A Voice of Reason: Insights on Wealth Management and Community Impact

Tish Berbaum [00:00:00]:
I would love to turn it around and say, I want my clients to know that I'm also going after my goals as well as I'm helping them reach their goals. And so to me, that's like a huge victory and a win and a celebration at the same time.

Leah Alter [00:00:23]:
Hi there. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Leah Alter.

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:27]:
And I'm Joanna Ehresman. And this is WomenShare,

Leah Alter [00:00:30]:
a celebration of women in financial services.

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:34]:
And today we are sitting down with Tish Berbaum, the founder and wealth advisor at Blue Sands Wealth. Tish is often referred to as the voice of reason with her clients and derives immense satisfaction from educating them on the tools and resources that will help them achieve rewarding long term financial outcomes. Specifically, she's focused on helping business owners who are looking for an exit plan and provides insightful support for widows who are managing their financial affairs independently. One of Tish's core values is giving back to her community. So whether it's donating her finances or her time, Tish ensures that she's regularly connecting with others. She especially values the time she spent spends with her daughter volunteering with Community Roots, a beautification project that has visibly transformed their city for the better. So we're so excited to have you with us today, Tish. Welcome to Women Share.

Tish Berbaum [00:01:27]:
Thank you so much for having me on the show, ladies. This is such an honor. I appreciate it.

Leah Alter [00:01:32]:
We are very excited to have you and have so much to cover. But we do wanna take a moment and thank this week's pay it forward sponsor of RFG Advisory. Through a pay it forward sponsorship, past WomenShare guests can support another woman's story in a future episode. So thank you to the RFG team for sponsoring WomenShare. RFG Advisory is an award winning support platform for independent advisors, empowering them to focus on what they do best, serving their clients. You can learn more about them at rfgadvisory.com. So let's dive in. We have lots of, topics together today, but let's start off with how you got into the industry.

Leah Alter [00:02:18]:
What attracted you to wealth management?

Tish Berbaum [00:02:21]:
Well, I've always had a passion for investing. I opened my first account when I was in kindergarten. So I know. So wild. I know. That's adorable. I tell my kids they're slackers because they literally what are they what are they doing? They're 10 and 12, and they have nothing to

Joanna Ehresman [00:02:44]:
show up.

Leah Alter [00:02:45]:
Millionaires yet? What the heck?

Tish Berbaum [00:02:50]:
Although, they did ask for, some stocks for the holidays, and I was like, I do love you guys. So Wow.

Joanna Ehresman [00:02:59]:
Following in your footsteps.

Tish Berbaum [00:03:01]:
Yes. Love it. Yeah. So, really, truly, my passion started when I was young, and that really came from a family that, we really didn't have anything. We we grew up that we were maybe middle American, but really, like, lower middle American. Not we didn't have a lot, but, blue collar. And, at the end of the day, my mom side of the family was very entrepreneurial side. My dad's side of the family is very, like, doctors and very educated.

Tish Berbaum [00:03:35]:
And and I've learned from so much from both of them as as more of, like, mentors. And I am through that process, I've had this, like, always this, like, what are they doing? And it's very, like, inquisitive, and how can I improve myself, and what can I do even at a very young age? And my grandparents taught me, always have your money work for you. Don't work for your money always. Now it's a tool to get you to have that money work for you. So that philosophy has really been ingrained in my life, and with the love of of numbers and watching investments grow and really figuring at a young age that, hey. If I can create wealth, why can't I create wealth for other people and make their lives easier and help them reach their goals and what they wanted in their lives? So, really, my passion has always been because I have really figured out, like, what can I do to improve myself and improve the people around me, and what are the tools to be able to do that, and then to turn around and wanna be able to share that with other people? And that's really where it all started from.

Joanna Ehresman [00:04:45]:
Oh, I love that. It's like this combination of you're naturally curious, like, a learner, but then you also wanna turn around and share it. Like, what a Yeah. Like, virtuous cycle. Right? Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:04:55]:
Yeah. That's amazing.

