Words of Wisdom: How financial reporter Anora Gaudiano shifted careers to become a financial advisor

Narrator: Welcome to Great Aspirations, Wealthspire Advisors’ podcast series on life, wellness, and financial advice. Each episode shares the experiences of extraordinary people whose stories inspire others to think big, find balance, and explore the possibilities of achieving health, wealth, and happiness. And now here's your host, the CEO of Wealthspire Advisors, Michael LaMena. 

Michael LaMena: Great. Well, welcome to episode two of season one of Wealthspire Advisors podcast, Great Aspirations. For those who may not have tuned into our previous episode, season one of Great Aspirations is all about game changers, where we're featuring talented and accomplished women from Wealthspire who through their thoughts, actions, and leadership have truly changed the game. 

The stories of these amazing women that we're highlighting are compelling, textured, and thought-provoking, and they remind us to think big, act boldly, and be the change we want to see in our industry and more broadly in the world. Today, I'm honored to be joined by Anora Gaudiano, a fantastic, award-winning CFP-certified financial advisor who works out of Wealthspire's Midtown Manhattan office. While Anora may be based out of our Midtown New York office, her story starts a long way away from the financial mecca of New York City. Growing up in Uzbekistan, where Anora learned at a young age the importance of budgeting, saving, and purposely planning for the future. On the surface, Anora's journey has some significant twists and turns that seem to be the result of bold, dramatic decisions, but actually, upon further reflection, they really represent aspirational goals planted early in Anora's life that were cultivated and transformed through conviction, hard work, and a fearless spirit that transitioned those into reality through many years of hard work. 

After a childhood in Uzbekistan, Anora came to the U.S. as a college student, motivated to help others live meaningful lives through education and information. Interestingly, before joining Wealthspire and really embarking on a career as a financial advisor, Anora spent two decades as a reporter, with 10 years focused on the financial markets and investing for various publications. She worked at MarketWatch as a markets reporter covering global equity, fixed income, currency, and commodity markets. Before that, she was an equities reporter, online editor at Financial Times, splitting her time between writing a Daily Wall Street column, blogging, and managing content for FT's U.S. homepage. She also worked as a radio reporter for the BBC World Service. Anora, thank you for being here today. I'm really looking forward to our conversation. 

Anora Gaudiano: Thank you, and thank you for the kind words and introduction.

Michael LaMena: So let's dig into it. I kind of referenced in the preamble the interesting background, right? Not native to the U.S., grew up in Uzbekistan. Help me understand the journey. Take us back a little bit to the beginning and how ultimately that led you to take that big leap to come to the U.S. as a student and ultimately enter a career as a journalist and then transform into a financial advisor. Sure. 

Anora Gaudiano: So I grew up in Uzbekistan when it was still part of the Soviet Union. I'm a child of the 80s, and it was a great transition period for the country at the time in the late 80s. The Soviet Union fell apart in the 90s, and became independent. So all of that had changes for the country and for the entire population. I grew up bilingual speaking Russian and Uzbek because my parents sent me to a Russian school. 

At that time, even though it was the Soviet Union, the Iron Curtain was already somewhat down. We've been exposed to foreign countries, especially through bootleg films and TV series. That's what was my vision of America. I grew up watching this TV series called Santa Barbara. My view of America was based on that show. Of course, I read a lot of books and had this dream that this wonderful country where dreams come true. Back home, dreams didn't always come true, especially not for girls. That was the dream. 

I had a goal. At that age, probably some knew what to do, but the first thing was you had to speak English. I had to learn the language to pursue scholarships and to study abroad. 

Michael LaMena: To me, that's really interesting because people tend to think about dreams like these big, bold ideas or aspirations. But for you to be able to actually make that become a reality, it required numerous decisions, hard work, commitment, planning. 

I look at you now as a financial planner and we are in the business of working with clients, understanding their hopes, their dreams, their fears, and then putting in place plans. But something as simple as recognizing that you had to learn the language, to even position yourself to be in a place to earn scholarships, to potentially take that big leap to go halfway around the world, leave Asia, and end up in the US. Talk to me a little bit about that because it's really interesting to me that there's so many points where that aspiration that you were aiming for could have been derailed. You needed to methodically plan, stay disciplined, and execute numerous things to position yourself for these pivotal steps. 

