A Rising Star at an age when many start taking Social Security? That’s Peggy Haslach, who followed a circuitous route to being the financial adviser she is today — and is not about to slow down.
After losing a six-figure job in Los Angeles in 2009 at age 49, Haslach sought financial help, but found advisers who only were interested in selling products, not the unique needs of Haslach and her then-partner and now-wife. The following year, the couple moved to Haslach’s native Washington, where she taught nosework training to dog owners (it’s a real thing). A student asked Haslach to help organize her financial advisory firm office, which inspired Haslach to become an adviser herself. To earn more, she applied for a job at an insurer’s broker-dealer and wowed the manager, a college water polo player, by having been a member of the U.S. women’s national water polo team.
Named her Seattle office’s Rookie of the Year, Haslach stayed until 2016 and then moved to another insurance B-D. But chafing under the pressure to seek new high-net-worth clients, she went independent in 2019, joining Finity Group, which specializes in serving health professionals.
“My niche is veterinarians, many of whom are women and LGBT,” said Haslach, who wants to continue serving diverse groups and is on the cusp of becoming a certified financial planner. “The only way to change the face of financial services is for people to see people like themselves. Being a white woman gets me into the room; my job is to open the door and let others come in.”