A Day in the Life: Regional Vice President, Small Private Firm

4:00 a.m.: I wake up. My day begins early, when I get up and review everything that came in the night before. Since we don’t have a massive equity strategy team, I’m constantly reviewing outside research on my clients’ holdings, which we subscribe to. I spend most of my morning reading up to see what the latest thinking is. I stay glued to the TV and computer at home because I’m on the West Coast and I don’t want to be commuting when the market opens.

6:30 a.m.: The opening bell.

7:30 a.m.: Once the market is open and I’m OK with what’s going on, then I shower and get dressed and everything else, and head into work. I have Sirius satellite radio in the car just so I listen to Bloomberg radio on my drive in.

8:15 a.m.: I arrive at the office, and almost immediately begin making client calls. Once I get in the office, it’s all about the clients. I’m on the phone, sending e-mails, planning ahead, doing everything I can to not only meet their needs, but anticipate them.

1:00 p.m.: The closing bell. The market closes at 1 p.m. my time, which is great. That allows me to get out of the office and go see clients without worrying about anybody’s portfolio.

1:30 p.m.: I have lunch with members of the local chamber of commerce. I belong to all the local business groups, and I’m there whenever they have conferences or luncheons or whatever. Any time I can be in a room with successful business people, I’m there. Sometimes it’s in the afternoon, sometimes it’s evening, but whenever.

2:30 p.m.: Client meeting at his office. Clients appreciate it when you go to them, and I’m there with my laptop if there are questions, I’m right there in my network pulling up my client’s data without a problem, and they’re still comfortable in their office or home.

4:00 p.m.: Back to the office for more calls and e-mails, laying in moves or strategies as needed for the following day.

5:00 p.m.: I head home, which is unusual. If my evening is free, I can be out of the office by 4 or 5 p.m., but that’s usually just one or two days a week, usually Friday. My clients tend to be businesspeople, so we often meet after business hours so they can focus fully on their jobs. And I’ll stay late a lot to ride herd on a major purchase or investment that I’m working on for a client.