Joanna Ehresman [00:04:57]:
Awesome. And so you launched Blue Sands Wealth in 2024. Correct?

Tish Berbaum [00:05:01]:
Yes. Yes.

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:02]:
Yes. And you're partnered with RFG Advisory. So can you tell us a little bit more about making that decision to be an entrepreneur and launch your own firm? We'd love to hear that story.

Tish Berbaum [00:05:11]:
Yeah. I love it. Well, I've been in the business since, 2008. So I started when the market was just very volatile and down, and everyone was like

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:23]:
fun times. Yep. Free time.

Tish Berbaum [00:05:24]:
Yeah. Just graduated, and everyone is like, you're gonna be an investment adviser. Like, they will, like, leave the room. But from there, all the way to where I am now, I've had, many years of experience, and I've worked up the ladder of being able to build incredibly successful teams. And I've done that over a number of years. And this has always been my vision is to be able to open up my own firm and be able to really grow and support people and help their, their visions and their goals. And so this is really just a natural progression in that process of reaching my goals. And so I would love to turn it around and say, I want my clients to know that I'm also going after my goals as well as I'm helping them reach their goals.

Tish Berbaum [00:06:11]:
And so, to me, that's like a huge victory and a win and a celebration at the same time. So when it came down to, you know, the the when, the why, and the how, it was really it's taken me over a year to really work through the process of what does that look like to have a a wealth management firm and and creating the name, Blue Sands, and making sure that it's trustworthy, and things that people can relate to, and things that are that are, like, connected to, like vacation and and making the the the nervousness of investing more of a calm feeling and just feeling like, oh, I'm in a great hands through the tides of life and whatever that looks like. So that's really behind the scenes of what that looks like. And when I transitioned to that process of now when you get into the nuts and bolts of being a business owner, I've been running a firm for many years, but now when you own your own, you have to make sure for me to be able to make that move. It is so, it is a big move. And and so that being said, things that I looked for was, like, what's a strong partner that has multi custodians. Right? So I can be able to provide more opportunities for my clients to be able to invest their money at on different platforms to make their lives easier. Also, looking at a firm that it has the ability to grow and growth mindsets.

Tish Berbaum [00:07:36]:
RFT was just so, like, amazing on their drive for growth and being able to support advisors for us to really be independent, and we own our firms and we're growing that. But then it allowed me to do what I do best and help my clients and help them grow and help their their investments. And it allowed me to say, look. I love what I do, but I delegate the compliance to them. And then they kinda tell me what to do as for compliance side, but I know I'm taken care of. My clients are taken care of. And that's really what they're looking for is that so then I'm not spending my time doing the things that I don't love as a business owner. And then the last element is really I always look at 3 things.

Tish Berbaum [00:08:17]:
Had to be a win for my clients, it had to be a win for me, and it had to be a win for my partner. And the partner is RFG. All said for myself, my family gets to win. They get more of my time, and I'm able to be able to be more flexible with what that looks like and be able to, at lunchtime, do lunch on the lawn that maybe I wasn't able to do. But that little bit is just precious and that I wasn't able to do before. So making sure that my family values are still ingrained in what's important to me, so I can reflect that for clients. If I'm only business oriented, it's not balanced. And so, you know, meeting that, that is really the end of the day.

Tish Berbaum [00:08:56]:
That's kind of the goal, and that was made me decide RFP was a great partner in this journey, and their technology is gonna be able to help my clients improve their experience and with a credible investment management team and support. It's just a great place to be.

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:13]:
Awesome. I love that. It's fantastic. Yeah. And the story and, like, the ability to shape the business to be the way you want it to be, that's such a pervasive theme in the conversations we've had with women, especially those who've, like, struck out and started their own practice. It's like, no. Like, there's a lot that's great about, you know, the traditional model, but there are things that just needed to be tweaked to fit with your values, your lifestyle, and how and I think your point of modeling it for your clients too. Like, walking the walk.

