[00:17] Tara Bansal: Welcome to her Life, Her Practice, Her Way. A podcast for and about female financial advisors. Tara I’m Tara Conti Bansal. I’ve been a financial planner and life coach for over 20 years. And I believe that when women thrive in this profession, we all win. This show is about sharing our journeys, our struggles, our breakthroughs, and the many ways we build a life and practice that feels true to us. And now I’m extending that mission. Beyond the podcast, I coach female advisors who want to grow a fulfilling practice and a beautiful life that they love. One filled with meaning, freedom, connection and joy. Whether you’re just starting out, reinventing yourself, or dreaming of what’s next, you’re in the right place. Let’s build this together.

[01:13] Tara Bansal: Hello. Hello. This is Tara Conti Bansal and I am very excited to have Abigail Danko here with me today on Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way. I, I remember hearing stories about Abby. I’m going to embarrass her a little when she was like three years old because that’s when I took the live classes with her dad, Brett Danko, you know, getting or working towards my CFP®. And so he was in the thick of it with two very little ones, Abby and her brother Nick. And if you’ve listened to the previous episodes, you know, I worked at Main Street Financial Solutions with Brett and think the world of him and I’m just thrilled to have Abby here. Abby, just tell us how you’ve gotten where you are. I wanted Abby to come on because she is fairly new to the industry. I think you graduated one year ago or a little more than a year ago from college and just wanted to hear how she got here, what drew her into this profession. And yeah, so we’ll get to more questions, but welcome Abby.

[02:32] Abbie Danko: Thank you. And thank you for having me. I’m so excited. I feel so honored to be here. I still, again, I can’t believe you reached out to me. So thank you, thank you for having me.

[02:42] Tara Bansal: So tell us your story. Like how did you get where you are today? I know some parts of it, but there’s lots that I don’t know, so I would love to hear it.

[02:53] Abbie Danko: So I think growing up in the industry, I always had an awareness of what being a financial advisor was. My, my parents were very, you know, not discussing confidential information but discussing business related information throughout, you know, when we were having dinner or if we’d go on road trips. So I was always very aware of the business. And I remember probably until high school, I thought I wanted to be a Financial planner. I wrote it. I remember my spelling is still horrendous. But it was especially horrendous in third grade. It was the, you know, what do you all about me poster. What do you want to be? And I wrote financial advisor. And I took it home and my mom was like, what is this supposed to fi. Fin financial advice? You want to be like dad? So I couldn’t spell, but I still can’t spell. So I thought for the longest time, I thought for the longest time I wanted to be in this industry. And then in high school, you know, I really liked economics, I really liked psychology. So I thought, you know, maybe I want to do something a little bit different. I thought I honestly, my main thoughts were social work or counseling, maybe some nonprofit work, but kind of shied away from the financial services world. And so I went to college and thought, you know, I’m going to go in. You. You can’t declare your major at Bates until end of sophomore year.

[04:27] Tara Bansal: So which I would say, I think that is good.

[04:30] Abbie Danko: It is good.

[04:31] Tara Bansal: Give you a chance to like, explore and time instead of like. I feel that there’s often this pressure of declaring what your major is and then if you change your mind, you have to scramble.

[04:45] Abbie Danko: Yes, I. I totally agree. I would have gone in as neuroscience and economics, which I ended up double majoring, but I did not stick with either of those for more than a year probably. So I found psychology, which I loved and thought I would love neuro, but it was a little too sciency for me, a little too micro for me. And then the economics department at BATES is great, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t really resonate with it. It was very quantitative and I thought, you know, maybe if they had a business major, finance, that might be a little bit better. So I really focused on psychology. And then I found my other major, which was totally random, but it kind of ties into psychology, religious studies. I had to. You had to take a writing class. And I took a religious studies course about religion and the civil rights movement. And I realized how much religion, I mean, it’s at the root of a lot of our systems and of our society. Whether we like it or not. It motivates a lot of people and is at the core of a lot of individuals, beliefs and values. So I graduated Bates with a double major bachelor of arts degree in psychology and religious studies, which I still tell people to this day. And they’re like, you went into finance with that? That’s kind of weird. But.

[06:03] Tara Bansal: But it’s Funny to me, my reaction is that’s like, perfect. Because one so much of, I think being a financial advisor, if I were to go back, I would have been a psych major. I was actually just talking about this with my family. I would have been a psych major. And. And I love the religious studies. To see the influence and even just like, I view that as around values. And that’s what we do too. Like, money is just an expression of our values.

[06:37] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes. And how we interact with it, our relationship to it. And I read a great book. My dad gave it to me sophomore year, maybe of college. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. And I’ve read it. I’ve read it like five times since. It’s awesome and it’s super easy to read. And I realized, you know, okay, psychology has a lot to do with this. A lot of the work we do is with psychology and dealing with people. You’re in the business of people. So I, you know, was finishing up my senior year, and I’m sure we’ll touch on it later, but I had some life events going on that happened with my mom passing away. And I realized, you know, I was in some. The job interviewing process. And I realized I was not in a position where I would be able to, one, move to a new city, live on my own, or even work full time. I knew I was not gonna be able to put my best foot forward and learn what I wanted to learn and do what I wanted to do and actually be effective in whatever role I was in. So I put the job search on hold. And there was actually a company that I was talking to, they’re a financial tech startup. And they said, you know, we don’t have a lot of funding, so we’d love to have you part time and not even like 20 hours part time, like 10 hours. And, you know, we can’t pay you some outrageous salary, but we’re here. You’ll work remotely, you’ll learn a lot. And I really jumped at that because it was perfect. It was exactly what I needed. I learned so much. I learned what I liked and what I didn’t like. For example, I can never be remote again. My roommate is fully remote. I don’t know how she does it. I could not do it. I couldn’t even do it 10 hours a week. So I worked with them for a while, learned a lot, met some great people, felt like I really made an impact. And then fall of 2024, I really started thinking about what I wanted my legacy to be. Which I think is a pretty big question for a 22 year old. A lot of my friends were like, what are you? Your legacy, you’re 22, you’re, you’re just a kid. But you know, seeing, seeing the legacy that my mom left behind, it really made me think like, when I’m, when I’m gone, what do I want people to be saying about me? And one of the things that I love most about her, it’s so inspirational and my dad’s done it as well. But she’s helped so many people, whether it was her role as a mother or her role at Main street and at my dad’s education company or as a nurse or as she worked as like a, I don’t know what the role is, but a coordinator for children in, in foster homes. So whatever role she was in, she was helping people. And so I knew I wanted a job that made a difference, helped people. And so I kind of just started talking to a lot of my mentors. We, my parents built such a great network. I have so many mentors and people who I’d consider second parents who are both professional mentors, personal mentors. And one of them actually told me to ask everyone I was talking to, she said, talk to everybody. It doesn’t matter what industry they’re in, talk to everybody and ask them what they like, what they don’t like about their job. And if you could, if they could go back and tell their 22 year old selves something, what would it be? And that was, that was the best advice ever. Yeah, the best advice ever.

[10:14] Tara Bansal: How many people did you ask that to? And what were some of the good answers?

[10:18] Abbie Danko: Oh my gosh, probably 20. I think a common answer that I really appreciated was don’t be afraid to fail. And it was try different things. And you know, maybe you’re not at your forever job when you’re 22, 23, 24, but just, just try everything. If it seems interesting, go for it. Another piece of great advice was learn. No matter what you’re doing, just make sure you’re learning. Building connections, learning. So I got a lot of really good advice and kind of solidified, okay, I think I want to go into the financial services industry. So then I started narrowing down, you know, what that looked like. I actually looked at financial wholesaling for a minute. It was between that and financial planning. And I realized, you know, for, for the life I want to build for myself long term, I’m thinking, you know, financial planning, being a financial advisor is the career that I Think can give me everything, especially as a woman, you know, that work, family, life, balance. And I really believe that in this industry sometimes we get a, like a bad people perceive us badly or in a negative way. But I really think you can make such a difference in people’s lives. And I had heard my dad and mom talk about that and then I was able to experience it when my mom passed with our financial advisor and the work that he did to, you know, continue my mom’s legacy. And now, you know, people were relatives, even if she lived till she was 150, she, they’re going to benefit from that. So she wouldn’t have never met them. They going to be able to benefit from her. I don’t know how you would say it, but they’ll be able to benefit from what she left behind for us. And I have my financial advisor to thank for that. So the thought that that could be me one day changing someone’s life and changing, you know, generations of their family is so fulfilling and it’s awesome. So that’s kind of what drew me, what really drew me into the industry.

[12:27] Tara Bansal: I have to, I don’t know, so many thoughts. One is applaud you for the self awareness of after your mom passed away, of not jumping in and trying to find a job, move a city and you like gave yourself time and space to deal with that and put yourself first, which I think is beautiful. And I think because of all you and your family has been through. You’re right. Most 22 year olds do not think of like what do I want my legacy to be? And I’d love to hear what, what is that for you? Like what, what, what are you thinking you want?

