Employee Spotlight: Emily D., Group Vice President of Investment Counselors

What is your main responsibility as a Group Vice President (GVP) of Investment Counselors (IC)?

In my current role, I am responsible for growing a group of Investment Counselors to serve our growing client base. That involves hiring, training, and developing our ICs, but also looking for the next generation of Team Leaders. In my role, I am always looking for better ways to serve our clients and often collaborate with other GVPs to work towards that common goal.  I also have the opportunity to collaborate with employees globally which allows us to share ideas and improve our work.   

Fisher Investments is a company that is growing globally. How has Fisher’s growth impacted your own career growth?

There are many ways Fisher’s growth has impacted my own career growth. The most impactful way was in 2020 when I earned a promotion to Group Vice President of Investment Counselors and moved across the country to help open Fisher Investments’ office in Tampa, FL. Getting to be a part of this huge firm goal and helping lead employees onsite at this new location was incredible.

There is also a wealth of opportunity that exists working for a company that is growing so fast globally; some of the things that we may do professionally in the future may not even exist yet. We can work hard in our current job, learn new skills, and gain breadth and depth in certain areas, and in the future apply all these different experiences to continue to support the firm’s growth.

What excites you most about continuing your career at Fisher Investments?

What excites me the most as I look forward is that I know 5, 10, even 15 years from now, we're likely to be so much larger, more specialized, increasingly capable and have an even bigger presence than we do today in our market.  I think the ways that we will evolve along that path are going to be challenging, exciting, and a lot of fun.  I'm looking forward to working with a growing organization that's able to interact with so many more families in different parts of the US and globally.  We believe it will allow us to better the investment universe for so many more people.

What makes Fisher and the Investment Counselor role unique compared to others in the industry?

The Investment Counselor role at Fisher is unique in our industry because we focus on the counseling aspect of the role. We are really looking for people who enjoy building and nurturing relationships with their clients through education and establishing an emotional connection. This role is really fulfilling for people who love capital markets, investing, and current events, and want to understand and support the families they are helping. We're really educating clients and working to ensure they're comfortable, prepared, happy with the strategy, and able to be set up for success over time.

In my experience, Fisher enables and supports people to develop lifelong careers versus just having a job. I haven’t seen this elsewhere in my career which is something I believe makes Fisher unique. The firm focuses on learning and developing our employees. It's very possible to grow your career at Fisher over a long period of time.