Vanessa Martinez is tired of “holistic” planning.
With the entire wealth management industry rushing to embrace it, the term, she said, has begun to lose meaning. Enter Martinez and her firm Expressive Wealth, an RIA focused on “inclusive” planning for women, families and next-generation investors.
Launched in Chicago with $200 million in managed assets on March 8, 2024 (International Women’s Day), Expressive Wealth was created by CEO Martinez, CCO Lauren Genuardi and Darlene Duncan, a partner and wealth advisor—previously with Hightower, Telemus Capital and WealthTrust Asset Management, respectively. Also on staff is Dr. Patricia Villarreal, a licensed clinical psychologist who serves as chief clinical officer.
Far from simply swapping a tired buzzword for a fresh one, particularly one that has become as politically weaponized recently as “inclusion,” Martinez believes that inclusive planning goes beyond race and gender.
“There’s so much more to inclusion and diversity that aren’t sexuality, race or gender,” she said. “There’s inclusion of thought, communication and even language.” (Expressive Wealth offers services in English, Spanish and Polish.)
The need for inclusion is made more acute by the proliferation of blended families—or non-traditional families brought together into the same household via second marriages or other significant relationships. As the basic family unit becomes more complex and diverse, learning about those who are different in some way becomes more of a necessity, Martinez said. “Until it’s in your home, do you actually reflect on it?”
Martinez retired from her role as a partner and managing director with The Lerner Group at Hightower in 2022 after nearly a decade to focus on building an educational network and consultancy for women investors called Em-Powered. The clients felt so comfortable with the Em-powered team, which also included Dr. Villarreal, that they asked, “Why not just be our advisor instead of consulting?” And Expressive Wealth was born. (Em-powered still exists under a nonprofit structure and focuses on speaking engagements and providing educational resources.)
As for what exactly a chief clinical officer does, "The chief clinical officer works internally to support the advisors and externally when we hold family meetings for our clients,” Martinez said. “These are true family meetings where we talk about wealth beyond the dollars, and there are times where it gets a little loud or a little angry or sad or exciting. Families truly need someone who’s been in the field and can help and act as a liaison. We all communicate differently, which means we also listen differently.”
Martinez has spent the first year of Expressive Wealth’s existence focusing on building her team and focusing on employee experience and benefits (both emotional and monetary). She recently added an estate planner, an area that she views as a “huge connector” that goes way beyond the words on the documents.
Next year will be devoted to growth, with a rough goal of $500 million in AUM by year’s end.
“The end goal isn't to be this huge empire of $20 billion, because maybe it gets lost at that point,” she added. “A few billion? I'm okay with that.”