[13:17] Abbie Danko: I’m thinking the big thing is similar to my mom. I, I want to help people and use the knowledge and the resources and the opportunities that I have to help whoever I can. So not even just, you know, people who would come in for financial planning or wealth management, but you know, helping women with their finances. I know a lot of advisors who are involved in women’s shelters and they’ll go for a few. I think my dad was involved with it for a little while, but helping women with their finances also I think what could be really cool is really advertising isn’t the right word maybe, but somewhat spreading the awareness of how great this career is for women because I don’t think enough women know about it. So if I could go into high schools and colleges and be like, hey, this is a really good career, you’re helping people, you can have some flexibility. You’ll have great work, life balance. So definitely spread the awareness and just overall education on financial literacy, because, I mean, my dad was in the business and I barely understood how a credit card worked when I was 17. So I think building financial awareness, financial literacy in the younger populations, but also, you know, encouraging more women to come into this field is something I’d love. I’d love for that to be my legacy.

[14:43] Tara Bansal: Yay. And that’s part of why I’m doing this podcast, because I want. I do feel like women should be in this business much more than we are. I think we are good at it and have a good perspective. And as you said, the different. The freedom and flexibility, the ability to have a family and still have a career. And I think so many that go in do want to make a difference. And that’s part of. I agree. So you’ve seen that, and I think that’s wonderful. Yes. That you know that. So what decisions have helped you choose to be here and choose. Like how. How did you choose Bates? How did you choose the program you’re in now?

[15:33] Abbie Danko: So I chose Bates based on. I don’t wanna say based on swimming, because I obviously went for an education, but I. I swam throughout middle school, high school, knew I wanted to swim in college was not at the level where I could go to some, great Division 1 school. So someone recommended the NESCAC schools, which. The New England Small College Conference, something athletic conference. Some the bigger ones that people have heard of are Tufts is in there. I’m not totally sure why. Cause they’re not. Uh, Tufts is in there. Williams, Amherst, Bates, Colby, Bowden, all of those. So started looking there and fell in love with Bates on my recruit visit. Thought it was a beautiful, beautiful campus with a great, great swim team program. Also, I. I was able to sit in on a few classes. I liked the flexibility that their curriculum had. There weren’t a lot of requirements that you had to fulfill. It was very much like an open curriculum. And Bates really challenged me to get outside of my comfort zone. Like, the people I am closest with today are not necessarily people that I would have thought I’d be friends with. And I mean that in the best way in the sense that, you know, Bates is more outdoorsy, more outdoor, more just down to earth. I feel like Princeton is great, but it’s a very stressful environment. And Bates really allowed me to just take a step back, relax, appreciate different things, and again, get outside my comfort zone. The main thing is just like being in Maine all The time is, you’re outdoors all the time, it’s cold. That was a big adjustment. But just the people, so many different perspectives. I feel like I went to the HUN school, which was great, but we all very much had the same background perspectives. Yeah. So this really was great because there were so many people from different backgrounds with different thoughts and opinions. So I learned so much and met so many cool people and actually changed some of my thoughts and perspectives on a lot of things too. So that’s how I kind of chose Bates. And then as for the Merrill program where I am, I’m in their advisor Development ADP program. And I talked to a lot of my mentors in the industry. One specifically who had been. He’s been at a bunch of different firms, not a bunch of different firms, maybe three or four over his time. And he knows a lot of people in the industry. And he told me, you know, Merrill is the best, if not one of the best training programs in this industry. He said, number one, it’s a great firm number. And number two, they took the time a few years ago, maybe, maybe five, 10 years ago, to step back and say, okay, we want our advisors to succeed. What do they need? What can we give them? How do we make sure they succeed and that they stay on with us. Because there’s so many older advisors retiring, not enough new ones coming in, especially younger ones who are going to be here for a while. So they put time and money and resources into this great program that they have today. So I’m still not even on phase one of the program. So I did all my life. So I finished or I started end of May and I passed my 7, my 66, and I had already had my SIE before then. And then you went into a, which I’m in right now, a 10 week intensive training where you learn all their products and their systems and how to best serve clients. So I’m in that now and I officially.

[19:26] Tara Bansal: How big is your class? Like how many people are.

[19:29] Abbie Danko: My Cohort is probably 20 people across the East Coast. I think the whole program as a whole, I want to say it’s 150 people. It might be more, but it’s smaller, so definitely smaller. And they, they really give you all the resources you need to succeed again. I’m not even at phase one, but just with the studying and even with the, the training and the onboarding, like there’s so many resources, there’s so many people who want to help. So I’m hopeful that it’ll continue being A great program, but that’s.

[20:07] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[20:07] Abbie Danko: So I’m, I’m really liking it right now.

[20:09] Tara Bansal: What, what comes after these 10 weeks? The. What are the different phases?

[20:13] Abbie Danko: And so. Yes. So the first phase is you are the financial solutions advisor in a Bank of America financial center. And the thought behind this is you sit with a ton of clients and you service different needs. You service their banking needs, but also you can service investment needs since you’re a dual employee at that point. So you’re not really building a book as much as just getting experience. Getting experience, seeing as many clients as you can, helping however you can. Sometimes they do turn out to be long term clients though. Um, but most of the time if they have more complex needs, you’re sending them to wealth management on the Merrill side. And then phase two, that’s about six months maybe.

[20:58] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[20:59] Abbie Danko: And then phase two is building your book. So they give you a little bit more training, they give you resources and leads and they expect you to build your book, hit certain numbers in two years. So you have two years to hit those numbers. And then phase three is you’re a full on financial advisor. Yes. And you’re building your book. You can jump onto certain Merrell teams. There’s a bunch of great teams in the area that I would love to be a part of one day. But you’re on your own. They’re not giving you leads anymore. But this whole time what’s really nice is you’re salary based on. But you also like whatever you have in aum, you have fees associated with that. But at the base of it all is a salary, which is great because some of the programs I was looking at, they weren’t going to pay me anything during training or licensing. And so I’m. That’s definitely a plus of this program.

[21:59] Tara Bansal: Yeah. That takes some of the pressure off of just.

[22:02] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes.

[22:03] Tara Bansal: It’s not just focus on learning.

[22:05] Abbie Danko: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.

[22:08] Tara Bansal: Very good. What has surprised you even just for what you’re learning? Because I feel like, and I just imagine in the background you hear your dad and mom talking about different client situations or things at work and doing that. What has surprised you just in the past six months?

[22:33] Abbie Danko: Not even what has surprised me the most is honestly we’ve been doing role play recently. How difficult it actually is because I.

[22:45] Tara Bansal: Think that’s good to hear.

[22:48] Abbie Danko: But I’ve heard, I’ve heard my parents talk about it. I, I interned at my father’s firm so I was able to, you know, sit in on some meetings and it is really developing A craft like it is not easy. I was like, this will come fairly easily to me. I’ll be able to do is so much harder than I thought. And trying to balance that with all the new systems and resources. So that was really surprising. Number one, not that I thought I’d be a natural, but I thought it wouldn’t be this, this difficult. And then number two more relating to the Merrell side is just how many resources they have. Like, they are so many cool resources. I even use them with my. For myself. Like, they have this budgeting resource that I’ve been using, which has been great game changer and very beneficial. But that was interesting to me because, as you know, it’s much different than when you’re starting your own thing. There’s a lot of different pressures and stressors that are associated with, you know, building up your RIA versus at Merrell. They have the tools, the resources. I just figure out, I just have to figure out how to use them in certain situations. So I’ve been really impressed with all of the resources and help and cool tools and calculators that they have. I love it.

[24:08] Tara Bansal: Great. Yeah. And what, what do you feel like you learned working part time at that, that startup? What were some of your takeaways from that?

[24:22] Abbie Danko: I think I learned how to, I want to say, collaborate in a more professional space. And I also was able to apply some of my psychology and religious studies major to figure out I was really dealing with how or how customers were interacting with the product and what they wanted to see change, what they liked, what they wanted more of. Um, so I really learned how to work with customers, hear feedback, apply that feedback, which was really cool to work on both sides of it. So I learned a lot, a lot through that. I’m trying to think, and I feel.

[25:04] Tara Bansal: Like those are good skills as a financial advisor too.

[25:08] Abbie Danko: Yes. Learned a lot of collaboration. We would have some, I mean, just simple things. Like, you know, at the end of the day I would have to take my notes, consolidate them, put it into some kind of presentation to present to the team so they could make certain edits. Um, so that was, that was pretty cool. I, I think the main thing is just learned how to work in a more professional environment, even though it was fully remote. Um, and how. I, I mean, I had to figure some things out myself, like some of the system stuff because it’s a small team, people are busy, so you kind of have to problem solve and figure, figure your own stuff out. A little bit of trial and error.

[25:45] Tara Bansal: Yeah, well, and I don’t know. I feel like any of us, your first job feels like this kind of steep learning curve. Because it is. It’s very different.

[25:58] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[25:59] Tara Bansal: Like I had waitressing jobs and I had lifeguarding jobs or. But when you’re in a professional environment. And I started at Anderson Consulting, it was very similar. Like those big firms, the resources and the training, like, they know how to do it. I feel.

[26:17] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[26:18] Tara Bansal: And there are a lot of big advantages to that, for sure. Yeah. So do you know what type of practice you want? I think, like, who do you hope to work with?

