Ruth E. Cardenas

Full transcript

0:00My name is Ruth Cardenas. I'm based in El Paso, Texas, and I graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in finance. I've been a financial advisor since March of 2015, so I'm coming up on 11 years serving clients.

0:15Today I manage about $30 million in assets, and my primary focus is working with Spanish-speaking families, business owners, and first-generation wealth builders who are truly looking for financial clarity. Not just investment management; comprehensive planning is what my team and I focus on. I really do enjoy building long-term relationships and helping families create structure and confidence around their financial future.

0:58Some advantages to working with an RIA like First Advisors National: definitely one of the biggest advantages I can point to has been autonomy. I've been able to build my practice in a way that aligns with my strengths and my vision.

1:17Compliance is structured, but it's not restrictive, if that makes any sense. It's there to protect the business and the clients, but it doesn't feel like it's constantly limiting my growth, which is really important to me. That balance truly has made a big difference in my day-to-day experience, and it has made my team's experience a lot more fluid and easier on a day-to-day basis.

1:48When running into problems or challenges working with FAN RIA, what I've noticed the most is that I'm treated like a person, not just a production number. Leadership is accessible, and it's responsive.

2:03I'll give you an example of what happened when I first joined FAN RIA. The merchant system that was in place for planning fees just wasn't built for the volume of transactions I had in my model. After testing it for a few months, I realized it just wasn't efficient for my practice. It wasn't working for myself or my team. So I brought that concern to the leadership team, and they helped me transition to a better system quickly. That kind of responsiveness really matters when you're growing, because in the past I've run into issues like this with other brokers, and it wasn't their concern. That's the biggest difference in working with an RIA.

2:53Now, when it comes to compliance, FAN Advisors' process is truly straightforward. It's clear, it's efficient, and it's quite honestly my favorite out of all the places I've worked in the past. There aren't unnecessary layers or duplicate processes, which drive us crazy as advisors. It doesn't consume a large amount of my time each month, which truly allows me to stay focused on clients and growth. Compared to the larger institutions I've experienced, it feels much more practical and easy.

3:41I would highly recommend FAN Advisors, and I already have, to advisors who are looking to transition and to people who are looking to start a new journey as a financial advisor helping families. I especially recommend it for people who want independence, for people who want growth. If you're looking for autonomy, competitive payouts, a cost-efficient platform, and leadership that actually supports innovation, it's a really strong environment for all of those things.

4:27Being in the business for 11 years, I can say this has been such a great experience for me. It's particularly ideal for advisors who want to scale without feeling restricted, and who want access to a collaborative advisor community. I know for a fact I don't want to work alone. I want to manage my own company, my own business, but having access to an advisor community that cares has been really helpful for me and my practice as well.

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