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:42]:
Yes.

Leah Alter [00:09:42]:
Walking the talk. That was what I was gonna say. Yes.

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:45]:
Love that.

Leah Alter [00:09:46]:
You're not you're not asking your clients to do anything that you aren't also doing for yourself. And I think modeling behavior, especially when it comes to running a business or, you know, running your finances, the best lessons you can teach are around you know, are through modeling that behavior.

Tish Berbaum [00:10:07]:
Yeah. And that's gonna be something that I have to get out of my own way a little bit. I'm I would say if there's something that I need to work on is being more open in sharing that because I do that all the time, but I haven't shared all of the, like, the wins, what I've done along the way. So I feel like this is gonna be the next step or the next journey for Tish 2.0. It's really sharing those those things that as I go through, I'm sharing with with clients because we are all going through some of the same things together. And as a business owner to business owners, they would love to know those great tools and tips along the way that maybe we're doing the hard work behind the scenes and the research to kinda help them improve their process.

Leah Alter [00:10:51]:
Absolutely. 100%. We love that your firm focuses also on helping, widows live financially independent lives after losing a spouse. Why is that an area that was, important to you, and what have you learned from those clients as they've moved through such a hard transition?

Tish Berbaum [00:11:14]:
Well, I feel like I'm an old soul. I always had such a great relationship with my grandmother, and I would talk to her every day. And I had just such a lovely, experience. So I just really naturally am very comfortable with, multi generations and being able to talk to all different people in different phases in their lives. But what I have seen over the years when it comes to money and finance that so especially widowed women, they might not have been the person making the decisions financially. They might not have been the person that's sitting at those meetings with their financial adviser and really didn't have a voice. And so what I saw with some of my clients was maybe the kids were coming in, and they were kinda taking over, and mom doesn't know what's going on. And they were losing a little of their independence.

Tish Berbaum [00:12:10]:
It's like losing your driver's license. And without even realizing, when you take the financial element away from them because they don't know, it really impacts them. So my goal was really to empower them and women in general. Honestly, when it comes to finances and wealth, I take the time to understand where they are, and then I help them get to where they wanna be. So if they need a little bit more time, we walk through it and break it down and understand what are we doing with their investment. And even as general as, like, what is this type of investment that you're investing in and and explaining it to them. So then when they walk away and they go back and report to their kids, they understand or it's a process or journey over time. They understand what they're doing, but then they I do it so I want them to feel empowered in their life when it comes to their finances, and then maybe the way that we make their tea their family as a team.

Tish Berbaum [00:13:07]:
We do family meetings. And then then we're bringing the kids in, but the mom maybe is still in control of her investments, and then she's part of that decision making. So we're creating them, like, to feel more empowered in their own lives. That to me is, like, if I can give that gift, that makes me feel great. And maybe it's someone they connect to, like, woman to woman. And even if it's not, maybe it's just someone general that's widowed. Maybe just in general, people I love to empower people to where they are in their their phase of what money feels and looks like to them, and then help them feel more comfortable in that process.

Joanna Ehresman [00:13:43]:
That's a I mean Yeah. I know. I'm like well and I just I feel like I'm thinking of women in my life. Right? Whether it's aunts or whatever and just Yeah. That, like like you said, what a what a gift and what a service to put them first and their autonomy and their, like, empowerment. Like you said, it's so it's so important. And I think especially when you're going through such a huge life transition and so many things are upside down that Yeah. Like, having somebody really in your corner this way where it's like, no.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:15]:
You're I know you're capable. I know you've got this, and I am here to be your resource. Like Yeah. Love that. Yeah.