[26:34] Abbie Danko: There is a people at Merrill, and I think maybe in the area will know who she is without me naming her, but there is a huge female producer who has a team full of women at Merrill in Princeton. I would love to work with her. I would love, I love what she’s doing with. Working with women, surrounding herself with women. And, you know, I think starting out, you don’t really get to choose your clients, so to say. But I’d love to really work with people where I feel like I’m making a difference in their lives. It’s not just, oh, we’re doing this because we have to. It’s really like I develop somewhat of a relationship with them, get to know them. Maybe it’s crossing professional boundaries, but like, I, I just want to be invested in what they’re doing, invested in their lives and seeing that I’m making a difference. Like, I want to want to know their families and their kids, and that’s how I. Maybe that’s. Maybe that’s too much to ask.

[27:34] Tara Bansal: No, I feel like that’s. Most financial advisors, that’s what we want. And, and I feel like that’s part of the beauty of, like, getting to know our clients and seeing their family and these long term relationships and then even the next generation and how, you know, that goes. Yeah.

[27:58] Abbie Danko: And now that I’m. Now that I’m thinking about it a little bit more, I’d love to eventually do a certain amount of work with nonprofits, charities. I interned for a summer with a nonprofit and I loved it. Not enough to go into that field, but I recognize the work they’re doing. I think it’s really important. My parents were big on, you know, giving back to our community. That’s given us so much. And that’s also really important to me too. So any way I can help, whether it’s. Whether I’m being compensated or not, like, that would be a big thing too. Is definitely having that charitable involvement.

[28:37] Tara Bansal: Very nice. You touched on this a little bit, but I really want to hear, how do you think we can get more women into this business? What are your ideas?

[28:47] Abbie Danko: What I have seen and I’ve. I’ve only been out of college for one year, but I’ve had multiple of, you know, my friends or people who are studying business or econ, who don’t even know about the. This profession, like being a financial advisor, they see. They see consulting or, you know, working as an investment, like investment analysts, all the flashy stuff that makes a ton of money, that’s what they see, and that’s where they think they have to go. Actually, one of my good friends who’s a sophomore right now, she said, you know, I’d love to talk to you more about wealth management and. Or. And consulting. And I was like, girl, that’s not what I do yet. The wealth management, I’ll get there. But I just said to her, I was like, you would be perfect for this role of being a financial advisor. So I just think there’s not enough education about this opportunity for whatever reason. I’m not totally sure why, but I don’t. I don’t think of it. When I think financial services, that’s not. This isn’t. I don’t think financial advisor. I think a lot of other people’s mind goes elsewhere. Data analyst or investment banking. Investment banking. Like, that’s. That’s a big thing. The. The flashy ones, which I think are great for the right person. But I know so many really smart, capable women who I think would be great in this industry. So I think just more education about this profession. More. Yes. More awareness about this profession. And also I do think there’s some stigma around, you know, I need to be an econ major or a business major or a finance major. And that’s some roles. True. I would say maybe, but not for this one. I mean, my dad was a history major and he’s fine. Yes, I’m doing fine.

[30:48] Tara Bansal: Yeah, I feel like most financial advisors are not. There’s some pretty geeky, you know, but I would say most are not that it’s about the relationships and people and at least I think the good ones, far more route.

[31:10] Abbie Danko: I completely agree. So I think. And, you know, maybe in those programs and in those majors, they only talk about the investment banking or the data analytics. I just. I’ve been shocked that more people’s minds don’t go this route. They go a different way for whatever reason.

[31:31] Tara Bansal: So I’m gonna have to think about that. And I’d love to hear ideas on how we can educate people and even get more well.

[31:38] Abbie Danko: And I also think encouraging women. I’ve been very lucky. And you know, part of it. Part of it is because of who my father is. They recognize the name, they were students. And you know, to their credit, they want to pay it back. So I’ve had a couple women who are in this program who are on phase three or they’re done with the program. They were in the program who want to sit with me and just give me, you know, tools and tips and tricks to succeed. So I think, you know, paying it forward wherever we can is great even. Yeah. So I think that’s really great. Helping each other succeed, building each other up is. Is really big. But, you know, it’s also. They recognize my name, so that’s why they go to me. I wish there were maybe more programs within the industry as a whole. Maybe not between the firms. Cause I know the firms have programs, but. Or maybe I’m just not aware of them.

[32:36] Tara Bansal: Yeah. How. What percentage in your program are women?

[32:43] Abbie Danko: Um, I mean, in my cohort, which is probably about 20 people, there’s maybe six of us, so less than 50%, I would say. Um, I’m not sure the program as a whole, but it does, it does just seem more male dominated. Even the high, the higher ups, like my supervisors, we’ve had some meetings recently and they’re all men. Yeah. Which. They’re great. They’re awesome. They’re very nice men. But I’m like, when are we going to see more. When are we going to see more women in these roles?

[33:19] Tara Bansal: Yeah, that’s something that’s. I feel like the number of women in this industry has not increased the way I would expect it to. And maybe to your point, people just don’t even know that it’s an option or how it’s possible and actually a good fit for women.

[33:44] Abbie Danko: Well, I think that’s. My dad has told me my whole life, you know, this is a great career for women, and women are really good at it. Yeah, we’re good with the relationship stuff. We’re good with really getting to, like, the emotions. The emotions. And what’s, what’s, what’s a priority to you? And so he’s like, it’s a great career for women. You get the flexibility and. But also we’re good at it.

[34:14] Tara Bansal: I agree. I mean, that’s a big deal for me. What does success mean for you?

[34:22] Abbie Danko: Success for me, that’s a great question. Success for me means living my life to the fullest and just. Just being happy. And I think, six, that my definition of success has changed throughout my life. And it’s. It’s horrible to say this, so I want to make sure I phrase it right, but my mom being sick really taught us and taught me so many great lessons. And one of those is, what does success look like? And the ability to be happy, to be healthy, and again, living my life to the fullest, whatever that looks like right now. It doesn’t look like much because I’m not allowed to take any vacation days during training. But that would be, you know, traveling or spending time with friends and family, which I like to do. Just taking advantage of whatever opportunity that I want to and that I have available. That’s what that looks like to me.

[35:23] Tara Bansal: What are you willing to share about just your mom being sick and losing her so young?

[35:30] Abbie Danko: Yeah, I mean, it. It was hard, and it was awful, obviously. But what really, really helped me is, number one, I didn’t realize how many people had been through it. So people reaching out to me and saying, you know, I went through something similar, or, you know, I had people who had lost their one parent as early as 10. I had people reaching out who lost them in their 40s. So surrounding myself with that network of people was great. And, you know, it was really hard, especially being young. We were younger when she was diagnosed. I was a first freshman in high school, and my brother was. What would he have been? Fifth grade, maybe sixth grade? Um, so we had to grow up pretty quickly. And in the moment, I wasn’t grateful for that at all. But now I am. I think I learned a lot. And like I said it. My mom being sick changed our priorities a lot and what success looked like. Um, especially, you know, for my dad, which it was great. You know, he’s made a lot of changes. I think we all have, but especially him. So it was hard, and I miss her every day. But I think doing what I can to take anything. Not that it’s a positive situation, but doing whatever I can to take positives from the situation. And, you know, I. What was. What I am grateful for of, you know, her not grateful for her being sick, but she had a long time where we were able to have conversations with her about what it was gonna look like when she wasn’t here anymore. And so my. My therapist actually told me, she was like, you had such a beautiful relationship with your mom, such an open relationship, that you know exactly what she would say. Cause that was my big thing is, you know, how am I gonna make these big life decisions without her. And you know, I know what she would say in most cases, whether I choose to listen is different, but I know what she would say. And so, but I think also it made my family and I so much closer, which I’m so grateful for. And my dad, my brother and I were very, very close. We’ve always been close, but we’re somehow closer. Yeah. So it was hard, but I learned a lot. And not ideal, but it’s something that a lot of people do go through. And so, I mean. No, sorry, what were you going to say?

[38:10] Tara Bansal: I was just going to say in some form, everybody’s going to lose, you know.

[38:16] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[38:16] Tara Bansal: I mean, that’s not totally true, but it may not be their parent. They may die before their parent, but I still feel like death unfortunately is part of life. And.

[38:29] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes. And I think it’s just like I said, taking whatever good you can from the situation. And you know, I’m grateful because I think it’s given me a lot of self awareness and insights that I might have not had. So I, you know, trying to look at the good side of all of it. And I do believe, you know, she’s with me every day and she’s showing up every day with me, so. But yeah, so not a great experience, but gotta, gotta take whatever we can from it. Yeah.

[39:06] Tara Bansal: Good stuff. And I, I personally think it’ll help make you a better financial advisor. And even as you said, like the fact that you’re focusing on your values and such a young age, like you’ve, you’ve learned, like you’re ahead of the curve in learning because of what you’ve been through. I think what is important in life and what is important to you.

[39:34] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[39:35] Tara Bansal: And being able to focus that on that. So.

[39:38] Abbie Danko: Yeah, no, definitely.

[39:40] Tara Bansal: Yeah. I am sorry. Thank you. And what question do you wish I asked you? Mm.

[39:51] Abbie Danko: You touched on all the big ones. You. So in the little prep thing. I did see. You know what, what books would you recommend? So Morgan Housel Psychology of Money.

[40:03] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[40:03] Abbie Danko: And then I just read a book for our women’s book club at Merrill, and it was Atomic Habits. That was great. And then I’m looking at it on my bookshelf in my apartment right now. Start with why, which was just really good book.

