Lori PilonCFP®

Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?

I was born and raised in Overland Park, KS. I moved to North Carolina when I went to Wake Forest University and stayed out there for about 14 years. The pandemic made us realize we wanted family close by, so we moved to my husband’s hometown of Bozeman, MT, in the dead of winter 2021. We have been enjoying the outdoor mountain lifestyle ever since!

What do you value most in your client relationships?

Being transparent and trustworthy. Both of these let me do my job well for my clients. Not to mention developing these with clients is incredibly humbling and rewarding for me as a professional.

When you retire you’re going to…?

Be one of the women that is active every day – whether it be hiking the trails in the summertime or skiing to meet my friends for a coffee in the lodge in the wintertime. I’m determined to be one of those very active retirees I have come to deeply admire. And I’ll sprinkle some travel in there, too, as my husband and I would love to see more of the world.

What sparked your interest in financial planning? What fuels you every day in your work?

I stumbled into financial planning by signing up for a job as a relationship manager on a wealth management team in 2015. Prior to delving into financial planning on that team, I was one of those college grads who knew it was important to save but felt somewhat clueless when it came something like locking in an interest rate on my first mortgage and why the rate mattered. They don’t teach you that kind of thing in school. I felt like I was navigating my financial life partially blind, and that’s a pretty uncomfortable place to sit. If I can prevent someone else from feeling that way, I have done my job well. So what fuels me every day? The knowledge I have built up over my career in this industry can truly help someone else and have an impact in their life. That’s enough motivation for me!