Tish Berbaum [00:14:22]:
Yeah. We're really that team. Yeah. Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:24]:
I was

Leah Alter [00:14:24]:
gonna say I feel like a lot of people don't know who to trust, so to speak, like, during those big transitions. Right? Because there's you've got attorneys. You have, you know, the there's a lot of people coming at you and talking at you. Yeah. So I think being able, like you said, to slow down and really figure out what is most important and and how to prioritize and help them prioritize.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:52]:
Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:14:53]:
It can be such a game changer in in a time where a lot of people maybe aren't listening to her.

Tish Berbaum [00:15:01]:
Yeah. For example, 2 teeny little examples. 1, this morning, I was on a call with someone who just lost their loved one. And to your point with regards to team, we bring everybody in. So it's not just about the wealth manager. It's really having your whole team in process and people don't even realize that. So that could be your estate attorney, that could be your accountant, that could be family member, could be a trustee, and then we look through all of that and figure out how we can help them advance. That, I think, is such a huge difference when you're looking at everything because remember of the team, we're not just managing their money.

Tish Berbaum [00:15:41]:
We're managing all the things regards to financial because we all work together. So Yeah. That that they were so relieved, and it was such a great process. And they were replacing something someone else in in their team, and we all were able to you work together. And it's not just, hey. What does Tish think? We all collectively work together, and and then we were able to knock it out in a really short period of time and be able to take care of their family and what they needed at a critical time.

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:08]:
1 at a time where, like, you don't wanna add more to their plate. Right? But just knowing, like, okay. Right. I've given my voice, my perspective in this forum, and they're taking care of it. Awesome. Like, whatever. Okay. Now I also wanna we wanna dig into the community work that you do.

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:23]:
So you shared that one of your core values is, like, creating systemic and lasting change, and I just wanna hear more about that aspect of your life and the work you're doing, in the community.

Tish Berbaum [00:16:36]:
Yeah. So I would love to help everybody, and I just have that vision that I can just help everyone in in all different places. And I really have done, like, some soul searching on how I can help and how I can give back in different areas. So sometimes what I look at is, like, social media and podcast and being guests and being a pan panel member and and posting things online. That's an audience that anybody can tap into and it's free resources, and I get a lot of great tips and solutions. It might not be applicable to everybody, but at least it's great content that you can kind of glean for as you kinda figure out what works for you and your personal situation. So that's kinda my overarching how I kinda get the masses and give some good information out there. The next level, if you're gonna say, like, nationally, I sit on a couple national boards on their, committees for portfolio management.

Tish Berbaum [00:17:35]:
And so I feel like that is so important. If a company is run by its board, right, and the board actually has a lot of influence from top down on how things are run, how things are taken care of, and having a woman's perspective or a woman's person or a woman's point of view in that room can make an influence all the way down to the bottom of just, like, the brand new, employee at the very beginning and what that looks like in their company or nonprofit organization. So, again, I sit on 2 different boards that I do this, and we have made incredible changes in both of those organizations and just having the ability to be part of that. All of that for me is giving back. I give my time, my my my financial contributions, my my space. But that's really, like, my I'm gonna call it maybe my intellectual property when I'm there, and I'm holding their team accountable and helping and give back. So that's kind of more of the board side of things, bigger picture company top down. And, again, if a company is thinking about something different, it could be how they have their products, it could be how they treat people, it could be all sorts of things.

Tish Berbaum [00:18:46]:
So it's really to me, it's like a really beautiful thing, like, how business works and my giving back. And then, as far as, like, local organizations, I really truly believe in a lot of different local organizations, and I believe in, like, literacy and children and and giving themselves an opportunity to grow and advance. And there's a couple organizations that I give back, financially and with my time to be able to make a difference locally for for for young kids and that next generation of what that looks like. And on also financial funds and just learning some basic financial elements in in their lives. And then on another, part of what I do, I was actually, like, recognized by our local senator for one of, the women in in the state of California for my giving back. And something that it was super important to me was there's not there wasn't a lot of women, in finance. Right? And, especially, in wealth management, and we're changing that, but it's slow. And in that being said, I really wanted to make more change, and I tried to go to my local university and say, hey.