[40:22] Tara Bansal: Is that Simon?

[40:23] Abbie Danko: Simon?

[40:24] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[40:24] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes.

[40:26] Tara Bansal: All really good recommendations.

[40:28] Abbie Danko: Yes. I love all of them. They’re very good.

[40:31] Tara Bansal: Do you, do you listen to podcasts? Do you have any podcasts you recommend or you enjoy? And they don’t have to be business related.

[40:41] Abbie Danko: So I love yours, obviously, but I really like Unfiltered Waters, which is, have you heard of that?

[40:50] Tara Bansal: It’s no.

[40:51] Abbie Danko: 2, so it’s Missy Franklin and I want to say Elizabeth Beisel, who are two Olympians and they sit down and they interview, you know, popular swimmers, past swimmers, current swimmers, coaches. I, I love the sport. I still am very connected to the sport. I actually coach part time and that’s super fun.

[41:11] Tara Bansal: So what age are you coaching?

[41:14] Abbie Danko: I coach. I primarily work with the middle school and high schoolers, but every now and then I’ll get to work with the little kids, the little like 8, 9, 10 year olds, which is awesome. They’re so funny. They’re so entertaining. So I like staying connected to the swimming world. So I love that podcast. But I’m really trying to dive a little bit deeper into the podcast world. I want to look at. I think it’s called Date Yourself. So I’m looking into that one just because I’m very focused on career and family and friends right now. Maybe, maybe the right guy will come along, but I definitely want to listen to that podcast. So that’s what I’ve been listening to.

[41:59] Tara Bansal: Do you have a favorite self care ritual or something that you do to help keep you mentally okay or physically okay?

[42:12] Abbie Danko: Yes, I, I love walking, especially now that the weather’s getting nicer. Love walking.

[42:20] Tara Bansal: Do you still swim?

[42:21] Abbie Danko: I do still swim, yes. So I’ll swim one or two days a week and less to work out, but more as a meditative thing. I can very much zone out when I’m swimming, so I still do that walking. I love. I’ll. Half the time I’m talking on the phone with my brother or someone else, my dad, if he’s around. So love walking or listening to music, podcasts. And then, you know, growing up as an athlete and I do just think in general it’s really important that we’re, we’re moving our bodies in some way. So my roommate actually works at a one of those heated barre fitness studios. So I’ve been, she, she told me one day, she’s like, you have to go take my barre class. It’ll be great. And I said, you know, I’ve never done this before. I don’t, I don’t want to be warm. I don’t like sweating. I don’t want to be warm. And I’m hooked. So I’ll do bar sometimes in the morning before I go to work and I feel like it just puts me in such a great headspace for the whole day. So they do barre, they do weightlifting stuff. They’ll do yoga. Really love yoga. I know that kind of sounds cliche for self care. It’s hot, but it’s not that hot.

[43:39] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[43:40] Abbie Danko: Like, it’s not as bad as you would think.

[43:42] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[43:43] Abbie Danko: Is what I will say. And it feels good to just. It sounds kind of gross, but like to just so sweat and it, it feels good. Especially after a long day or even before the day started. Um, so I’d say most of my self care involves around movement of some sort.

[44:00] Tara Bansal: Mm. And did you, what did you do to take care of yourself while your mom was sick?

[44:11] Abbie Danko: I think, I think again, movement was a big thing. Swimming was such a big outlet for me to just, you know, whether I was turning my brain off or we were in the middle of a really hard practice and I could go that extra 10% just thinking about her. Um, but then also just conversations with my family, especially with my brother. I’m lucky. We’re very, very close. So that kept me sane. And it, it, it was. I mean, he’s going through a very similar thing to me, pretty much identical. So being there for each other and just being able to talk things out was really helpful. And I had such a great support system between like the Lawrenceville, Princeton community, all of our friends, all of our family that they were really my grounding force for all of that. So just, just the support was really great and really helped get me, get me through.

[45:09] Tara Bansal: Yeah. What’s one thing bringing you joy right now?

[45:15] Abbie Danko: One thing bringing me joy right now. I want to say, I know I touched on it, but my walking. Yeah, I love it. And there’s a trail where I work. So instead of spending my 30 minute lunch break eating, I’ll work through lunch while I’m eating, which probably shouldn’t be doing, and then I’ll just walk for 30 minutes. It breaks my day up. It makes me feel good.

[45:36] Tara Bansal: Aside. Yeah.

[45:38] Abbie Danko: Yes. I love it. That’s been big for me. I love it. Or bringing me joy? This is simple, but getting myself flowers, I go to like the supermarket or the farmer’s market or even if I’m back at my house, we have a garden. We don’t really have a garden at the apartment, but cutting flowers and just seeing those, I usually try to do it on the weekend. So I have him have them for the full week. That’s. That brings me a lot of joy. Weirdly.

[46:04] Tara Bansal: No. That’s beautiful. I love it. Oh. Any other question or something you would like to Share that. You feel like I didn’t?

[46:14] Abbie Danko: No, I don’t think so. I think you covered everything.

[46:17] Tara Bansal: How I. Like what, how can we support you and help you be successful?

[46:25] Abbie Danko: I mean, I think just, I think just like offering advice and tools and support I think is, yeah, helping each other is the main thing. And yeah, I think that sounds really simple, but that is all, you know, just even, even someone to. I, I have someone who I keep, I bother them, but I’ll just call her and be like, hey, I, I feel really, really dumb right now. So, so just even having like a hype. Hype person, someone to hype you up that when I’m like, I feel I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know what I’m doing, I might not be cut out for this. And to hear someone say, no, girl, you got this. We’ve all been there. You’re smart, you deserve to be there. So simple things like that is just, you know, continuing to push each other up. And when someone’s down, helping, helping them.

[47:28] Tara Bansal: I think that is great advice. And you are so smart and capable and unbelievably impressive.

[47:36] Abbie Danko: Thank you.

[47:37] Tara Bansal: I was grateful to have you here. I’m getting teary as always, but oh my gosh.

[47:42] Abbie Danko: Well, I’m grateful to be here.

[47:44] Tara Bansal: Thanks so much.

[47:45] Abbie Danko: Thank you.

[47:47] Tara Bansal: I had two takeaways from my conversation with Abby.

[47:51] Tara Bansal: The first was, was her self awareness after her mom’s death. Instead of rushing into a full time.

[47:57] Tara Bansal: Job or following the path others expected, she paused.

[48:02] Tara Bansal: She gave herself time and space to grieve and to figure out what she truly needed.

[48:08] Tara Bansal: That takes courage.

[48:09] Tara Bansal: To be honest, that inspired me.

[48:12] Tara Bansal: I’m a classic upholder, as Gretchen Rubin would say.

[48:16] Tara Bansal: I meet expectations, internal and external, and sometimes push myself when what I actually need is rest or a slower pace.

[48:26] Tara Bansal: Abby reminded me of the importance of.

[48:28] Tara Bansal: Listening inward, of honoring what our body and heart are asking for, even when.

[48:34] Tara Bansal: It doesn’t match what’s expected. The other moment that stood out was at the end when Abby said what.

[48:41] Tara Bansal: She really needs is a height person. Don’t we all? Someone we can be vulnerable with when we’re struggling.

[48:49] Tara Bansal: Someone who reminds us we’re capable, strong, and not alone. Too often I pull inward when I’m down. But research shows connection, not isolation, is what helps and heals.

[49:03] Tara Bansal: So I leave you with two invitations today. One, notice where you might listen more closely to yourself.

[49:12] Tara Bansal: Instead of pushing through, ask yourself, what do I need right now? And then number two, think about who your hype person is or how you can be one for someone else because we all need that voice cheering us on and reminding us we are enough.

[49:33] Tara Bansal: Thank you for listening to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about Female Financial advisors. I truly hope you found something valuable and encouraging in today’s episode. If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other phenomenal women in our field find this space. And if you know another advisor who would benefit from these conversations or from the kind of support I offer through coaching, please send this episode to her. If you’re curious about working with me as your coach or interested in being on the podcast, I’d love to hear from you. You can find more details and reach out to me on the contact page of my website, herlifeherpracticeherway.com no spaces, no underlines, just the words straight in a row. Until next time, keep building a life and practice you truly love.

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel – https://www.morganhousel.com/

Atomic Habits by James Clear – https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Start with Why by Simon Sinek – https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/

Unfiltered Waters Podcast – Hosted by Olympians Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel
https://www.youtube.com/@UnfilteredWatersPodcast

Merrill Lynch’s Advisor Development Program –
https://careers.bankofamerica.com/en-us/career-development/advisor-development-program

Abigail Danko

I am a solution-focused and goal-driven individual who recently graduated from Bates College. I am someone who communicates effectively and efficiently, who enjoys working with and learning from others, and thrives in a positive, encouraging work environment.

As a religious studies and psychology double major, I found myself constantly applying the knowledge I have learned regarding human behavior to my previous positions; and I find myself continuing to apply that knowledge at my current position within the financial services industry. I believe that each person’s psychology plays an essential role in their interactions and beliefs regarding money. This is why I specifically focused on behavioral finance within my psychology major.

