But the pair stressed their approach is not restricted to any one segment of the population. “It’s really speaking to those who want to be served, who want to be valued for what they bring to the financial planning partnership,” Braxton said. “And that’s what we are striving for. Obviously being women of color, there is a special place for us because of our own journey in the space as well. But we don’t want to be boxed in.”
Braxton explained the firm’s approach is to first attract clients who are interested in financial planning, and then attract those who may or may not have had access to financial planning and, if they did, were not served in a holistic manner. “And when you look at the commonalities of these clients that we are serving, oftentimes you do find people who are overlooked by Wall Street and that would include communities of color as well as those who are high-net-worth who are overlooked just because of gender issues,” she said.
Braxton gives credit to Dorsainvil for having the vision for 2050 Wealth Partners. In fact, she said when they shared best practices there was a lot she, as a GenXer, had to learn in terms of technology from her millennial partner.
Because Dorsainvil started out by running a virtual practice, she already had the technology in place and was able to teach and share with Braxton how to use the technology to work with clients. “It’s an opportunity to meet clients where they are, understanding that we don’t want location to be a barrier for us to work with clients,” Dorsainvil said, noting that she is located in the DC Metro area while Braxton is in the New York area.
Dorsainvil said they have clients across the U.S. as well as internationally. “We are still able to nurture our relationships via video,” she explained.
Dorsainvil noted the firm’s mission of meeting clients where they are not only refers to its convenience of location, but also to where clients are financially in their life and their journey.
“Understanding that 20-, 30- or 40-year-olds may not have had enough time to amass wealth … we are the alternative to the traditional financial planning model where typically they charge 1% assets under management, and if you don’t have $1 million in investable assets they turn you away,” she said.
2050 Wealth Partners' approach is to work with clients on a retainer-based model with an annual starting fee of $4,500, paid on a quarterly basis. That fee increases with the level of complexity, Dorsainvil noted.
“We wanted to make sure that we are accessible to those who may not have amassed enough wealth. We fully embrace them,” she said.