David Hinshaw has been an Advisor for OneAscent Wealth since 2020, but his passion for serving people and building relationships started long before he joined our team. Hear David share his story and how these relationships help our team build better financial plans. 

Do you need guidance in your financial strategy? Schedule a consultation today! 

Living Life on Mission

I started my career as an Academic Advisor at Auburn University. I transitioned into full-time ministry two years later, where I ministered to the students attending medical school at UAB. I loved my time in ministry. I was passionate about the opportunity to get to know new people, hear their stories, and establish deep relationships. Thankfully, I still get to do that today! 

As I was finishing my time in ministry, I was unsure what I wanted to do next. I was considering financial advising but wasn’t sure how to get started. I knew Harry Pearson through my church, and he had been my small group leader in the past. I asked if I could meet with him. I mainly wanted to ask for his advice as I considered my options during this transition, but it also allowed me to hear about what it would look like to be a financial advisor. After talking with Harry, I felt clarity that financial advising was where I wanted to be. 

Later, I got the chance to interview for an advisor position and joined the OneAscent Wealth team in September 2020. 

Becoming a Wealth Management Certified Professional®

Because I didn’t have a background in financial services, I wanted to find ways to equip myself further to serve clients well. To be a financial advisor in Alabama, you only have to be registered with the state government and pass a test. In addition to this, I discovered a program that provided a private certification that advisors can take to become a Wealth Management Certified Professional®. 

This certification is through the American College of Financial Services and trains advisors to handle wealth management needs such as general financial planning, retirement planning, investing, special needs planning, and more. It provided me with a great foundation of knowledge, and the coursework used many case study exercises to allow advisors to apply what they are learning to real-world scenarios. 

My goal in becoming a Wealth Management Certified Professional® was to further build my knowledge, so I could serve clients and meet their financial needs with more expertise.

Helping People Reach Financial Success

I said before how much I enjoy getting to know people, and for me, that’s the best part of my job. I also love hearing people’s stories and backgrounds and seeing how that has influenced their lives and what they desire for their lives and legacy. And finances are just a part of that. 

That’s how I see my role at OneAscent Wealth; being a guide, a trusted advisor for clients as they navigate through life. This includes finances, but it can also be a lot of things. 

My main passion is helping people. There are many ways to do so, and financial advising is one of the ways I can help people live life better. 

Financial Unity Within Marriage

I have experience and expertise in serving clients of all income levels and life stages. Still, one area that I have found a lot of gratification in recently is helping couples find unity in their finances. Finances can often be a point of conflict or distraction in a marriage. 

Helping these clients identify their priorities, understand the motivation behind them, and affirm the good in each other’s way of thinking creates a massive shift in how clients relate to each other, both inside and outside of finances. 

Creating a Better Financial Approach

I want to start by saying that all the work our investment team does is integral to our ability to serve clients better. Our investment process is strategic, both in thinking about investing from a biblical and financial perspective and how to manage investments effectively. 

We are also intentional about the time we spend getting to know our clients personally. When we meet with a prospective client, we spend the entire first meeting hearing about them and what they value most. Unless someone requests to dive into the numbers immediately, we spend an hour building a relationship with them before we ever talk about finances. 

It’s more than just, “ok, let’s look at your balance sheet.” This is part of the process, but we have found that the time we spend with the client in the first meeting significantly affects our recommendations. 

I emailed one of my clients earlier this week about his options for life insurance and long-term care. As I was writing up my email, I pulled up the notes I had taken from our meeting when he shared what was most important to him. I tailored my recommendations to what I knew that he desired and valued. 

In the email, I presented him with three different paths he could take but let him know which one I believed was the best fit based on what he had shared with me. 

We aren’t here to give our generic recommendations. Every financial plan will look different based on the individual or couple. We build these relationships because we genuinely care about our clients, but it also allows us to create more intentional and, therefore, better financial plans for each person who trusts us with their wealth. 

Getting Started With OneAscent Wealth

If you want to learn more about how we can help you create a financial plan centered around your desires for life and legacy, I would love to talk with you! Contact us here to learn more about how we can help you reach your financial goals.

Past performance may not be representative of future results.  All investments are subject to loss.  Forecasts regarding the market or economy are subject to a wide range of possible outcomes.  The views presented in this market update may prove to be inaccurate for a variety of factors.  These views are as of the date listed above and are subject to change based on changes in fundamental economic or market-related data.  Please contact your Financial Advisor in order to complete an updated risk assessment to ensure that your investment allocation is appropriate.