Curtis shared the stage with world-renowned Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Lt. Gen Russel Honore’. The event was part of the Faculty Leadership Speakers Academy, that brings cutting edge leadership innovation to entrepreneurs and other thought leaders.
Curtis is CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute, an independent financial advisory firm, that works with families at the intersection of money and life. According to Curtis, nine out of ten financial advisors are in the business of sales, not a fiduciary. Only ten percent of advisors work as a fiduciary, where they have to put your interests ahead of their own, much like a CPA or an attorney. So, if you need financial advice, make sure you get it from a financial fiduciary.
Curtis is passionate about helping clients who have been frightened by capital markets and the media’s 24/7 threats that lead to helplessness and avoidance of financial planning. Curtis knows firsthand the economic struggles a family can face, being the daughter of a single parent mother. According to Curtis, “My mom and her advice to get an education made me the person I am that led to my success.” Curtis earned an MSJA from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, a Masters in Finance from the American College and a B.A. from Elmira College in judicial administration as well as numerous other financial certifications, that has made her one of the most credentialed financial advisors in the United States.
In her speech, Curtis held up a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill to use Ben Franklin’s first name as an acronym to illustrate what sets leaders apart. She commented B stands for ‘Best and Brightest,’ for leaders surround themselves with the best talent they can find and this includes the best financial fiduciaries. E stands for ‘Education,’ as leaders are life-long learners and focused on their high-performance play. They know their strengths and weaknesses and therefore surround a support team of advisors. N stands for, ‘Not About the Money,’ for “how you do money is how you do life.” As intriguing as money can be, it’s more than knowing your net worth. Financial success requires the integration of both right brain relationship building with left brain crunching the numbers. The message resonated with the audience, leading to a standing ovation.
In his speech, Lt. General Honore’ commented, “The next war will be about water, not oil. From global and domestic terrorist threats to natural disasters, we encounter new risks to our individual, community, and economic security each day. We will need to leverage technology to deal with the addition of 7 to 10 million people added to this earth. Imagine a plane landing at LaGuardia and the computer tells the pilot that the passenger in seat 22 has a fever. None of this is invented, and we have to live up to our ability to be innovators and dreamers.”
The other keynote speaker, Col. and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, an American engineer and a former astronaut detailed his next mission. As the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, he was one of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it spoke about going big on his mission to Mars. He commented, “In my opinion, there is no more convincing way to demonstrate American leadership for the remainder of this century than to commit to a permanent presence on Mars, going to Mars without setting up a colony — launching only round-trip manned missions is not enough, nor would establishing human outposts on the moon.”
Curtis was part of an elite group of leaders invited to West Pont. She is an award-winning author of her best-selling book, Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing, that pulls back the curtain on the financial services industry to reveal why smart people make bad investment mistakes. Her work is often featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CW, as well as several publications including the Wall Street Journal. Her groundbreaking work in developing a highly personal client-centered planning model was recognized in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, winning the Editor’s Choice Award.
This model is the cornerstone of her firm’s holistic and highly successful approach to integrated wealth management. Kim has attained numerous professional designations and been recognized by the financial planning industry as having achieved the highest level of expertise. She lives with her family in Denver Colorado.
To watch the entire West Point presentation click here.
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