For Net Worth Asset Management in Lansdale, PA, becoming a NAIFA 100% Agency was not a hard decision. “You put up or shut up,” said Managing Partner Drew Shumski, LUTCF, RFC, MDRT, a loyal member since 1998. And being a NAIFA member is how advisors show their professionalism and dedication to their business and clients.
| Drew Shumshi |
When Shumski transitioned out of the U.S. Army and began his career as a financial professional, a manager told him he had to join NAIFA. It wasn’t an option.
“And you know what? I’m glad he did,” Shumski said. “I tell people if you want to be successful you have to be part of your professional association, and NAIFA is the only association that is agent and advisor-oriented.”
It’s a tradition that Shumski continues with his team. As a NAIFA 100% Agency, everyone at Net Worth Asset Management is an active and engaged NAIFA member, including the licensed administrative staff.
“They help keep you informed, and they might get something from NAIFA that you don’t,” Shumski said. “Being a NAIFA 100% Agency means having everyone involved. I give a lot of power to my team, and they will sometimes have a different perspective than I do, and that’s why it’s important for them to be NAIFA members also.”
NAIFA membership at the practice even extends to Seamus L. Shumski, the firm’s Vice President of Greetings and Emotional Support. Seamus, a loyal NAIFA member since 2020, is Drew Shumski’s Wheaten Terrier and an ever-present part of the team at Net Worth Asset Management. Shumski notes that conversations about estate planning, elder and special needs, and confronting financial risks often make people uncomfortable and can become very emotional.
Seamus greets everyone who enters the office and puts people at ease, Shumski said, and he has been a particular help with some families with children who have special needs. You can read more about Seamus and the roles dogs play in insurance and financial services practices in the Summer 2021 issue of Advisor Today.
Net Worth Asset Management serves the financial needs of a wide range of professionals, families, and retirees, many of whom are self-employed or work for locally based defense contractors. In addition to financial planning, Shumski and his team offer legal services through elder-law and tax attorneys who are associated with the firm.
“My clients are everyday people from CEOs to janitors,” Shumski explained. “When the CEO says help my people, I’m not going to tell the CEO, no I’m not going to help your people because they’re out of profile.”
For Shumski, helping people and getting good results for clients he has established long-standing relationships with keeps him motivated. They make his business fun, he said. He and his team truly get to know their clients to help those clients make informed financial decisions. The firm exists, he said, to deliver the best service and best planning possible.
“Out of all of NAIFA, I’m probably the worst sales guy ever,” he said. “But we’ll do the research, do our due diligence, and get as much information as we can” to create the right solution for our clients. “There is a trust factor that creates relationships with our clients that is number one with our firm.”
It’s a guiding principle Shumski instills in his team. Successful advisors, like the ones at Net Worth Asset Management, are leaders and are always looking out for their clients’ interests.
“I’m looking for someone who can lead and who cares for other people,” Shumski said. “I don’t want a salesperson; I want a leader. We don’t want to be selling a product. I want someone to lead a client through our process and the process will dictate what happens next.”
Shumski is quick to acknowledge that NAIFA has been an important ingredient in his success. Networking is key. He enjoys sharing ideas with professionals outside his own firm, and NAIFA provides the framework, events, and connectivity that allow him to do that.
“There have been a couple of great ideas I’ve gotten from NAIFA members that have literally put an extra zero at the end of my paycheck,” Shumski said. “I’ve gotten great management ideas, sales practices, referral and prospecting ideas, and you never know when you’re going to get that one great idea.”
NAIFA’s government relations work is also a prime benefit. Through NAIFA, Shumski has become a political advocate on behalf of his business and clients, attending NAIFA-Pennsylvania days on the Hill and other events. The legislators of both parties he has met with have been very open to hearing Shumski’s and NAIFA’s messages. They find value in the personal connections insurance and financial professionals have with everyday Americans and advisors’ understanding of people’s financial concerns.
Shumski explained, “I told one representative, ‘The people you call constituents, I call neighbors and friends. Those are my clients and what you do impacts them, so that’s why I want to give you the best information so you can make decisions that help my neighbors and friends.’”
The knowledge he gains from his political engagement is important when working with clients. “I sometimes say, ‘We’ve got to have some flexibility in your plan, because this bill might happen or this law might happen, so we have to keep that in mind and prepare for it,’” he said.
It all comes back to serving clients and helping them succeed.
Thank you to Net Worth Financial Management and Drew Shumski for supporting your professional association as a NAIFA 100% Agency. We are #NAIFArpoud that you’ve chosen to “put up” rather than “shut up”!