Anora Gaudiano: So I was not the only person among my friends who wanted to leave the country. It was widely accepted to always complain about your current place and seek fortunes where the grass seems greener elsewhere. But there were options. We knew about the programs and it seemed at the time everybody, all of my friends were applying to these scholarships and grants to basically gain a ticket to the United States. And a lot of us did not really achieve that. In fact, I didn't achieve that the first time I applied. I did not get through my application. 

It was not selected. So that was the motivation to study harder. And the requirement of the language proficiency was on the top of this application, but it was also you had to get reference letters from professors to tell the programs that you are worthy. And that was something that as an 18-year-old you had to go and seek those out. It's not like colleges here where you have advisors who can kind of point you to the right in the right direction. My parents didn't even know about any of this because at the time they would not have approved. 

They would not let me go to America if they knew and if they had a say in it. So everything I did, I was self-motivated, I wanted to achieve that. I had a goal, there were days where my goal was to learn 20 new words every day for the next year, for example, to build up my vocabulary. And that paid off. 

In the end, I was successful. I got a scholarship which would pay for one entire year in the United States at the university. Give me a little stipend and that would be housed at a dormitory. So that seemed like such a luxury. Now looking back, I know it was not all that luxurious, but for someone like me, it was a free ticket, free meals, free housing. 

Plus you get to study and be in the thick of it. That was definitely a big dream come true. My parents now obviously think that that was the right decision. But when I told them that I got the scholarship, and at the time I had to get all of my ducks in a row, I got my scholarship. I had my passport. I had my visa. I had my ticket. So nobody could stop me in my mind. So when I told them, I said, this is it. I'm going whether you want it or not. They felt like they had no choice but to let me go. And they did. 

Michael LaMena: I mean, I'm sure that that conviction that you just articulated, all the seeds of that were all the work that you had done all along. The grit, the resolve, you know, dealing with failure and then having the commitment and the resolve to dig deeper. You know, I hear the conviction even now in your voice when you describe it. So take me back to that pivotal point. You've done all the hard work. 

You've now explained to your parents that you want to go halfway around the world to take advantage of this opportunity that you've been working largely, you know, behind the scenes, right, without full knowledge. Tell me about that decision. Was there any hesitation where you just all in the conviction was there and tell me about that actual leap? 

Anora Gaudiano: No, I had no hesitation that this was, it seemed to be my one and only chance and I was not going to give that up. In fact, in essence, it wasn't the only option. There were other programs and, you know, I was not selected by the other programs. In fact, in some places I was prevented from even participating because I was a girl. I was a woman. They decided that there was a program that was run by the UZME government. 

They decided they would only send, you know, guys and not the girls. So that actually made me even more motivated. I thought, you know what, I don't need the government support. 

I can get it on my own. So I, you know, was, you know, firmly, firmly convinced that I had to get out. I had to, I mean, when you're a teenager at the age of 18, 19, you think that you can conquer the world. And that helped. 

That definitely helped. I had no fear of something new, of being in a foreign country. My fear was of being left behind and facing a society that doesn't value you as much. So getting out the decision was far easier.

Michael LaMena: Thanks. Thank you for sharing that. Just really insightful to hear all the work that went into it. And as a result, the conviction you had the, you know, I think a lot of people would look at it and say it's just even, you know, I started to say such a dramatic leap, but it wasn't for you because so much had already been invested in the work and the journey to that point. I was actually struck when I was thinking about this, that, you know, Christopher Reeve has a quote, so many of our dreams at first seem impossible. Then they seem improbable. And then when we summon the will, they become inevitable. And it really feels to me like that's the journey that you went on. Probably seemed hard to reach, but through all that work and discipline, it was inevitable that you were going to go on that journey. So now take me, you're in the US, you're in college, you're studying, help me understand how that led to you becoming, you know, a journalist, a reporter in a language that wasn't your native language. I'd love to hear more about that. 

Anora Gaudiano: Yeah, thank you. That's a good question, because that was one of the challenges when I came here. You know, I mean, I was very proficient when I came to the university. I mean, I had to basically, you know, prove that I was proficient. I had, you know, went through different tests and passed them. And I was taking the classes. 

I was writing essays in English at that time, and I thought that I was getting good grades. But still, you know, knowing that you're competing with native speakers is challenging. You know, I always felt that I always thought that I was just not enough. I had to work harder, read more, write more to be able to catch up to that level. And, you know, it was not always easy. It wasn't always easy to get your essays corrected. But it's still, what I found out is that here you can work hard and achieve results. 