One of my many goals in life is to make a difference in other’s lives, and I believe one way to do this is by helping individuals reach their financial goals in order to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-danko-206258275

[00:17] Tara Bansal: Welcome to her Life, Her Practice, Her Way. A podcast for and about female financial advisors. Tara I’m Tara Conti Bansal. I’ve been a financial planner and life coach for over 20 years. And I believe that when women thrive in this profession, we all win. This show is about sharing our journeys, our struggles, our breakthroughs, and the many ways we build a life and practice that feels true to us. And now I’m extending that mission. Beyond the podcast, I coach female advisors who want to grow a fulfilling practice and a beautiful life that they love. One filled with meaning, freedom, connection and joy. Whether you’re just starting out, reinventing yourself, or dreaming of what’s next, you’re in the right place. Let’s build this together.

[01:13] Tara Bansal: Hello. Hello. This is Tara Conti Bansal and I am very excited to have Abigail Danko here with me today on Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way. I, I remember hearing stories about Abby. I’m going to embarrass her a little when she was like three years old because that’s when I took the live classes with her dad, Brett Danko, you know, getting or working towards my CFP®. And so he was in the thick of it with two very little ones, Abby and her brother Nick. And if you’ve listened to the previous episodes, you know, I worked at Main Street Financial Solutions with Brett and think the world of him and I’m just thrilled to have Abby here. Abby, just tell us how you’ve gotten where you are. I wanted Abby to come on because she is fairly new to the industry. I think you graduated one year ago or a little more than a year ago from college and just wanted to hear how she got here, what drew her into this profession. And yeah, so we’ll get to more questions, but welcome Abby.

[02:32] Abbie Danko: Thank you. And thank you for having me. I’m so excited. I feel so honored to be here. I still, again, I can’t believe you reached out to me. So thank you, thank you for having me.

[02:42] Tara Bansal: So tell us your story. Like how did you get where you are today? I know some parts of it, but there’s lots that I don’t know, so I would love to hear it.

[02:53] Abbie Danko: So I think growing up in the industry, I always had an awareness of what being a financial advisor was. My, my parents were very, you know, not discussing confidential information but discussing business related information throughout, you know, when we were having dinner or if we’d go on road trips. So I was always very aware of the business. And I remember probably until high school, I thought I wanted to be a Financial planner. I wrote it. I remember my spelling is still horrendous. But it was especially horrendous in third grade. It was the, you know, what do you all about me poster. What do you want to be? And I wrote financial advisor. And I took it home and my mom was like, what is this supposed to fi. Fin financial advice? You want to be like dad? So I couldn’t spell, but I still can’t spell. So I thought for the longest time, I thought for the longest time I wanted to be in this industry. And then in high school, you know, I really liked economics, I really liked psychology. So I thought, you know, maybe I want to do something a little bit different. I thought I honestly, my main thoughts were social work or counseling, maybe some nonprofit work, but kind of shied away from the financial services world. And so I went to college and thought, you know, I’m going to go in. You. You can’t declare your major at Bates until end of sophomore year.

[04:27] Tara Bansal: So which I would say, I think that is good.

[04:30] Abbie Danko: It is good.

[04:31] Tara Bansal: Give you a chance to like, explore and time instead of like. I feel that there’s often this pressure of declaring what your major is and then if you change your mind, you have to scramble.

[04:45] Abbie Danko: Yes, I. I totally agree. I would have gone in as neuroscience and economics, which I ended up double majoring, but I did not stick with either of those for more than a year probably. So I found psychology, which I loved and thought I would love neuro, but it was a little too sciency for me, a little too micro for me. And then the economics department at BATES is great, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t really resonate with it. It was very quantitative and I thought, you know, maybe if they had a business major, finance, that might be a little bit better. So I really focused on psychology. And then I found my other major, which was totally random, but it kind of ties into psychology, religious studies. I had to. You had to take a writing class. And I took a religious studies course about religion and the civil rights movement. And I realized how much religion, I mean, it’s at the root of a lot of our systems and of our society. Whether we like it or not. It motivates a lot of people and is at the core of a lot of individuals, beliefs and values. So I graduated Bates with a double major bachelor of arts degree in psychology and religious studies, which I still tell people to this day. And they’re like, you went into finance with that? That’s kind of weird. But.

[06:03] Tara Bansal: But it’s Funny to me, my reaction is that’s like, perfect. Because one so much of, I think being a financial advisor, if I were to go back, I would have been a psych major. I was actually just talking about this with my family. I would have been a psych major. And. And I love the religious studies. To see the influence and even just like, I view that as around values. And that’s what we do too. Like, money is just an expression of our values.

[06:37] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes. And how we interact with it, our relationship to it. And I read a great book. My dad gave it to me sophomore year, maybe of college. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. And I’ve read it. I’ve read it like five times since. It’s awesome and it’s super easy to read. And I realized, you know, okay, psychology has a lot to do with this. A lot of the work we do is with psychology and dealing with people. You’re in the business of people. So I, you know, was finishing up my senior year, and I’m sure we’ll touch on it later, but I had some life events going on that happened with my mom passing away. And I realized, you know, I was in some. The job interviewing process. And I realized I was not in a position where I would be able to, one, move to a new city, live on my own, or even work full time. I knew I was not gonna be able to put my best foot forward and learn what I wanted to learn and do what I wanted to do and actually be effective in whatever role I was in. So I put the job search on hold. And there was actually a company that I was talking to, they’re a financial tech startup. And they said, you know, we don’t have a lot of funding, so we’d love to have you part time and not even like 20 hours part time, like 10 hours. And, you know, we can’t pay you some outrageous salary, but we’re here. You’ll work remotely, you’ll learn a lot. And I really jumped at that because it was perfect. It was exactly what I needed. I learned so much. I learned what I liked and what I didn’t like. For example, I can never be remote again. My roommate is fully remote. I don’t know how she does it. I could not do it. I couldn’t even do it 10 hours a week. So I worked with them for a while, learned a lot, met some great people, felt like I really made an impact. And then fall of 2024, I really started thinking about what I wanted my legacy to be. Which I think is a pretty big question for a 22 year old. A lot of my friends were like, what are you? Your legacy, you’re 22, you’re, you’re just a kid. But you know, seeing, seeing the legacy that my mom left behind, it really made me think like, when I’m, when I’m gone, what do I want people to be saying about me? And one of the things that I love most about her, it’s so inspirational and my dad’s done it as well. But she’s helped so many people, whether it was her role as a mother or her role at Main street and at my dad’s education company or as a nurse or as she worked as like a, I don’t know what the role is, but a coordinator for children in, in foster homes. So whatever role she was in, she was helping people. And so I knew I wanted a job that made a difference, helped people. And so I kind of just started talking to a lot of my mentors. We, my parents built such a great network. I have so many mentors and people who I’d consider second parents who are both professional mentors, personal mentors. And one of them actually told me to ask everyone I was talking to, she said, talk to everybody. It doesn’t matter what industry they’re in, talk to everybody and ask them what they like, what they don’t like about their job. And if you could, if they could go back and tell their 22 year old selves something, what would it be? And that was, that was the best advice ever. Yeah, the best advice ever.

[10:14] Tara Bansal: How many people did you ask that to? And what were some of the good answers?

[10:18] Abbie Danko: Oh my gosh, probably 20. I think a common answer that I really appreciated was don’t be afraid to fail. And it was try different things. And you know, maybe you’re not at your forever job when you’re 22, 23, 24, but just, just try everything. If it seems interesting, go for it. Another piece of great advice was learn. No matter what you’re doing, just make sure you’re learning. Building connections, learning. So I got a lot of really good advice and kind of solidified, okay, I think I want to go into the financial services industry. So then I started narrowing down, you know, what that looked like. I actually looked at financial wholesaling for a minute. It was between that and financial planning. And I realized, you know, for, for the life I want to build for myself long term, I’m thinking, you know, financial planning, being a financial advisor is the career that I Think can give me everything, especially as a woman, you know, that work, family, life, balance. And I really believe that in this industry sometimes we get a, like a bad people perceive us badly or in a negative way. But I really think you can make such a difference in people’s lives. And I had heard my dad and mom talk about that and then I was able to experience it when my mom passed with our financial advisor and the work that he did to, you know, continue my mom’s legacy. And now, you know, people were relatives, even if she lived till she was 150, she, they’re going to benefit from that. So she wouldn’t have never met them. They going to be able to benefit from her. I don’t know how you would say it, but they’ll be able to benefit from what she left behind for us. And I have my financial advisor to thank for that. So the thought that that could be me one day changing someone’s life and changing, you know, generations of their family is so fulfilling and it’s awesome. So that’s kind of what drew me, what really drew me into the industry.

[12:27] Tara Bansal: I have to, I don’t know, so many thoughts. One is applaud you for the self awareness of after your mom passed away, of not jumping in and trying to find a job, move a city and you like gave yourself time and space to deal with that and put yourself first, which I think is beautiful. And I think because of all you and your family has been through. You’re right. Most 22 year olds do not think of like what do I want my legacy to be? And I’d love to hear what, what is that for you? Like what, what, what are you thinking you want?

