Matt Jaskolka, a financial advisor in Virginia Beach, Va., has left Oppenheimer to start his own registered investment advisor, Jaskolka Financial.
But Jaskolka, 31, says the launch belies the challenges he’s faced to make it in the wealth management business.
When he was about 25 years old, Jaskolka moved from Warren, Pa., to Virginia, not knowing anyone. He started out cutting his teeth at Northwestern Mutual in about 2020. He got into the business to help people, but was being told to sell life insurance.
“Every single Monday meeting was, ‘how many calls did you make? How many cold calls did you make? How many appointments did you set? How many policies did you sell?’” he said. “I was told the average advisor made $500,000 a year after their fifth year. You have autonomy. You grow your business; you have an impact on people’s lives. You’re someone in the community. That’s a life, that’s a career. However, no one tells you what you have to do. It’s picking up the phone 40 times every single day, making your calls, meeting introductions, getting new introductions, getting referrals, putting yourself out there.”
There were a number of times he simply wanted to quit.
He then moved to Carlson Financial, a family-oriented independent RIA. However, that firm was heavily into fixed index annuities, so he again felt pressure to promote a certain product.
After about three years with Carlson, he made the jump to Oppenheimer in early 2024, where his story was similar.
“Constantly watching wholesalers or mutual funds salespeople walking through our doors and constantly floating the next hot topic,” he said. “That’s not how it’s done in my humble opinion.”
That pressure to sell certain products rubbed him the wrong way, and he sought to do it the right way, providing objective, unbiased advice.
“How can I truly look my clients in the eyes and say, ‘This is what you need, this is what you don’t need,’ and not have someone breathing down my neck to constantly push something else.”’
That inspired him to go out on his own and launch the RIA. Jaskolka’s firm is state-registered, meaning it’s sub-$100 million in AUM, and he expects to transition his 35 to 40 clients.
He’s working with XY Planning Network to help him get set up. XYPN has helped him with the RIA registration process and establishing a compliance program. The support platform also helped him craft the AUM model, security policies and business continuity plan. He’s using Schwab for custody.
He also plans to take advantage of some of XYPN’s discounted technology tools, such as FP Pathfinder and Capitect.
He also views the XYPN community of over 2,000 advisors as a huge benefit, especially given his past experiences.
“All the rejection you deal with, all the pain and suffering you deal with on a day-to-day basis—it’s so lonely.”