Meet Nick Reilly, CFP®

An Early Passion Evolves
Growing up with a dad as a financial advisor, I was exposed to the world of investing at an earlier age than most. I would wake up early, walk into my parent’s room, and watch CNBC Opening Bell with my dad while he was getting suited up for work. I remember tracking my favorite company’s stock prices, excited to see if they were flashing “green” for the day.

I was taught early on that time is money, and that you should do what you do best and let others do the rest. Growing up, I was very analytical and enjoyed math and science in school. I remember seeing a poster early in school that read;

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” -Albert Einstein

This early lesson paved the way for my early passion in finance and numbers.

In addition to the lessons above, these classic books were recommended to me at a young age and shaped my view of money and success:

The Richest Man in Babylon: Key Lesson Learned: “Pay yourself first”. Pay yourself a minimum of 10% of what you earn, this is non-negotiable.

Think and Grow Rich: Key Lesson Learned: Success is a mindset and a repeatable process that can be learned. What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.

In high school, I had a deep passion for investing so I began reading everything I could get my hands on that would teach me all the investing techniques and strategies. I would later declare a finance major as soon as I enrolled in college. Looking back, I was that rare kid who knew exactly what he wanted to pursue. I even stopped playing baseball heading into high school so I could take up golf, figuring it would be more “useful” in the business world.

As a college student away from home, I was able to discover what truly energized me. I found that my passion was in helping others be successful and found that I was naturally energized through conversation with others. While I still had a tendency to be drawn to numbers and analytics, it wasn’t what truly motivated me to get out of bed in the morning.
After graduation, I decided to no longer pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation (a focus on technical investment skills and analysis) and pursue the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation instead (a focus on the creation and execution of personalized financial planning). That way I could use my background in finance to help others define what financial success means to them and help them implement a plan to achieve it.

Learning through Experience
After receiving the CFP® Certification, I gained experience in various parts of the financial advice industry and had multiple mentors, including my dad, who each opened my eyes to the best methods and practices. Along the way, I found that I loved helping people achieve their goals financially but found that there was no effective way to work with people who are in the “wealth-building” stage of their lives. I found that as a whole, the financial industry was incredibly slow to adopt technology that could enhance the financial planning experience and enable me to work with people my own age. If people didn’t have investable assets to manage, I couldn’t work with them. This “no money, no advice” mindset simply didn’t sit with me well.

My servicing role as a CFP® with a large family office in the Seattle area provided great experience working directly with successful people from various backgrounds. My passion for technology caused me to naturally take interest in the careers of clients I worked with who gained their success through the technology sector and venture capital landscape.

My obsession with the potential of technology grew to the point that I knew I had to make a move. I decided to leave the financial industry and learn firsthand about the technology that is changing how the world operates. This led me to start working at Tableau Software (NYSE: DATA), a company on a mission to help people better see and understand their data. To put this into context, think about how we live in a world today where every company and website is gathering massive amounts of data through devices (i.e. Fitbit, your car and appliances, etc.) and services (i.e. social media, email, web search, personal buying habits, etc.). Tableau helps individuals and businesses visualize all of this data so that they can execute and take action on the insight the data provides, helping them become more data-driven in their decision-making process. I find it pretty fitting that my career journey led me to a company that lives and breathes data. Guess it’s that analyst deep inside of me that wanted more attention.

After a couple of years at Tableau Software, and after they were purchased by Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), I made a move to Amazon Web Services (AWS)(NASDAQ: AMZN). At AWS, I served as an advisor and consultant to Financial Technology (FinTech) startups who were looking to expand and scale their cloud-based infrastructure. I provided strategic insight into expanding into new lines of business and product features that would lead to further growth and opportunities. The FinTech companies I advised on were largely involved in the cryptocurrency and digital banking space, along with payment processors and technology for financial services.

After some time, I felt that there was an even greater need to help people navigate and build wealth through this digital age, so I went full-time into One Day Advice. I still serve as a strategic advisor to some FinTech startups as I believe that the technology will be able to help me provide massive value and better serve our clients. I guess this can be added to the many reasons why I'm not your average financial advisor.

Since many can claim they understand the digital asset space, I felt that I could provide additional value to my clients through deeper understanding of cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, and decentralized finance (DeFi). I'm proud to say that I am a Certified Digital Asset Advisor (CDAA) and enjoy helping our clients navigate this high-growth/high-potential space.

One Day Advice is Founded
Waking up and having conversations every day with other technology companies trying to “make the world a better place” had opened my mind to a world of possibilities. Because of this, I had further grown to see the potential that technology could bring to personalized financial planning. This led me to start One Day Advice in 2018. My goal was to “partner” with the cutting-edge technology that exists today and let it enhance my ability to extend financial advice to a generation that is most often being ignored. While I do have a passion for technology, I believe that people still want a human touch. At One Day Advice, we are looking to enhance the human touch with the help of technology. That way we can provide better solutions and services to more people.

To illustrate this, I often describe the analogy of Tony Stark stepping into the Iron Man suit. By himself, Tony is a smart and successful individual. But when he steps into his enhanced suit of armor, he becomes Iron Man. That’s the exact role that I believe technology can play in our lives, if we harness it correctly.

Our Attention and Focus are Always Around You
Well before the world experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, I noticed how inconvenient it was for many in the early stage or peak of their careers, to get away from work and meet with their financial planner at the advisor’s office. Since most of our clients work full-time in their respective careers, the last thing they feel like taking PTO for is to fight traffic and find parking to meet with their financial planner. That is why I figured it would be best to provide them with flexible hours and the option to get together virtually or in-person. That way they can crush their finances, continue to gain momentum in their careers, and spend more time doing the things they love with the people they love.

The above example is just one of the forward-thinking concepts within our industry that set us apart in our mission to always put our clients first. We also continually evaluate and implement technology offerings that will provide real-world value (and savings!) to our clients, far beyond just a modern experience. When new asset classes emerge, such as cryptocurrencies, we have sought to provide leading education so that our clients can make well-informed financial decisions.

We are wealth advisors armed with the necessary experience and curiosity to help our clients navigate their wealth through the digital age.

I look forward to the opportunity to grow with our clients, one day at a time.