Troy A. Mooyoung is a Senior Vice President, Branch Manager of the LaSalle Street office in Chicago, IL. He works closely with the Chicago Regional Management team to recruit and develop new Financial Advisors and maintain Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's commitment to diversity. Previously, Troy was the Regional Business Development Manager based in Chicago where he supervised a team of Complex Business Development Officers.

Mooyoung started out as an intern at Dean Witter in 1994, and swiftly rose to become a Financial Advisor, winning the firm’s National Sales Director Award in 1995. After a hiatus from Dean Witter in 1997, he returned in 2004 to what was then Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

How has the industry changed since you started out?
When I built my business, I had two phones, and I was just cold-calling wealthy individuals and opening accounts on single positions. But with caller ID, the internet, the business has become more relationship-based.

Has your approach changed along the way?
At Dean Witter I went after vertical markets, working with executives from major corporations, and later with physicians and attorneys. When I had the opportunity to come back to Morgan Stanley that's one of the things I taught new Financial Advisors: rather than trying to market horizontally and be all things to all people, it's more impactful to select several vertical markets and be able to go deep.

Why is diversity important?
I can personally identify with diversity because I'm diverse; my mom is Black, and my dad is Jamaican and Chinese. Diversity makes sense from a business standpoint because in order to be the best, you need to have different perspectives on a particular situation or issue. When you have people who come from the same perspective, you may get a limited view, whereas if you have individuals with varied backgrounds, they're each going to relate to the situation differently and that's going to help you collaborate and find the best possible solution.

How have attitudes toward diversity changed?
When I first got in the business I think it was perceived as more of an obligation. But as corporate America started that search for diverse talent, what they've found is that there's quality talent on the street. That has led to people being more receptive to working with people who don't necessarily look like them. Today, what makes us different is an asset.

Do female Financial Advisors face particular challenges?
I've hired female Financial Advisors who've made the same mistakes as male Financial Advisors. One in particular, she called the prospect and the wife answered and she asked to speak to the husband. She told me later, "At my house my husband does take care of the finances." I said, "You can't project that onto someone else." If the wife answers the phone, you should talk to the wife: if she doesn't want to talk about finances, she'll let you know. But if she does want to, she's going to appreciate the fact that you didn't assume that her spouse made all the buying decisions.

How do you support women Financial Advisors in your region?
We have identified a group of 15 to 20 women members of our President's Club, our Chairman's Club, and our Director's Club--what we call Pacesetters--and we get together with this group on a quarterly basis. About a month ago, we met with them off-site. It was an opportunity for the women at two firms, legacy Morgan Stanley and legacy Smith Barney, to share ideas. We had a speaker come in to discuss branding, and we also talked about current business opportunities, like the ROTH IRA. It was all very interactive and social. Next quarter, we'll get them together with women who aspire to their level to talk about opportunities where they may be able to work together.

Is this a way to foster mentoring?
It's selective rather than forced, but it's an opportunity for people to gravitate towards one another.

Have you created any other events geared specifically to women?
As a byproduct of that meeting, we worked with Caroline Gundeck and Sandra Richards of our Business Development office to set up some events with Sheila C. Johnson, the first female African American billionaire. She and her husband sold Black Entertainment Television to Viacom for about 3 billion dollars, and she has since grown her portion of the proceeds into Salamander Hospitality, a company that owns several resorts. So our Pacesetters were asked to bring in a top client or top prospect to a private lunch with a billionaire. It went over very well.

What has come out of these events so far?
We have a number of Financial Advisors who are branding themselves. We have a number of Financial Advisors who look like they're going to do some new business as a result of the Sheila Johnson event. And we have Financial Advisors who are talking to each other on a regular basis.

What sort of advice do you have for new Financial Advisors?
It's important that you identify no more than five vertical markets that you want to go after, and you want to be specific. If you are going to go after physicians, I would say, "I'm going to go after female OB-GYN doctors between the ages of 35 and 65. The 35-year-old has been out of medical school for 7 or 8 years, but the 65-year-old has been at it for longer and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. So I would ask the 65-year-old for her advice for someone starting out today. Then, when I'm talking to the 35-year-old, I can give her some of those pearls of wisdom. So now I'm seen as a resource not only financially but on other issues in the industry.

What is your advice for new female Financial Advisors specifically?
My advice to women would be the same that I would make to any of the other diverse groups: we have to recognize our differences, celebrate our differences, and understand that different doesn't mean deficient.

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