Obviously, I'm not just, you know, saying that that's the only thing you need. I had, I was privileged, despite my being here on my own. I was still very much privileged because I had the support of our program, the university. I had a lot of advisors at the university. I had a lot of friends who, maybe the same foreign students who've been here before me. So that felt as well as professors, that felt very much fortunate that I had all of that. 

And that helped. But nothing is easy in this life. And the more you struggle, the more you build up resilience, I guess. And I really just wanted to prove to myself and to the whole world that I can do this and that I write in English, that I can do it for a living. And when I did that, that felt good. And I thought, okay, now that I've ticked that off my list, maybe I can do something else. 

Michael LaMena: So tell me about that. So successful career, working at some of the most recognized publications in financial services. How did you make that decision to transition from that space into the world of being a financial advisor? 

Anora Gaudiano: So I guess I always liked giving advice. It came natural to me and people gravitated and always asked for advice, especially if I told them that I write about the stock market. People felt that I know things about stocks and that means that I know things about money and investing, which I did. That comes with the territory to be able to write about those things. 

You kind of need to know a lot of stuff about the state of financial markets, the global economy, and the rest of it. And that always felt great when people asked and I responded. And I became more and more interested in that business. I thought, this sounds like some people do it for a living. And it sounds great because you can actually give good advice and that changes people's lives or impacts it. Not necessarily changes dramatically, but it's a good decision compound. 

They become really, really great decisions in the end. I guess as a journalist, when we want to do something, we research it and I would gravitate toward financial advisors and sources. I would talk to them. 

I would attend all kinds of conferences and speak to them and find out whether I could do this in changed careers. And it turns out the answer was yes. You can put your mind to it. It's not as easy as just getting into the job and starting to do it. 

It involved getting more education, studying for the CFP courses. And that was the price to pay. So I thought it was very well worth it. I thought this was great. 

If I want to do this professionally and I want to be taken seriously as an advisor, I need to study more and get my designation, the CFP, and then I can actually become an advisor. 

Michael LaMena: You know what I love? There's such a parallel between some of the things early in your life when you were focused on positioning yourself to have the educational opportunity in the U.S. and what you just described, right? The seed of something that connected with you, the idea that you got some satisfaction out of somebody asking you a question and you being able to provide advice or an answer. But then all the things that you just described, the hard work, the education, the learning, the networking, exploring, I think that that's great advice for people that you can't just make that magical leap. It's a series of incremental steps that if you execute, position you to achieve that goal, but also the journey of knowledge and conviction, right? All along, you were convincing yourself that I absolutely want to do this. The deeper you dug, the more conviction you had. So by the time you got to that place where you're ready to say, I'm going to stop being a journalist, I'm going to start being a financial advisor, there was no doubt, correct?

Anora Gaudiano: Yeah, absolutely right. The more I thought about it, the more people I spoke to, the more I wanted to do it, which was great because again, I had no hesitation. Even though this didn't mean that I had to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, right? I wanted to do something which in my mind involved a lot more responsibility towards the people, towards people who work for. So that's, and that was not the case in my previous job, and you had stories to write. 

You have to be accurate and effective and provide a good copy, but you're not responsible to one specific client when you're giving very broad advice on paper. 

Michael LaMena: I think that was fantastic. And I hear how you navigated that change, right? To go from, okay, I'm really, I understand the industry, I'm knowledgeable, I'm able to craft a story and tell and communicate things. And I see that transferring, but you did have that leap to say, there is an incremental responsibility when you're sitting across the table, when you're listening to someone's hopes, dreams, fears, when they're looking to you for the guidance to help them achieve what they want financially. 

That's a big responsibility. And, you know, I think sometimes our industry, financial planning, wealth management, we tend to get lumped into this big bucket of Wall Street and greed. And it always bothers me because I feel like our industry is so much about digging deep with individuals to understand what matters most to them, to live a life of purpose and meaning. There's a nobility and a simplicity and a trust element that I just find incredibly exciting. But I don't know that that gets enough visibility in their industry, right? 

Anora Gaudiano: Yes, it probably doesn't. There's still, you know, some people have a hard time telling others that they are financial advisors because there's a little bit of stigma attached to it, whether we'll be just compared to some salesperson who's giving you, you know, selling you some stocks that you have known nothing about. And that kind of wipes out your wealth. We are fiduciaries. And this was another thing that I, you know, had to dig in and research before I started applying for jobs in this business. 

