John T Petika Sr of UBS Wealth Management USA On The 5 Essentials for Smart Investing

An Interview With Jason Hartman

Avoid investing in something that is not easily understood. Maybe that should be the number-one lesson, along with “Walk away if you’re not willing to take the time to learn about it.” Ultimately, my role is to help preserve and grow the money of our affluent clients so they can realize the lifestyle and financial goals they want.

As a part of my series about The 5 Essentials of Smart Investing, I had the pleasure of interviewing John T. Petika Sr., Financial Advisor, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management, and Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Petika Wealth Management Group at UBS Wealth Management USA.

John began his career in the financial industry by joining UBS (formerly Paine Webber) in 1988. As a financial advisor and a key member of the Petika Wealth Management Group, he works closely with clients to craft and provide high-touch and custom wealth preservation and estate planning strategies.

John has been recognized consistently as an industry leader. He has been named by Forbes as a Best-in-State Wealth Advisor (2020–2023). The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually in April based on information from a 12 month period ending June of the prior year. Eligibility is based on quantitative factors and is not necessarily related to the quality of the investment advice.

The Petika Wealth Management Group has also been named by Forbes as a Best-in-State Wealth Management Team (2023–2024). The Forbes rating is compiled by Shook Research and awarded annually in January, based on information from a 12 month period ending March of the prior year. Eligibility is based on quantitative factors and is not necessarily related to the quality of the investment advice.

John’s sons, John Petika Jr., CEPA®, RICP, and James Petika, CFP®, are also financial advisors with the Petika Wealth Management Group.

For over 25 years, John coached Little League and high school baseball. He coached the Palm Harbor Little League for more than 17 years, during which he led the 2001 Palm Harbor Senior League Team to a World Series win and the 2000 Palm Harbor Junior League Team to third place in the Little League World Series.

Thank you for doing this with us! Our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance industry?

I always understood and respected money. As a little kid in the summer, I earned money cutting grass, painting houses, collecting soda bottles for refunds, and trapping muskrats in the winter. I loved it when it snowed because we would make money shoveling driveways. I earned my first real paycheck when I was 15, working for the county.

When I went to college, I liked business and economics, especially macroeconomics. After college, I went to work for my uncle and helped to manage his restaurants. I learned a lot about business and people. At the restaurant, I met financial advisors who tried to recruit me. When my uncle sold his restaurants, I joined Paine Webber, which was acquired by UBS in 2000. Thirty-six years later, I’m still with UBS and enjoy helping people every day to preserve and grow their wealth.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?

Early in my career, I was listening to a radio talk show on the way to work. A man was touting a particular financial investment. He implied that the company was AAA-rated and had been around for 100 years. I knew neither was true. The man was not challenged on any of his assertions. I couldn’t get that out of my head. So, the lesson is this: a healthy dose of skepticism and a little bit of paranoia are valuable, especially today. With all the sources of information available, including misinformation on the internet, you’ll find that not everybody is looking out for your best interests. You can’t believe everything you hear or read. You need to be cautious and a little suspicious.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Our team is hosting a monthly podcast. Over the years, I’ve met many talented people in and outside my business. We conduct 30-minute interviews with subject-matter experts who answer questions that we believe are current and valuable for our clients. We’ve hosted a variety of people, including market sector analysts, strategic portfolio managers, a Washington lobbyist, a U.S. representative, a retired U.S. four-star admiral, and a neurologist. I love doing these interviews and asking questions that I think are important, interesting, and relevant. You can listen to the podcasts at our team website: https://www.ubs.com/us/en/wealth-management/podcast/petika-group.html; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, under The Petika Wealth Management Group Podcast.

OK. Thanks for all that. Let’s now jump to the core of our interview. According to this report in Fortune, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy. In your opinion or experience, what is the cause of these unfortunate numbers?

People tend to shut down mentally if they are bored. Finance can be boring if not presented correctly. Often people speak in acronyms and words that are not readily understood. Also, the fundamentals of investing may not seem important when you’re young and have little money. This is the time when investment professionals can step in and encourage younger people to enroll in a company retirement savings plan and teach the value of compounding interest to help make your money work for you. If you encourage someone to put 10% to 15% of their salary in their company’s retirement savings plan, for example, it could result in long-term gains and have a significant impact on their lives.

If you had the power to make a change, what three things would you recommend to improve these numbers?

