BySergei Klebnikov,
Forbes Staff.
When Nedra Agnew was working in the U.S. foreign service, her trajectory seemed clear: she was on a path that could one day have led to an ambassadorship.
Then, in the early 2000s, her partner at the time was a financial advisor and was looking for a trainee with a CFP to join his team. She wasn’t looking for another job at the time, but Agnew specialized in administrative work, crisis management and dealing with people. “I remember having the thought, there’s no reason why I can’t be successful in this career,” she recalls.
She took a meeting with a manager who declared she was “too logical” to ever pass the Series 7 General Securities exam, which covers everything from arcane securities regulations to understanding how municipal bonds and stock options work. Agnew practically took that as a dare: She studied, sat for the test and passed, finding herself in an entirely different career—one she says has brought every zigzag of her past experience, from working in healthcare to the foreign service, together into one profession.