[13:17] Abbie Danko: I’m thinking the big thing is similar to my mom. I, I want to help people and use the knowledge and the resources and the opportunities that I have to help whoever I can. So not even just, you know, people who would come in for financial planning or wealth management, but you know, helping women with their finances. I know a lot of advisors who are involved in women’s shelters and they’ll go for a few. I think my dad was involved with it for a little while, but helping women with their finances also I think what could be really cool is really advertising isn’t the right word maybe, but somewhat spreading the awareness of how great this career is for women because I don’t think enough women know about it. So if I could go into high schools and colleges and be like, hey, this is a really good career, you’re helping people, you can have some flexibility. You’ll have great work, life balance. So definitely spread the awareness and just overall education on financial literacy, because, I mean, my dad was in the business and I barely understood how a credit card worked when I was 17. So I think building financial awareness, financial literacy in the younger populations, but also, you know, encouraging more women to come into this field is something I’d love. I’d love for that to be my legacy.

[14:43] Tara Bansal: Yay. And that’s part of why I’m doing this podcast, because I want. I do feel like women should be in this business much more than we are. I think we are good at it and have a good perspective. And as you said, the different. The freedom and flexibility, the ability to have a family and still have a career. And I think so many that go in do want to make a difference. And that’s part of. I agree. So you’ve seen that, and I think that’s wonderful. Yes. That you know that. So what decisions have helped you choose to be here and choose. Like how. How did you choose Bates? How did you choose the program you’re in now?

[15:33] Abbie Danko: So I chose Bates based on. I don’t wanna say based on swimming, because I obviously went for an education, but I. I swam throughout middle school, high school, knew I wanted to swim in college was not at the level where I could go to some, great Division 1 school. So someone recommended the NESCAC schools, which. The New England Small College Conference, something athletic conference. Some the bigger ones that people have heard of are Tufts is in there. I’m not totally sure why. Cause they’re not. Uh, Tufts is in there. Williams, Amherst, Bates, Colby, Bowden, all of those. So started looking there and fell in love with Bates on my recruit visit. Thought it was a beautiful, beautiful campus with a great, great swim team program. Also, I. I was able to sit in on a few classes. I liked the flexibility that their curriculum had. There weren’t a lot of requirements that you had to fulfill. It was very much like an open curriculum. And Bates really challenged me to get outside of my comfort zone. Like, the people I am closest with today are not necessarily people that I would have thought I’d be friends with. And I mean that in the best way in the sense that, you know, Bates is more outdoorsy, more outdoor, more just down to earth. I feel like Princeton is great, but it’s a very stressful environment. And Bates really allowed me to just take a step back, relax, appreciate different things, and again, get outside my comfort zone. The main thing is just like being in Maine all The time is, you’re outdoors all the time, it’s cold. That was a big adjustment. But just the people, so many different perspectives. I feel like I went to the HUN school, which was great, but we all very much had the same background perspectives. Yeah. So this really was great because there were so many people from different backgrounds with different thoughts and opinions. So I learned so much and met so many cool people and actually changed some of my thoughts and perspectives on a lot of things too. So that’s how I kind of chose Bates. And then as for the Merrill program where I am, I’m in their advisor Development ADP program. And I talked to a lot of my mentors in the industry. One specifically who had been. He’s been at a bunch of different firms, not a bunch of different firms, maybe three or four over his time. And he knows a lot of people in the industry. And he told me, you know, Merrill is the best, if not one of the best training programs in this industry. He said, number one, it’s a great firm number. And number two, they took the time a few years ago, maybe, maybe five, 10 years ago, to step back and say, okay, we want our advisors to succeed. What do they need? What can we give them? How do we make sure they succeed and that they stay on with us. Because there’s so many older advisors retiring, not enough new ones coming in, especially younger ones who are going to be here for a while. So they put time and money and resources into this great program that they have today. So I’m still not even on phase one of the program. So I did all my life. So I finished or I started end of May and I passed my 7, my 66, and I had already had my SIE before then. And then you went into a, which I’m in right now, a 10 week intensive training where you learn all their products and their systems and how to best serve clients. So I’m in that now and I officially.

[19:26] Tara Bansal: How big is your class? Like how many people are.

[19:29] Abbie Danko: My Cohort is probably 20 people across the East Coast. I think the whole program as a whole, I want to say it’s 150 people. It might be more, but it’s smaller, so definitely smaller. And they, they really give you all the resources you need to succeed again. I’m not even at phase one, but just with the studying and even with the, the training and the onboarding, like there’s so many resources, there’s so many people who want to help. So I’m hopeful that it’ll continue being A great program, but that’s.

[20:07] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[20:07] Abbie Danko: So I’m, I’m really liking it right now.

[20:09] Tara Bansal: What, what comes after these 10 weeks? The. What are the different phases?

[20:13] Abbie Danko: And so. Yes. So the first phase is you are the financial solutions advisor in a Bank of America financial center. And the thought behind this is you sit with a ton of clients and you service different needs. You service their banking needs, but also you can service investment needs since you’re a dual employee at that point. So you’re not really building a book as much as just getting experience. Getting experience, seeing as many clients as you can, helping however you can. Sometimes they do turn out to be long term clients though. Um, but most of the time if they have more complex needs, you’re sending them to wealth management on the Merrill side. And then phase two, that’s about six months maybe.

[20:58] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[20:59] Abbie Danko: And then phase two is building your book. So they give you a little bit more training, they give you resources and leads and they expect you to build your book, hit certain numbers in two years. So you have two years to hit those numbers. And then phase three is you’re a full on financial advisor. Yes. And you’re building your book. You can jump onto certain Merrell teams. There’s a bunch of great teams in the area that I would love to be a part of one day. But you’re on your own. They’re not giving you leads anymore. But this whole time what’s really nice is you’re salary based on. But you also like whatever you have in aum, you have fees associated with that. But at the base of it all is a salary, which is great because some of the programs I was looking at, they weren’t going to pay me anything during training or licensing. And so I’m. That’s definitely a plus of this program.

[21:59] Tara Bansal: Yeah. That takes some of the pressure off of just.

[22:02] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes.

[22:03] Tara Bansal: It’s not just focus on learning.

[22:05] Abbie Danko: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.

[22:08] Tara Bansal: Very good. What has surprised you even just for what you’re learning? Because I feel like, and I just imagine in the background you hear your dad and mom talking about different client situations or things at work and doing that. What has surprised you just in the past six months?

[22:33] Abbie Danko: Not even what has surprised me the most is honestly we’ve been doing role play recently. How difficult it actually is because I.

[22:45] Tara Bansal: Think that’s good to hear.

[22:48] Abbie Danko: But I’ve heard, I’ve heard my parents talk about it. I, I interned at my father’s firm so I was able to, you know, sit in on some meetings and it is really developing A craft like it is not easy. I was like, this will come fairly easily to me. I’ll be able to do is so much harder than I thought. And trying to balance that with all the new systems and resources. So that was really surprising. Number one, not that I thought I’d be a natural, but I thought it wouldn’t be this, this difficult. And then number two more relating to the Merrell side is just how many resources they have. Like, they are so many cool resources. I even use them with my. For myself. Like, they have this budgeting resource that I’ve been using, which has been great game changer and very beneficial. But that was interesting to me because, as you know, it’s much different than when you’re starting your own thing. There’s a lot of different pressures and stressors that are associated with, you know, building up your RIA versus at Merrell. They have the tools, the resources. I just figure out, I just have to figure out how to use them in certain situations. So I’ve been really impressed with all of the resources and help and cool tools and calculators that they have. I love it.

[24:08] Tara Bansal: Great. Yeah. And what, what do you feel like you learned working part time at that, that startup? What were some of your takeaways from that?

[24:22] Abbie Danko: I think I learned how to, I want to say, collaborate in a more professional space. And I also was able to apply some of my psychology and religious studies major to figure out I was really dealing with how or how customers were interacting with the product and what they wanted to see change, what they liked, what they wanted more of. Um, so I really learned how to work with customers, hear feedback, apply that feedback, which was really cool to work on both sides of it. So I learned a lot, a lot through that. I’m trying to think, and I feel.

[25:04] Tara Bansal: Like those are good skills as a financial advisor too.

[25:08] Abbie Danko: Yes. Learned a lot of collaboration. We would have some, I mean, just simple things. Like, you know, at the end of the day I would have to take my notes, consolidate them, put it into some kind of presentation to present to the team so they could make certain edits. Um, so that was, that was pretty cool. I, I think the main thing is just learned how to work in a more professional environment, even though it was fully remote. Um, and how. I, I mean, I had to figure some things out myself, like some of the system stuff because it’s a small team, people are busy, so you kind of have to problem solve and figure, figure your own stuff out. A little bit of trial and error.

[25:45] Tara Bansal: Yeah, well, and I don’t know. I feel like any of us, your first job feels like this kind of steep learning curve. Because it is. It’s very different.

[25:58] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[25:59] Tara Bansal: Like I had waitressing jobs and I had lifeguarding jobs or. But when you’re in a professional environment. And I started at Anderson Consulting, it was very similar. Like those big firms, the resources and the training, like, they know how to do it. I feel.

[26:17] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[26:18] Tara Bansal: And there are a lot of big advantages to that, for sure. Yeah. So do you know what type of practice you want? I think, like, who do you hope to work with?