Tish Berbaum [00:20:00]:
Can I pay it forward and pay for some people to go through the CFP program and some programs to really help them advance, like, really make sure that they have the core balance and and the things that they need in their careers to help them advance? And they said no. So, they couldn't do that, and then I had to open up my own nonprofit. That wasn't gonna be where I needed to spend my time. I really want to focus on being a wealth adviser. So at the end of the day, I connected with an organization, associated with the Brea Chamber of Commerce, and they help women advance their careers into the next level. So it could be just starting or it could be in upper management, higher management, and we're talking about incredible barriers that they're they're changing their financial outcomes. They're getting new jobs. They're increasing within their same jobs.

Tish Berbaum [00:20:54]:
They're getting more opportunities. They're getting advanced. This year, we do, like, a mentor program. We sit on panels. We give back. But I was one of the original, contributors to this. And, again, when I, you know, I I I don't I'm not incredibly endowed. So for me, it was like, I believe in this.

Tish Berbaum [00:21:13]:
I believe in making a change. I will believe in giving back along the way, and that's something that I truly believe in. So I am such a huge supporter of women helping women, just like what you said in the beginning. Like, how can we give back and how can we help each other? But giving back is part of the grain of what I do in all aspects and parts that I share and parts that I keep private, but it's absolutely part of, like, who I am as a person. And I've incorporated into Blue Sands Wealth, and part of what we do is we give back to our community in different organizations. And that's just gonna be part of what we do, for Huron going out forever.

Leah Alter [00:21:54]:
Well and, I mean, we know that that makes the biggest impact, right, is when we are in our local communities helping and giving back to those communities and lifting those people up, sometimes I think we can get overwhelmed by the craziness of the world and everything we want to see change.

Tish Berbaum [00:22:18]:
And,

Leah Alter [00:22:19]:
it can feel really overwhelming. And it's such a good reminder that you can start really locally, like, literally in your neighborhood or in your town, and that can make the biggest impact to people directly in your community.

Joanna Ehresman [00:22:35]:
And it ties to you know, we've talked a lot about within the financial services industry, you know, bringing more balance and more women into the fold and your specific, like, engagement and mentoring. Like, it's that one to one interaction and another woman committing to helping you. Right? Or well, it could be a man too. Right? Anybody who's, like, really digging in and, like, helping you specifically and sponsoring you is a really important factor in actually driving change. So kudos to you for prioritizing, you know, making the time to do that because that's how change happens. That is what works. Yeah. So I

Tish Berbaum [00:23:11]:
love it. One day at a time.

Joanna Ehresman [00:23:13]:
Right. When one person at a time. Right?

Tish Berbaum [00:23:15]:
Yeah. Like, honestly. So over

Leah Alter [00:23:17]:
the next time. Totally. Mhmm. So, Tish, we love to ask all of our guests that come on the show, what is the best career advice that you've ever received?

Tish Berbaum [00:23:28]:
I have had some great advice along the way. I feel like building an incredible support system and making sure that you have people that you can lean in and talk to and have mentorship in your industry, in areas you wanna be at. I feel like that mentorship is so important and being able to just feel comfortable to ask questions. I literally just sent an email or a message on LinkedIn to someone I connected with years ago that runs an incredible publicly run company. And we met a couple times, and I'm like, hey. FYI, I just did this amazing thing. I'll launch this firm I wanted to share. I connected with this other person.

Tish Berbaum [00:24:16]:
How can I help this this company give back? I saw you guys were connected. What do you think? And I automatically got a, a response, but it's because I keep those relationships open and the that mentorship is there and being able to keep open communication and staying on top of it. Doesn't mean I have to talk to him all the time, but just staying connected is so important as well. So having people that you can bounce things off of that you trust and that support you is so important.

Leah Alter [00:24:49]:
Building your community. Yeah. Finding your people.

