrace
it. So that it can because thiscan be a very transformational
events, you learn so much moreabout yourself, you learn so
much more about everything else,in the world around you. And
then at the end of the day,there's always a light at the
end of the tunnel.
Yes.
Thao Truong (17:09):
So I think that's
transformational things that,
like I'm looking at is somethingthat gives me strength and
motivation every day and right.
And it makes me love my job somuch.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:20):
I can I can
imagine it's, it's, it's very
empowering. When you know, youcan help somebody that's in that
scary, scary situation. Andthere, you can tell when
somebody's being ruled by fear.
And it's okay to say, Hey, I, Iunderstand what you're going
through.
Thao Truong (17:40):
Right.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:41):
And you'll make
this through and I'm here to
help. Right? And that's a verywonderful place to be and to be
able to help like that. Yeah.
Thao Truong (17:50):
Or sometimes just
being there as a, you know, just
to provide the ears, you know,to be a listener, and no
judgement, nothing. No, that isvery, very important as well.
Jerri Hemsworth (17:59):
And I think
also, I've had a number of
conversations with other women.
We didn't grow up with financialliteracy. Now, I think they are
I think we were talking thatsome of the high schools in LA
are including financialliteracy, a class or something,
Thao Truong (18:20):
Finally.
Jerri Hemsworth (18:20):
But Yeah,
finally, hello, welcome. 2024.
You know, we didn't grow up withI mean, we knew what a bank
account was a checking accountand a savings account. That was
it. And we were taughtspecially, any of us in our 50s
and 60s, we were taught Okay,marry well. Yeah, seriously,
(18:44):
marry well, or marry somebody ofmeans who can at least, you
know, you can retire with andyou can live with them. And, and
I, I never bought into that,
Thao Truong (18:58):
yeah, you're such a
strong woman yourself.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:00):
I just, I just
thought no, I can't. What's
wrong with just being me andbeing able to support me and
have the means or the skills?
And I think that's a I think noweven as you know, the 20
Somethings and 30 Somethings,and they still don't a lot of
women don't have financialliteracy. Yeah.
Thao Truong (19:23):
You know, and also
because of that, I mean, the
idea ideology of like a perfectmarriage too. A lot of women as
they go through these divorces,there's a big sense, there's a
big loss of identity, becausetheir whole identity is tied to
the family, the kids, thehusband, and then now without
their husband or say, yes, soit's heartbroken.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:47):
Sure.
Thao Truong (19:48):
You know.
Jerri Hemsworth (19:48):
I always
thought of you know, previous
relationships and when I was ateenager and how my life
revolved around them. The theguy I, the the other person. And
I remember after my lastbreakup, and I thought, No, I'm
(20:10):
not going to do that anymore. Idon't know how I thought this it
22/23 And I thought no, the nextperson I date. I want us to go
around that together. I don'twant my life to revolve around
him. And I don't want his lifeto revolve around me.
Thao Truong (20:30):
It gets so boring.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:32):
Oh, Right!
Thao Truong (20:32):
If that's the case.
Yeah.
Jerri Hemsworth (20:35):
Yikes. You
know, what stories do you have
to tell each other. So, it justso happened that I had already
met Brian. And I already knew hewas a great friend at the time.
And I already knew that ourlives would complement each
other. And neither one of usever had a life where I revolve
(20:59):
around him or he revolves aroundme. And I think there's a lot of
women out there where? Yeah,their life revolves around their
partner.
Thao Truong (21:08):
Right. Right.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:09):
And they've
either didn't know that they
don't have to, or they didn'thave a choice.
Thao Truong (21:16):
Yeah. So I mean,
that's why it's so important for
me, you know, in my practice,and also with other Morton
advisors too, we try to involvethe other spouse as much as
possible. Sure, because, youknow, not all women are like
that. But it's very easy thatyou can observe in a client
meeting that, you know, thehusband make most investment
(21:38):
decision, even though the womanis the one who take care of the
daily expenses, you know, cashin cash out. But she doesn't
care about a big financialplanning decisions. And she's
like, whatever my husband wants.
Jerri Hemsworth (21:52):
Right.
Thao Truong (21:52):
And from time to
time, like, the husband will
walk out the room, and she'd beasking me like, hey, Tao, I have
a very embarrassing question toask, can you explain that for me
again? Sure. I'm like, ofcourse, I would love for you to
understand every single details.
And, you know, if you don'tunderstand anything, please
always, always, always feel freeto stop me in the middle and go
through this together. And thenthat's also the reason why,
(22:16):
like, at Morton, we createdHerself, and is not a service
offering, it's actually acommunity things that we have to
bring and provide to a woman outthere to help support them, you
know, the money decision,anything related to money, so
that they can feel moreempowered and more confident in
the decision making process.
Jerri Hemsworth (22:39):
I I've been to
one or two of the Herself
events. And what I love aboutit, is you really walk into a
room that is warm and welcoming.
There's, I've done a lot ofnetworking. And you know, when
you walk in the room, what thevibe is, and you know, whether
it's work, it's going to be workor not. And it's not with at the
(23:04):
Herself events. And I alwaysfelt there's no stupid
questions. It's it. Hey, what isa CD? What is what is this?
Explain this to me. My you know,and it's very warm and welcoming
and educational. Yeah. And youhave women in that room from all
(23:24):
walks of life.
Thao Truong (23:28):
Exactly.
Jerri Hemsworth (23:29):
All ages, all
different nationalities. It was
wonderful to see.
Thao Truong (23:35):
Yeah, yeah. And
these women are so thriving and
they want to become better. Yes,they want to learn, they want to
be supporting to each other,they want to see each other
grow. They are so supportive toeach other. It is such a
community sense out. And youknow, we see some clients,
they're better, they invitingtheir friends, their friends,
(23:57):
inviting other people. So it'sbecoming the community that we
were hoping to see.
Jerri Hemsworth (24:02):
Right.
Thao Truong (24:02):
So it's evolving
and really love it.
Jerri Hemsworth (24:06):
Yeah. And it
doesn't always revolve around,
you know, investments.
Thao Truong (24:09):
No, no, no.
Jerri Hemsworth (24:11):
It's very all
encompassing.
Thao Truong (24:13):
Right. So the last
event that we have, we had at a
Four Season. And it was aboutself defense. It was about
health balance, you know, likeyour wellness, right? It's about
what it was some discussionabout, you know, a couple of
finances like how do youcommunicate finance with your
(24:34):
spouse, or loved one. but yeah,I mean, like, we talk about all
kinds of things, and there was ayoga and meditation as well. So
it's really up to the womanthere what they interested to
see. We make it about them.
Jerri Hemsworth (24:48):
I think it's
fabulous. Tao thank you so much
for sitting with me today. Ijust love your story. And I'm
really honored to have you in myworld. And I really appreciate
you.
Thao Truong (25:00):
Thank you. Thank
you so much for having me and be
authentics and leaning in andshare your story as well.
Jerri Hemsworth (25:07):
You never know
what's gonna come out.
Announcer (25:12):
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