[26:34] Abbie Danko: There is a people at Merrill, and I think maybe in the area will know who she is without me naming her, but there is a huge female producer who has a team full of women at Merrill in Princeton. I would love to work with her. I would love, I love what she’s doing with. Working with women, surrounding herself with women. And, you know, I think starting out, you don’t really get to choose your clients, so to say. But I’d love to really work with people where I feel like I’m making a difference in their lives. It’s not just, oh, we’re doing this because we have to. It’s really like I develop somewhat of a relationship with them, get to know them. Maybe it’s crossing professional boundaries, but like, I, I just want to be invested in what they’re doing, invested in their lives and seeing that I’m making a difference. Like, I want to want to know their families and their kids, and that’s how I. Maybe that’s. Maybe that’s too much to ask.

[27:34] Tara Bansal: No, I feel like that’s. Most financial advisors, that’s what we want. And, and I feel like that’s part of the beauty of, like, getting to know our clients and seeing their family and these long term relationships and then even the next generation and how, you know, that goes. Yeah.

[27:58] Abbie Danko: And now that I’m. Now that I’m thinking about it a little bit more, I’d love to eventually do a certain amount of work with nonprofits, charities. I interned for a summer with a nonprofit and I loved it. Not enough to go into that field, but I recognize the work they’re doing. I think it’s really important. My parents were big on, you know, giving back to our community. That’s given us so much. And that’s also really important to me too. So any way I can help, whether it’s. Whether I’m being compensated or not, like, that would be a big thing too. Is definitely having that charitable involvement.

[28:37] Tara Bansal: Very nice. You touched on this a little bit, but I really want to hear, how do you think we can get more women into this business? What are your ideas?

[28:47] Abbie Danko: What I have seen and I’ve. I’ve only been out of college for one year, but I’ve had multiple of, you know, my friends or people who are studying business or econ, who don’t even know about the. This profession, like being a financial advisor, they see. They see consulting or, you know, working as an investment, like investment analysts, all the flashy stuff that makes a ton of money, that’s what they see, and that’s where they think they have to go. Actually, one of my good friends who’s a sophomore right now, she said, you know, I’d love to talk to you more about wealth management and. Or. And consulting. And I was like, girl, that’s not what I do yet. The wealth management, I’ll get there. But I just said to her, I was like, you would be perfect for this role of being a financial advisor. So I just think there’s not enough education about this opportunity for whatever reason. I’m not totally sure why, but I don’t. I don’t think of it. When I think financial services, that’s not. This isn’t. I don’t think financial advisor. I think a lot of other people’s mind goes elsewhere. Data analyst or investment banking. Investment banking. Like, that’s. That’s a big thing. The. The flashy ones, which I think are great for the right person. But I know so many really smart, capable women who I think would be great in this industry. So I think just more education about this profession. More. Yes. More awareness about this profession. And also I do think there’s some stigma around, you know, I need to be an econ major or a business major or a finance major. And that’s some roles. True. I would say maybe, but not for this one. I mean, my dad was a history major and he’s fine. Yes, I’m doing fine.

[30:48] Tara Bansal: Yeah, I feel like most financial advisors are not. There’s some pretty geeky, you know, but I would say most are not that it’s about the relationships and people and at least I think the good ones, far more route.

[31:10] Abbie Danko: I completely agree. So I think. And, you know, maybe in those programs and in those majors, they only talk about the investment banking or the data analytics. I just. I’ve been shocked that more people’s minds don’t go this route. They go a different way for whatever reason.

[31:31] Tara Bansal: So I’m gonna have to think about that. And I’d love to hear ideas on how we can educate people and even get more well.

[31:38] Abbie Danko: And I also think encouraging women. I’ve been very lucky. And you know, part of it. Part of it is because of who my father is. They recognize the name, they were students. And you know, to their credit, they want to pay it back. So I’ve had a couple women who are in this program who are on phase three or they’re done with the program. They were in the program who want to sit with me and just give me, you know, tools and tips and tricks to succeed. So I think, you know, paying it forward wherever we can is great even. Yeah. So I think that’s really great. Helping each other succeed, building each other up is. Is really big. But, you know, it’s also. They recognize my name, so that’s why they go to me. I wish there were maybe more programs within the industry as a whole. Maybe not between the firms. Cause I know the firms have programs, but. Or maybe I’m just not aware of them.

[32:36] Tara Bansal: Yeah. How. What percentage in your program are women?

[32:43] Abbie Danko: Um, I mean, in my cohort, which is probably about 20 people, there’s maybe six of us, so less than 50%, I would say. Um, I’m not sure the program as a whole, but it does, it does just seem more male dominated. Even the high, the higher ups, like my supervisors, we’ve had some meetings recently and they’re all men. Yeah. Which. They’re great. They’re awesome. They’re very nice men. But I’m like, when are we going to see more. When are we going to see more women in these roles?

[33:19] Tara Bansal: Yeah, that’s something that’s. I feel like the number of women in this industry has not increased the way I would expect it to. And maybe to your point, people just don’t even know that it’s an option or how it’s possible and actually a good fit for women.

[33:44] Abbie Danko: Well, I think that’s. My dad has told me my whole life, you know, this is a great career for women, and women are really good at it. Yeah, we’re good with the relationship stuff. We’re good with really getting to, like, the emotions. The emotions. And what’s, what’s, what’s a priority to you? And so he’s like, it’s a great career for women. You get the flexibility and. But also we’re good at it.

[34:14] Tara Bansal: I agree. I mean, that’s a big deal for me. What does success mean for you?

[34:22] Abbie Danko: Success for me, that’s a great question. Success for me means living my life to the fullest and just. Just being happy. And I think, six, that my definition of success has changed throughout my life. And it’s. It’s horrible to say this, so I want to make sure I phrase it right, but my mom being sick really taught us and taught me so many great lessons. And one of those is, what does success look like? And the ability to be happy, to be healthy, and again, living my life to the fullest, whatever that looks like right now. It doesn’t look like much because I’m not allowed to take any vacation days during training. But that would be, you know, traveling or spending time with friends and family, which I like to do. Just taking advantage of whatever opportunity that I want to and that I have available. That’s what that looks like to me.

[35:23] Tara Bansal: What are you willing to share about just your mom being sick and losing her so young?

[35:30] Abbie Danko: Yeah, I mean, it. It was hard, and it was awful, obviously. But what really, really helped me is, number one, I didn’t realize how many people had been through it. So people reaching out to me and saying, you know, I went through something similar, or, you know, I had people who had lost their one parent as early as 10. I had people reaching out who lost them in their 40s. So surrounding myself with that network of people was great. And, you know, it was really hard, especially being young. We were younger when she was diagnosed. I was a first freshman in high school, and my brother was. What would he have been? Fifth grade, maybe sixth grade? Um, so we had to grow up pretty quickly. And in the moment, I wasn’t grateful for that at all. But now I am. I think I learned a lot. And like I said it. My mom being sick changed our priorities a lot and what success looked like. Um, especially, you know, for my dad, which it was great. You know, he’s made a lot of changes. I think we all have, but especially him. So it was hard, and I miss her every day. But I think doing what I can to take anything. Not that it’s a positive situation, but doing whatever I can to take positives from the situation. And, you know, I. What was. What I am grateful for of, you know, her not grateful for her being sick, but she had a long time where we were able to have conversations with her about what it was gonna look like when she wasn’t here anymore. And so my. My therapist actually told me, she was like, you had such a beautiful relationship with your mom, such an open relationship, that you know exactly what she would say. Cause that was my big thing is, you know, how am I gonna make these big life decisions without her. And you know, I know what she would say in most cases, whether I choose to listen is different, but I know what she would say. And so, but I think also it made my family and I so much closer, which I’m so grateful for. And my dad, my brother and I were very, very close. We’ve always been close, but we’re somehow closer. Yeah. So it was hard, but I learned a lot. And not ideal, but it’s something that a lot of people do go through. And so, I mean. No, sorry, what were you going to say?

[38:10] Tara Bansal: I was just going to say in some form, everybody’s going to lose, you know.

[38:16] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[38:16] Tara Bansal: I mean, that’s not totally true, but it may not be their parent. They may die before their parent, but I still feel like death unfortunately is part of life. And.

[38:29] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes. And I think it’s just like I said, taking whatever good you can from the situation. And you know, I’m grateful because I think it’s given me a lot of self awareness and insights that I might have not had. So I, you know, trying to look at the good side of all of it. And I do believe, you know, she’s with me every day and she’s showing up every day with me, so. But yeah, so not a great experience, but gotta, gotta take whatever we can from it. Yeah.

[39:06] Tara Bansal: Good stuff. And I, I personally think it’ll help make you a better financial advisor. And even as you said, like the fact that you’re focusing on your values and such a young age, like you’ve, you’ve learned, like you’re ahead of the curve in learning because of what you’ve been through. I think what is important in life and what is important to you.

[39:34] Abbie Danko: Yes.

[39:35] Tara Bansal: And being able to focus that on that. So.

[39:38] Abbie Danko: Yeah, no, definitely.

[39:40] Tara Bansal: Yeah. I am sorry. Thank you. And what question do you wish I asked you? Mm.

[39:51] Abbie Danko: You touched on all the big ones. You. So in the little prep thing. I did see. You know what, what books would you recommend? So Morgan Housel Psychology of Money.

[40:03] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[40:03] Abbie Danko: And then I just read a book for our women’s book club at Merrill, and it was Atomic Habits. That was great. And then I’m looking at it on my bookshelf in my apartment right now. Start with why, which was just really good book.

[40:22] Tara Bansal: Is that Simon?

