“I love this work. I never considered another career after I became a financial planner,” says Fulton.
FBB's first clients were the mothers of Fulton's former high school sorority sisters. Today, the firm’s typical client is a woman with at least $2 million in assets, although the firm also has many male clients. Her firm still has many original clients, and in some cases, is now serving their children and grandchildren. “We don’t have anyone as a client who wants to take big risks,” Fulton adds.
The 30-year-old firm now has 18 employees, including four female portfolio managers, a female research analyst and a female chief compliance officer. Each portfolio manager at the firm has a maximum of 100 clients and meets with them quarterly, says Fulton, who has always been willing to turn some of her clients over to new managers to help them build their business.
When she was ready to think about retiring, Fulton says, others offered to buy her firm, but she wanted someone who would carry on her and the firm’s legacy. “I wanted to give the firm the best chance to succeed without me, so I hunted for someone who could carry it on.”
She chose Michael Mussio, who she met when he was working for Schwab. He started at FBB nine years ago and is now president.
“Susan is very hands on or hands off, depending on what the employee needs,” says Mussio. “She also lets employees be creative and try new things to see if they work.”