SER Familia Spotlight: Victor Orozco, CFP®, CSRIC®

At an industry conference a few weeks before the very first SER, I had the opportunity to formally meet Victor Orozco, CFP®, CSRIC® for the first time. Like with most people in the SER community, it was an instantaneous click. I invited him to come to SER and he was in. He reached out a few days before the event and asked us if we were going to have a gathering the night before, so we decided to have a very a very informal happy hour at the hotel's restaurant downstairs.

We all sat around talking, laughing, connecting, telling stories, sharing goals, and expressing excitement for the next day's event. When we went to pay the bill, Victor had already picked it up. SER hadn't even "officially" started and it was already something special to Victor.

A lifelong Southern Californian, Victor currently lives in San Diego with his wife, Bethel, and his two daughters, Madison, 7, and Mila, 5. He's a managing partner at Bair Financial Planning, alongside Marci Bair, CFP ® (she/her), and is a valued member of our SER familia.

Here is Victor's story in his own words:

Tell us about your career journey and what led you to the financial services industry. 

I have had the fortune of my journey starting as a seasonal hourly intern to a 50/50 partner present day. I had a classmate during my undergrad days at San Diego State University (Go Aztecs!)—where I studied finance and played rugby—who asked if I would be interested in applying where he worked. It was with a branch office of MetLife that had a fee-based financial planning focus. He worked within their financial planning and case design unit. I got the job and worked for multiple financial advisors and began learning the ropes. It was in that experience where my passion for planning started.

That was a 10-year journey of learning that led to the transition of an informal to formal partnership with Marci Bair. She was the first advisor I interned for and current business partner to this day. We eventually made the shift to a hybrid RIA home with LPL Financial as our broker dealer (their sponsorship to the SER community is something I greatly appreciate) and The Wealth Consulting Group became our RIA. We were part of the original advisors

who formed the Wealth Consulting Group that was lead by Jimmy Lee at CEO, a little over 10 years ago. It was a group of about 30 with a footprint mainly in the Pacific Southwest. Today, it represents 124 advisors, 42 branch offices nationwide, and manages over $8.5 billion. I also have the honor of being an investment committee member for WCG which includes providing guidance on their sustainable investing portfolios. Our affiliation with them has allowed Marci, Alondra, Emily, and I to grow our practice to better serve our client base of women in leadership, LGBTQ+ community, and investors interested in sustainable investing approaches.

Who have been some of the most influential mentors or people in your life and career? 

Ironically, all the advisors I did not align with during my early years. I observed and worked for multiple advisors—saw the good, the bad, and the what the ahem! I believe learning what you don’t like and how you would prefer not to run your business, leads you to know what you like and want for yourself faster. Also, my Grandfather (also named Victor Orozco). He is/was a barber for over 55 years and Army veteran—he can’t stay retired. He misses conversations with his lifelong customers, and my Grandma says he bugs her too much at home. I grew up in his barbershop, helping with the phone, breaking change (no cashless Apple Pay tap back then), sweeping up hair. It dawned on me decades later that observing how he treated his customers, how he cut the hair of many different generations of the same family, and took care of the barbers who rented a chair from him—there were so many similarities to what I attempt to do today with my business. If you ever come to my office, you will see an original poster from the 70’s that was in his barber shop as reverent reminder.

In what ways do you step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself? 

My name is Victor Aurelio Orozco, my great great grandfather (Valiente) was from Atotonilco El Alto (Jalisco) and...I am a "no sabo kid." The initial thoughts of attending SER in its inaugural year give me so many mixed emotions—mainly the anxiety shame kind but also a side of having a sense of responsibility. Thank goodness I worked through that and learned that I needed to embrace it and put it out there (because there are a lot of us out there). It brings great joy to have a small part in growing this community and awareness to the profession. I may not be able to help our community with my más o menos speak but if I can help bring awareness and attract more of our community into the profession, it in turn can help our community—and that is worth stepping out of my comfort zone. I have shared my gratitude before and will continue to share it to Ana, Vanessa, and the entire OG SER crew for making this hopeful vision a powerful reality.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?

Everyone has a different starting point, put your blinders on and run your own race.

What’s one book, podcast, or resource you’d recommend to others in financial services?

Something outside of our ecosystem: I read Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara in 2022, and it has been a hard book to beat since. My thoughts were strongly reinforced hearing him as a keynote at this year’s Horizons Conference in San Diego put on by The American College. “Whatever you do for a living, you can choose to be in the hospitality business,” is a such a parallel to the experience we wish to provide the clients we serve with our own practices (also believe my Grandfather embodied this). In another life—or maybe my retired one—being in a front of house / maître d' role has always been intriguing to me and in turn made this book and its stories even more engaging. Even if you don’t have a strong desire to read about the restaurant industry or dread an experience of working in it (my first job was being a host at Marie Callender's, haha) this book can unlock new ways of approaching how we serve our clients and empower your team members to create magical moments.

Join us at the SER Summit for Latinos in FinServ on Sept. 3-5 in Chicago to meet Victor and the rest of the SER familia! Register today!. ◼