[40:23] Abbie Danko: Simon?

[40:24] Tara Bansal: Yeah.

[40:24] Abbie Danko: Yes, yes.

[40:26] Tara Bansal: All really good recommendations.

[40:28] Abbie Danko: Yes. I love all of them. They’re very good.

[40:31] Tara Bansal: Do you, do you listen to podcasts? Do you have any podcasts you recommend or you enjoy? And they don’t have to be business related.

[40:41] Abbie Danko: So I love yours, obviously, but I really like Unfiltered Waters, which is, have you heard of that?

[40:50] Tara Bansal: It’s no.

[40:51] Abbie Danko: 2, so it’s Missy Franklin and I want to say Elizabeth Beisel, who are two Olympians and they sit down and they interview, you know, popular swimmers, past swimmers, current swimmers, coaches. I, I love the sport. I still am very connected to the sport. I actually coach part time and that’s super fun.

[41:11] Tara Bansal: So what age are you coaching?

[41:14] Abbie Danko: I coach. I primarily work with the middle school and high schoolers, but every now and then I’ll get to work with the little kids, the little like 8, 9, 10 year olds, which is awesome. They’re so funny. They’re so entertaining. So I like staying connected to the swimming world. So I love that podcast. But I’m really trying to dive a little bit deeper into the podcast world. I want to look at. I think it’s called Date Yourself. So I’m looking into that one just because I’m very focused on career and family and friends right now. Maybe, maybe the right guy will come along, but I definitely want to listen to that podcast. So that’s what I’ve been listening to.

[41:59] Tara Bansal: Do you have a favorite self care ritual or something that you do to help keep you mentally okay or physically okay?

[42:12] Abbie Danko: Yes, I, I love walking, especially now that the weather’s getting nicer. Love walking.

[42:20] Tara Bansal: Do you still swim?

[42:21] Abbie Danko: I do still swim, yes. So I’ll swim one or two days a week and less to work out, but more as a meditative thing. I can very much zone out when I’m swimming, so I still do that walking. I love. I’ll. Half the time I’m talking on the phone with my brother or someone else, my dad, if he’s around. So love walking or listening to music, podcasts. And then, you know, growing up as an athlete and I do just think in general it’s really important that we’re, we’re moving our bodies in some way. So my roommate actually works at a one of those heated barre fitness studios. So I’ve been, she, she told me one day, she’s like, you have to go take my barre class. It’ll be great. And I said, you know, I’ve never done this before. I don’t, I don’t want to be warm. I don’t like sweating. I don’t want to be warm. And I’m hooked. So I’ll do bar sometimes in the morning before I go to work and I feel like it just puts me in such a great headspace for the whole day. So they do barre, they do weightlifting stuff. They’ll do yoga. Really love yoga. I know that kind of sounds cliche for self care. It’s hot, but it’s not that hot.

[43:39] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[43:40] Abbie Danko: Like, it’s not as bad as you would think.

[43:42] Tara Bansal: Okay.

[43:43] Abbie Danko: Is what I will say. And it feels good to just. It sounds kind of gross, but like to just so sweat and it, it feels good. Especially after a long day or even before the day started. Um, so I’d say most of my self care involves around movement of some sort.

[44:00] Tara Bansal: Mm. And did you, what did you do to take care of yourself while your mom was sick?

[44:11] Abbie Danko: I think, I think again, movement was a big thing. Swimming was such a big outlet for me to just, you know, whether I was turning my brain off or we were in the middle of a really hard practice and I could go that extra 10% just thinking about her. Um, but then also just conversations with my family, especially with my brother. I’m lucky. We’re very, very close. So that kept me sane. And it, it, it was. I mean, he’s going through a very similar thing to me, pretty much identical. So being there for each other and just being able to talk things out was really helpful. And I had such a great support system between like the Lawrenceville, Princeton community, all of our friends, all of our family that they were really my grounding force for all of that. So just, just the support was really great and really helped get me, get me through.

[45:09] Tara Bansal: Yeah. What’s one thing bringing you joy right now?

[45:15] Abbie Danko: One thing bringing me joy right now. I want to say, I know I touched on it, but my walking. Yeah, I love it. And there’s a trail where I work. So instead of spending my 30 minute lunch break eating, I’ll work through lunch while I’m eating, which probably shouldn’t be doing, and then I’ll just walk for 30 minutes. It breaks my day up. It makes me feel good.

[45:36] Tara Bansal: Aside. Yeah.

[45:38] Abbie Danko: Yes. I love it. That’s been big for me. I love it. Or bringing me joy? This is simple, but getting myself flowers, I go to like the supermarket or the farmer’s market or even if I’m back at my house, we have a garden. We don’t really have a garden at the apartment, but cutting flowers and just seeing those, I usually try to do it on the weekend. So I have him have them for the full week. That’s. That brings me a lot of joy. Weirdly.

[46:04] Tara Bansal: No. That’s beautiful. I love it. Oh. Any other question or something you would like to Share that. You feel like I didn’t?

[46:14] Abbie Danko: No, I don’t think so. I think you covered everything.

[46:17] Tara Bansal: How I. Like what, how can we support you and help you be successful?

[46:25] Abbie Danko: I mean, I think just, I think just like offering advice and tools and support I think is, yeah, helping each other is the main thing. And yeah, I think that sounds really simple, but that is all, you know, just even, even someone to. I, I have someone who I keep, I bother them, but I’ll just call her and be like, hey, I, I feel really, really dumb right now. So, so just even having like a hype. Hype person, someone to hype you up that when I’m like, I feel I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know what I’m doing, I might not be cut out for this. And to hear someone say, no, girl, you got this. We’ve all been there. You’re smart, you deserve to be there. So simple things like that is just, you know, continuing to push each other up. And when someone’s down, helping, helping them.

[47:28] Tara Bansal: I think that is great advice. And you are so smart and capable and unbelievably impressive.

[47:36] Abbie Danko: Thank you.

[47:37] Tara Bansal: I was grateful to have you here. I’m getting teary as always, but oh my gosh.

[47:42] Abbie Danko: Well, I’m grateful to be here.

[47:44] Tara Bansal: Thanks so much.

[47:45] Abbie Danko: Thank you.

[47:47] Tara Bansal: I had two takeaways from my conversation with Abby.

[47:51] Tara Bansal: The first was, was her self awareness after her mom’s death. Instead of rushing into a full time.

[47:57] Tara Bansal: Job or following the path others expected, she paused.

[48:02] Tara Bansal: She gave herself time and space to grieve and to figure out what she truly needed.

[48:08] Tara Bansal: That takes courage.

[48:09] Tara Bansal: To be honest, that inspired me.

[48:12] Tara Bansal: I’m a classic upholder, as Gretchen Rubin would say.

[48:16] Tara Bansal: I meet expectations, internal and external, and sometimes push myself when what I actually need is rest or a slower pace.

[48:26] Tara Bansal: Abby reminded me of the importance of.

[48:28] Tara Bansal: Listening inward, of honoring what our body and heart are asking for, even when.

[48:34] Tara Bansal: It doesn’t match what’s expected. The other moment that stood out was at the end when Abby said what.

[48:41] Tara Bansal: She really needs is a height person. Don’t we all? Someone we can be vulnerable with when we’re struggling.

[48:49] Tara Bansal: Someone who reminds us we’re capable, strong, and not alone. Too often I pull inward when I’m down. But research shows connection, not isolation, is what helps and heals.

[49:03] Tara Bansal: So I leave you with two invitations today. One, notice where you might listen more closely to yourself.

[49:12] Tara Bansal: Instead of pushing through, ask yourself, what do I need right now? And then number two, think about who your hype person is or how you can be one for someone else because we all need that voice cheering us on and reminding us we are enough.

[49:33] Tara Bansal: Thank you for listening to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about Female Financial advisors. I truly hope you found something valuable and encouraging in today’s episode. If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other phenomenal women in our field find this space. And if you know another advisor who would benefit from these conversations or from the kind of support I offer through coaching, please send this episode to her. If you’re curious about working with me as your coach or interested in being on the podcast, I’d love to hear from you. You can find more details and reach out to me on the contact page of my website, herlifeherpracticeherway.com no spaces, no underlines, just the words straight in a row. Until next time, keep building a life and practice you truly love.

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel – https://www.morganhousel.com/

Atomic Habits by James Clear – https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Start with Why by Simon Sinek – https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/

Unfiltered Waters Podcast – Hosted by Olympians Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel
https://www.youtube.com/@UnfilteredWatersPodcast

Merrill Lynch’s Advisor Development Program –
https://careers.bankofamerica.com/en-us/career-development/advisor-development-program

Abigail Danko

I am a solution-focused and goal-driven individual who recently graduated from Bates College. I am someone who communicates effectively and efficiently, who enjoys working with and learning from others, and thrives in a positive, encouraging work environment.

As a religious studies and psychology double major, I found myself constantly applying the knowledge I have learned regarding human behavior to my previous positions; and I find myself continuing to apply that knowledge at my current position within the financial services industry. I believe that each person’s psychology plays an essential role in their interactions and beliefs regarding money. This is why I specifically focused on behavioral finance within my psychology major.

One of my many goals in life is to make a difference in other’s lives, and I believe one way to do this is by helping individuals reach their financial goals in order to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-danko-206258275