Tish Berbaum [00:24:52]:
Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:24:53]:
And I think you're hitting on an important point of the reciprocal value, right, where they probably value being able to share their insight, but then you're also identifying ways you can help them. And that's what who are we just having this conversation with, Leah? I can't remember, but it was, like, the importance of authenticity, right, in these Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:25:10]:
Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:11]:
Relationships. And, so, yeah, it's so true. It's so true. And Yeah. To your point of being, not afraid to ask questions, right, of I feel like the further I've gotten in my career, the more comfortable I'm saying, like, hey. I'm not following like, I don't really understand. Help me understand versus feeling like, oh my god. I act like I know it all, and I've got this under wraps, and I'm gonna secretly Google it out on the side.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:36]:
You know? It's like, no. Just ask the question.

Tish Berbaum [00:25:38]:
We don't need to know it all. It's it's our community. We can help each other. Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:25:43]:
Yeah. And I think people are probably more than willing to share the information and aren't don't think to do it unless they're asked. So it kind of becomes a chicken or an egg. So it's like you gotta ask the question so they can share the information. You know?

Tish Berbaum [00:25:57]:
Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:58]:
Yeah.

Tish Berbaum [00:25:58]:
So I have a amazing group of people that we work together. And the fun part about it is as we connect, each of us have our one thing that we're great at. But at the end of the day, our one thing collectively can make an incredible change to all of us as a as the different members sitting at the table. And so, like, little things like that and not being afraid to share and help people is incredibly empowering, and we help each other. But you have to be vulnerable, and you have to be okay with with leaning in and sharing as well. So Yes. Highly recommend it.

Joanna Ehresman [00:26:34]:
Oh, that's a good it almost reminds me of, like, a a mastermind of sorts, right, where it's like people bring together their different perspectives and help. That's that's great. But to your point, like, note to self in 2025. Here, I'm like, I need, like, the intentional fostering of these relationships and not to the point where it's like, check the box. I'm following this strategy, but just really prioritizing giving back both ways. That's a a note for myself.

Tish Berbaum [00:27:00]:
I love it.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:01]:
Yeah. So, Tish, we'd love to hear outside of your professional life, what else can we celebrate with you today?

Tish Berbaum [00:27:07]:
I love it. Well, I feel like I am a family oriented person. So something that I have really I'm just so excited now that I have launched Blue Sands Wealth is I have created the space and the time to do things with my family as a family unit since we we our time is so limited, and they're growing up so quickly. So little fun things like making time for ski trips and little vacations that we really spend quality time together. So it's important to me because it's such a short window we have, and that's what fuels me to be better at who I am personally.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:46]:
Oh, I love that. And, like I love it. The realization, like, that was one of the goals of starting Blue Sands is to get to that mix that works for you. So Yeah.

Tish Berbaum [00:27:54]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:27:54]:
Definitely, we're celebrating.

Tish Berbaum [00:27:56]:
Hard, play hard.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:57]:
Yeah. Yeah. That's right. That's right.

Leah Alter [00:28:00]:
I love that. Oh, well, Tish, this has been such a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for coming on WomenShare. If somebody is interested in connecting with you, and potentially working with you, what's the best place to do that?

Tish Berbaum [00:28:15]:
Yeah. So great question. Going to my website and going to bluesandswealth.comortish at bluesandswealth, and sand has an s at the end. Great places to go. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Instagram and all the other social media sites, and that you would just look up Leticia Ervam, to look up that or Lou Sam's

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:43]:
as well.

Leah Alter [00:28:43]:
Awesome. And we'll have that all linked in our show notes as well so people can find you.

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:48]:
Thank you. Thank you. And so I'm sure there'll be raving fans as we are now. So just thank you, Tish, again, for joining us. This was such a great conversation. And with that, that's our show for today. If ours is a mission that you want to share in, please subscribe to WomenShare on your favorite podcast platform. And I'm Joanna Ehresman.

Leah Alter [00:29:09]:
And I'm Leah Alter, and we will catch you on the next episode of WomenShare.