Abigail Gage spent her first 16 years out of college in marketing and sales. First, she worked for a wholesale tour company as director of sales, then she was an account executive with a marketing firm specializing in point of sale merchandising. But, thanks to her husband’s job, the family had to move frequently, and Gage eventually decided to stay home with their two children, who are now 17 and 20 years old.

After the family moved from Bloomington, Indiana, to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, and her youngest child was entering first grade, Gage figured it was a good time to return to the workforce.

But what to do? A neighbor who was an executive at Merrill Lynch suggested Gage consider financial services. The proposal sounded intriguing. So, Gage went for an interview and was hired as a trainee.

It was an exciting opportunity—but tough going, at first. “I had no financial experience,” she says. “This was totally new territory.” Thanks to her sales background, however, Gage was able to build a solid book of business, largely through seminars held twice a month aimed at retirees and women.

Assuming New Roles

Four years later, the family moved to Chicago. Gage gave up her practice, knowing she’d have to start building up a client base from scratch. In short order, she got a job with a team at Graystone Consulting which is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. With approximately $2 billion in assets, the team works with hospitals, corporate pension funds, insurance companies, non profits, and other institutions.

The group had an immediate need for a Group Administrator, so Gage started out in that role, but then entered a Financial Advisor training program after about 2 years on the team. “We saw it as a good way for me to evolve into a partnership role with the group,” she says.

Gage is now an Associate Vice President and Financial Advisor with the team. But rather than handle client investments, she took over marketing and new business development. Now she works behind-the-scenes to arrange speaking engagements and other opportunities for her two partners, as well as organizing client events and heading a client-service team.  “We decided my skill set was much better suited to that side of the business than the selection of money managers and alternative investments and long term investment solutions,” she says. “And it’s perfect for me.”

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 © 2010 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.  Member SIPC.  Graystone Consulting is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.