Michael LaMena: You joined one of our legacy firms, Sontag. I think that's where you're going to go with this. Tell me about that. Why did you join Sontag, which was one of the legacy firms that is now part of Wealthspire? What attracted you to this firm and why did you choose knowing that you wanted to make this pivot to become a financial advisor? Why Wealthspire? 

Anora Gaudiano: So I, first of all, I had to know what companies are out there to apply. There are so many. As you said, there's this entire Wall Street, and do we go, you know, to these big names, to smaller names? Where do they all reside? And interestingly enough, it was the top 10, top 300, top 100, various lists of RIAs that are published by Forbes, by Fortune 500, and other publications that I thought, well, this is, if these are the top 100 RIAs, I should probably start with them. And at the time, Sontag was in one of those lists. And I would go to each company's website. I would see who they are, what they are. 

And invariably, all of these companies list their employees, list their advisors on their website. What was different with Sontag? It was actually the fact that you had women. We had women on the top levels. And it wasn't just the token woman someplace. It was advisors who did this thing alongside men. 

And there was a clear track to become advisors. So Sontag was on my list to contact, send my resume. But I actually came to Sontag through a recruiter, which was also interesting, because Sontag was already on my list. But I went and started working with a recruiter. And one of the first jobs that they sent me was Sontag. And they thought that I would be a very good fit. And I thought, oh, that's great, because they were on my list as well. 

Michael LaMena: Well, I know it's worked out great. I mean, you have a huge impact on the clients that you work with. And in this past year, you were named a Rising Star by Financial Planning Magazine. So you're doing a lot of things right. 

And I know we're fortunate to have you as part of our team. Quick question for you. I look at your journey. And it resonates with me that you were able to see in one of our legacy firms, Sontag, we see it now more broadly with Wealthspire, see examples of successful women in our industry thriving, whether it's as an advisor or in a corporate leadership role. What else can we do to drive more change in our industry? Which is still far too white, middle-aged, male dominated. It's a demographic issue that we continue to challenge. We're purposely trying to shift it. What more can we do to encourage women, maybe women from different careers like you, to explore what I think we believe is an incredibly rewarding, satisfactory, exciting career where you can have a huge impact on people's lives. And any thoughts as to what else we can be doing?

Anora Gaudiano: Again, very good question. When we created our Diversity and Inclusion and Belonging Committee, I was one of the first to volunteer to be part of it. And in fact, I was talking about Diversity and Inclusion even before we had this committee created. 

So having that committee and ensuring that we have this inclusion already inside the company is a good start. Inclusion is what leads to diversity. If we make sure that we keep all the people who come from diverse backgrounds, that means that we're doing things right. That's not always the case, unfortunately, in our industry where people kind of think of, yeah, we want diversity, so we're going to hire a bunch of people who don't look like us. But then if I get the inclusion part, and people end up leaving. So that's something that I would like us to be very cognizant about as a company. 

We want to make sure that we attract the talent and keep the talent and make sure that they have lots of reasons to stay and develop and grow together. So I think we are on the right track. We are doing our heart is in the right place. I think we continue to think about those things. We continue to not just talk, but prove that we are an inclusive organization by our actions. That would ensure that we'll grow better. 

Michael LaMena: I think that's a great insight. I would also say one of the things that I've noted as my career has progressed is the power of storytelling. It's partly why we launched this podcast. I look at your story from where you started in Uzbekistan, from the limitations you saw, your boldness and willingness to explore something different, to dream big, to think bold, but then to do all the work necessary to position yourself, to take incremental opportunities, to get to the US, to be at university, to then become a very successful reporter and not stop there and explore even more change. That narrative to me is incredibly empowering. So thank you so much for genuinely sharing so much with us today. It's been great to talk to you. 

I speak on behalf of all of Wealthspire. We feel fortunate to have you, and we know the sky's the limit for what you're going to achieve in your career and the impact you're going to have on the clients you serve. So thank you very much, Anora. 

Anora Gaudiano: It's been my pleasure. Thank you. 

Narrator: Thanks for listening to this episode of Great Inspirations, presented by Wealthspire Advisors, a registered investment advisor and subsidiary company of NFP Corp. If you have feedback, including suggestions for future topics and guests, contact us at clientrelations@wealthspire.com.