How I Got Here: The Softer Side of Financial Planning

Financial planner Marguerita Cheng ’93 showed potential at the large firm where she started her career, but her sales manager had a concern. He pulled her aside and warned her about spending too much time listening to clients. “He led me to believe that being empathetic and patient was a liability,” says Cheng, the featured honoree at the Smith School’s sixth annual Women Leading Women forum on March 30, 2017. “I was devastated when he told me that I was a  lousy financial planner, yet I was the one who coached other advisors on things like options strategies.” Instead of changing her personality, Cheng pushed back and found success on her terms. She became president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area and then served on the Financial Planning Association National Board of Directors from 2013 to 2015. She now manages the wealth of individuals and families at her own firm, Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Rockville, Md. At least three principles have guided her career.

SOAR WITH YOUR STRENGTHS: Financial advice was undervalued when Cheng started her career. “People would give it away if you purchased a product from them,” she says. Cheng had a different vision. She wanted to deliver financial planning separate from asset management, which required her to listen to her clients so she could understand their goals on a deeper level. “I was a little ahead of the curve,” Cheng says. “I really believed that people valued objective advice on their terms, and the best way to deliver that was to be independent.” Her approach was unconventional at the time, but she quickly attracted an underserved clientele turned off by aggressive salespeople. She says the key was trusting her instincts and focusing on what she could do best — blend hard and soft skills in a way that her colleagues couldn’t or wouldn’t. “We’re taught to manage our weaknesses,” she says. “It’s important to be aware of them, but let’s soar with our strengths.”

BE FEARLESS: After months of preparation, Cheng and her study partners took the Certified Financial Planner exam in 2004. They failed, but Cheng went back and tried again — earning a passing score on her second attempt. “I failed once,” she says. “My friends failed twice because they never went back.” Among other things, the experience forced Cheng to sharpen her knowledge of the U.S. tax code, which is now one of her strengths. The experience also taught her an important lesson about taking risks and responding to adversity. “Be risk aware, not risk averse,” Cheng says. “Don’t let risk hold you back, and don’t take failure personally. Be fearless.”

THINK GLOBAL: Cheng never stayed in one place for long while growing up. She was born in New York to a Chinese father and U.S. mother. Then she moved with her family to the Netherlands,  then to Texas  and to Japan. Besides her Smith School finance degree, she also earned a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Language & Literature. “Growing up in different cultures, I was a global citizen before that phrase was even coined,” she says. Her background also trained her to see problems from multiple perspectives, which helps her show empathy and patience with her clients. “I can see the world through so many people’s lenses,” she says.