Jennifer Basey and Heidi Chamberlain Reflecting on the 2022 President’s Council Trip

At Stifel, we believe in rewarding hard work.  So, we invited Jennifer Basey, Heidi Chamberlain, and many other highly productive financial advisors to take a celebratory trip to Colorado.

Stifel’s financial advisors work hard year-round and deserve to be recognized.  So, when advisors meet a certain production level for the year, they qualify for the President’s Council and can celebrate their accomplishments on a trip.  The most recent President’s Council trip took place during the first week of August 2022 at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado.

Jennifer Basey, First Vice President/Investments from Fort Myers, and Heidi Chamberlain, Managing Director/Investments from Manchester Center, Vermont, attended the trip and spent time taking in the sights, relaxing, and creating connections with others from Stifel.  When speaking to Jennifer and Heidi, I learned a lot about their careers, their experience on the trip to Colorado, and more.

Entering Finance and Joining Stifel

Jennifer’s career in finance can be traced back to a simple decision – she read the book Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner and realized she needed to change careers.  So, after spending 14 years working her way up from the Publix stores to the corporate office, Jennifer decided to pursue finance.

Going from having a guaranteed paycheck to becoming more entrepreneurial was a significant risk.  Jennifer knew that she wouldn’t make any money if she didn’t meet new people, but she was determined to make it work.  She obtained her first clients by knocking on residential doors in 2004, and by 2019, she was managing $140 million in assets and serving a little over 300 families.  Then, she found Stifel.

“I looked at 16 different companies before coming to Stifel in 2020,” she recalls.  “I think it was the best thing to ever happen to me.”

On the other hand, Heidi entered the finance industry shortly after graduating from college.  Though she had initially planned to figure things out at a slower pace in some ski towns, things changed when she visited a friend living in New York City.

“She worked at JP Morgan, and I loved how fast-paced and high-energy everything was.  I knew I thrived under pressure, so I completely changed my mind about moving out west.”

Heidi started interviewing and had multiple offers within a week.  They may have all been entry-level positions, but she was excited to get her foot in the door and start learning about financial markets.

Over the years, she went from being an assistant on the private client side to covering institutional accounts.  Then, when the margins became thinner on the institutional side and things became increasingly automated, she realized she needed to evolve.

“I learned how to diversify.  Instead of covering people on the institutional side, I started talking to them about their individual money,” she reflects.  “I transferred some existing relationships from institutional to private client relationships, many of which still make up a significant portion of my client base.”

Finding and Enjoying Success as Financial Advisors

Since entering the finance industry, Jennifer and Heidi have found major success — enough so that both women qualified for the President’s Council. 

It has always been challenging for Jennifer to take a step back and fully acknowledge her achievements.

“It might be human nature to downplay things when good things happen,” she explains.  “I don’t even pause long enough to enjoy it.”

Fortunately, Stifel’s President’s Council trip in August allowed her to stop for a moment, recognize, and celebrate her accomplishments.

“I brought my partner with me.  We had never been to Colorado, but we saw a lot of neat things on the trip, from the top of Pikes Peak to the Garden of the Gods,” she says.  “A storm was coming in with potential lightning while we were on Pikes Peak.  There’s a picture of me kissing her, and my hair is standing up, so it looks like she’s electrifying me.  That’s something I’ll remember forever.”

Another highlight of the trip for Jennifer was getting to know other Stifel people.

“You build relationships that you can lean on when you have questions,” she explains.  “When you get top producers in a room, you’ll get ideas from the best of the best.  It was incredible to get to know other Stifel people who take the business seriously.  We compared different processes we have in place to serve clients and exchanged ideas.”

Those relationships didn’t fizzle out as soon as everyone left Colorado – and they went beyond liking each other’s Facebook posts.  When a hurricane hit Fort Myers, people Jennifer met on the trip immediately reached out to check in on her.

“I feel like we made friends for life at the President’s Council trip,” Jennifer says.

For Heidi, too, the trip was a wonderful and memorable experience.

After having to reinvent herself, it was gratifying to find some success and be rewarded for it.

“I feel proud about being able to transform and reinvent myself after shifting gears and becoming significantly more independent,” she explains.  “It has been empowering for me to take ownership of business decisions and drive the numbers, and it has been great to receive recognition and be invited to Colorado.”

And Colorado was the perfect place for Heidi to celebrate her accomplishments.  Her most memorable moment of the trip came while whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.

“I had never done it before, but it was great.  The woman who was the head of our boat was so strong and made us feel so comfortable.  She went through the safety procedures, and when somebody in the boat ahead of us fell out, she jumped in to pull them out to safety.  It happened so fast, but she was right on top of it.  It was incredible.”

Like Jennifer, Heidi also valued meeting and spending time with Stifel colleagues.  Despite knowing only a few people from the New York office and some senior management from previous Blueprint events, Heidi never felt out of place and built strong relationships.

“Stifel has such a nice culture.  People are friendlier and more open than other firms I’ve worked at, and we’ve stayed in touch since we’ve returned,” she says.  “It was nice to hear about successes and challenges from people with similar experiences and get back to a sense of normalcy and togetherness after years of being isolated during the height of the pandemic.”

The Importance of Diversity in the Financial Services Industry

As women leaders in a historically male-dominated field, Jennifer and Heidi see the value in having diverse voices, especially at the leadership level.

“There are a ton of studies that show diversity improves results and that women and minorities bring very unique perspectives to various situations,” Heidi explains.  “It’s important for all kinds of different groups to have people that have different opinions and life experiences.  You’ll have similar input if you’re hearing everything from a homogenous group.  The results aren’t going to be as dynamic as they could be.”

Jennifer agrees and brings up the importance of role models and mentors.

“People don’t believe they can be something until they see someone like them in that role,” she says.  “For younger women in the industry to see a woman in the role they aspire to is encouraging.  They might say, ‘Now I see it’s been done before me.  I can follow in those footsteps.’”

Plus, they’ve both noticed that many clients prefer to work with female advisors, and there aren’t enough female advisors for the number of clients who prefer one.

“I’ve had women tell me they only want to work with a female advisor or call my manager and say, ‘Can you recommend a woman in your office that I can work with?’” she shares.  “There’s a high demand for female advisors these days.”

How to Make it in the Industry

Heidi and Jennifer are looking forward to having more women join them in the financial services industry – and they have some words of advice for those just starting their careers.

“Ask a lot of questions, and never stop learning.  Share information when you have it, and always think win-win,” Jennifer advises.  “For example, the Fort Myers office brought over four advisors from UBS in September 2021.  We now have quarterly mastermind meetings to exchange ideas about improving our practices.  It’s a win-win because we both can serve our clients better.”

Heidi recommends concentrating on finding the right place to work.

“Get your foot in the door at a great company that values investing in young women from the start, like Stifel.  Then, work really hard, find a mentor, read everything, ask questions, do research, and use your voice.  You’ll naturally be successful if you’re in the right place.”