Talk to Wendy Murphy for five minutes, and it's hard not to feel inspired. She became a Financial Advisor a little over four years ago. After a career in Financial Services in her twenties, she lived many lives--wife, mother, small-business owner, and executive-level volunteer. Then, she realized she had found her calling: helping women focus on becoming financially empowered. Today, she and her husband, Richard, run the Murphy Group at the Shrewsbury, N. J., branch of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

How did you start out in the business?

I was an English major and Women's Studies minor at Skidmore and I wrote my senior thesis on women and their independence. I graduated in 1983 thinking I was going to go into broadcast journalism. But due to the recession, I couldn't get a job. My father and stepfather were in the financial services business, so I had some interviews and I got hired immediately for Bache Halsey Stuart Shields in Boston, which later became Prudential Securities.

What was the job?

I was hired as a sales assistant. Then after a few weeks, the Branch Manager offered me a position as his assistant and I got registered. Then he became the Regional Director and we literally created a new regional office. I had so much freedom to grow into the position and he was a great mentor. As I learned the business, I just loved it. I never turned back.

What did you love about it?

In this business you have your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the world. And I love that--I like to be right in the center of the action, similar to what broadcast journalism would have been.

So why did you leave?

I was having my first child, and I knew I didn't want to be in a 55+-hour a week job with a newborn at home. I thought I had left the business for good, and a year later, my husband, Richard, was offered a big job in New York. So we moved to New Jersey and people started asking me to decorate their homes. I said, "I worked in Financial Services--I'm not an interior designer!" But people kept asking so finally I said, "What the heck." I took an interior design course, wrote a business plan and started a business.

How on earth did that happen?

We would have playgroup at my house. I guess people liked the way my house looked!

You're also very involved with charities--how did that come about?

When you're home with children, you just get asked to run things. I've been a Boy Scout troop co-leader, the superintendent of our church school, and the chair of the art appreciation program at both of my children's schools. I was on the board of the Monmouth Museum, and then I chaired an event for the Monmouth County Historical Association that raised money for educational programs.

The biggest charity, in which my family and I have been involved for fifteen years, is called Holiday Express. They visit more than 50 soup kitchens, homeless shelters and other institutions every year between November and the end of December bringing their unique brand of music, food, presents, and pure joy to people who need the gift of human kindness. I started by volunteering to get cosmetic samples for the gift bags. When I couldn't get enough at the local mall, I called Elizabeth Arden and asked them for samples directly. The woman called me back and said, "We love the sound of your organization, so we're going to give you a $50,000 cash donation and $40,000 worth of product. Five minutes later, the founder of Holiday Express called me and said, "You're head of corporate contributions."

So how did you end up coming back into the business?

It all started with 9/11. I had just turned forty, and I decided that I was going to spend the year figuring out how to put my various experiences together, because I wanted to go back to work full-time and have a really meaningful career. A few days later, 9/11 happened. My husband was working on Wall Street, and he came home with a group of people from the office that were stranded and they were all covered in this white ash. I really felt for the women whose husbands didn't make it home. Our county was one of the hardest-hit in the country.

I can see that that would make for a life-changing experience.

Yes. Immediately after 9/11, I got involved in three different charitable events for the 9/11 families. And then my husband, who had been a portfolio manager at Brown Brothers Harriman, decided to transition over to the retail side of the business and moved to Smith Barney in Shrewsbury, five miles away from our house. He was working fourteen-hour days, seven days a week, so I came into the office and helped him out.

What made you become a Financial Advisor?

There was a team trainer at our firm who has an incredible life's journey that she shares in her meetings. When I heard her story, it was like a bolt of lightning went through me. All the things that I had witnessed in my community after 9/11 and all the charitable and paid work that I had done, it all came together. I said, "I know what I'm supposed to do in the next phase of my life cycle: I'm supposed to help women and their families with their financial lives."

I didn't tell anybody this, but a few hours later the Branch Manager of our officer came over to me and said, "Wendy, I want you to go into the training program--I think you'd be a spectacular Financial Advisor."

When did you start?

I started in production in February of '06.

When did you go into partnership with your husband?

Until six months ago, we had separate practices. His background is impressive and I needed to prove that I could do it myself. Once that became evident we formed a group.

How is it being partners?

It’s fantastic. We complement each other, and are able to provide a high level of service to our clients.

Do you have different specializations?

We both have our Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) designations and we both do comprehensive financial planning for our clients. I do more of the insurance, annuities, and mutual funds. I'm also focused on women and their families, and do educational programs for them. Rich has been managing corporate and high net worth portfolios for twenty years, and thus he is the discretionary portfolio manager on our team.

It sounds as though everything you do has evolved quite naturally.

It really has. After my Branch Manager offered me that job, I spent the weekend writing my business plan. I really thought about what I felt compelled to do. It was all about focusing on helping women to make good financial decisions for themselves, so if at some point in the future they find themselves alone they are prepared.

I have never strayed from that business plan. This is the perfect business for me as I really feel I am utilizing all my skills and making a positive difference in my client’s lives.

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