1. Hands-on financial learning experience at a young age. My local school district has a great project for elementary school children. The project is a mall-like environment of business-sponsored storefronts. During six weeks of basic financial education in the classroom, children learn about writing checks, keeping a checkbook register, using a debit card, applying for a job, and working as a team. Next, the students spend one day at the village, where they have jobs in the 20-plus businesses, earn a paycheck, pay taxes, and shop in the stores. It is a simulated, real-life practical experience with tremendous impact. In high school, students participate in a reality-based, hands-on environment program that builds a foundation for making intelligent personal financial decisions. The experience helps students develop a realistic understanding of the economic issues they will face upon graduation. After two weeks of classroom curriculum, students make financial decisions and construct a personal budget for housing, transportation, banking, entertainment, health care, utilities, food, home furnishings, clothing, education, and investments. I think every school district should have similar programs.
2. Understand the implications of debt. It’s important for people to understand the risks of debt. Virtually all of the financial crises seen in my career were caused by people being overleveraged. This includes credit cards, loans and mortgages. You can help minimize risks by living at or below your means, with a solid financial plan for savings and investments to achieve your goals.
3. Involve your family in understanding finances. We work a lot with the next generation of our clients’ families. We enjoy it when clients bring their kids and grandkids into the office, especially when they are graduating from college and starting their careers. We talk to them about budgets, savings, the differences between a Roth 401(k) and a traditional 401(k), credit cards, mortgages, and budgets. It’s fun. We show the numbers and the positive impacts they can realize over time.

We appreciate building relationships with our clients’ families. It gives us a great deal of satisfaction to help people get on the right track financially at an early age.

OK, thank you! Now to the main question of our interview: You are a “finance insider.” If you had to advise your adult child about five nonintuitive essentials for smart investing, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?

1. Realize that there are smart people and powerful forces on both sides of almost every issue. For instance, one of the easiest examples is the oil industry. When oil prices go up, the industry expands and drills more wells. When oil prices go down, the opposite is true: oil wells shut down, supply decreases and prices go up. If a company’s stock is down, you need to evaluate its performance and resources to address problems before deciding to buy or sell a position.
2. Listen, but learn the real story. Often the media interviews people who already have a position in an equity or stock. They speak about the positive attributes of an investment. Before you invest, you should take the time to learn the entire story and determine for yourself if it’s time to own the stock or not.
3. Understand the power of compound interest and dollar-cost averaging. It’s essential for people with 401(k)s and long-term retirement plans to understand compounding interest and dollar cost averaging. People need to embrace these concepts from day one to help make their money work for them.
4. Avoid being overleveraged. Debt can be the devil. There’s an industry saying, “When the tide goes out, it exposes naked swimmers.” The subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 is a glaring example. When the housing bubble burst, many homeowners were unable to pay back their loans. Be prepared with a sound financial plan for liquidity, longevity and legacy.
5. Avoid investing in something that is not easily understood. Maybe that should be the number-one lesson, along with “Walk away if you’re not willing to take the time to learn about it.” Ultimately, my role is to help preserve and grow the money of our affluent clients so they can realize the lifestyle and financial goals they want.

What are your thoughts about day trading, using apps like Robinhood? Can you explain what you mean?

Investing is not a hobby. Some people get their investment ideas from media sound bites from people who do not have the necessary expertise. They’re not accountable to individual investors. At UBS, we are personally and professionally accountable for our advice to our clients when it comes to investing money.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful toward who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Walt Powell of Paine Webber hired me and was my first manager. He had more than 30 years of wealth management experience. He had a tremendous work ethic and an engaging, generous personality. He was always willing to share what he had learned about the industry. I had lunch with Walt and several of the seasoned financial advisors in the office weekly. Over the years, I learned more about the market from that group of people than from all the books, reading and classes I ever had.

Now I try to pass along those things that I’ve learned to the younger generation because those mentors were willing to do that for me. You learn a lot from people who’ve been through similar circumstances before.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have two. My uncle, Thomas Petika, was a group vice president of a large hotel chain and a great mentor to me. He used to say, “Everything is fine, as long as everything is fine.” It took me a while to understand the meaning. Basically, everything is fine, until it’s not. Never let your guard down.

The other life lesson came from my experience in the restaurant business with my uncle. I was grumbling to him about having to sweep the parking lot. Big-shot me, just out of college, sweeping the parking lot. I remember the look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders and simply said, “Be the best parking lot sweeper in the company,” and then walked away. The lesson: If you have to do something, be the best at it. That was his thing. My kids know when I say, “Be the best parking lot sweeper in the company,” that means simply “Just do it and get it done right.” There is a lot less anxiety that way.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

A “Keep it Simple” philosophy. Don’t invest in things you don’t understand. Know what you own and why you own it. And like what you’re doing every day. If you don’t get satisfaction from what you’re doing, it shows in the results. I’m enjoying working in our family business every day and have no desire to retire.

Thank you for the interview. We wish you continued success!

John T. Petika Sr. is a Financial Advisor with UBS Financial Services Inc. a subsidiary of UBS Group AG. Member FINRA/SIPC in Clearwater, Florida. The information contained in this article is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be suitable for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of UBS Financial Services Inc. Neither UBS Financial Services Inc. nor its employees (including its Financial Advisors) provide tax or legal advice. You should consult with your legal counsel and/or your accountant or tax professional regarding the legal or tax implications of a particular suggestion, strategy or investment, including any estate planning strategies, before you invest or implement.

For more information on third party rating methodologies, please visit ubs.com/us/en/designation-disclosures

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. For designation disclosures visit https://www.ubs.com/us/en/designation-disclosures.html

Thank you for the interview. We wish you continued success!

About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.

Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.

While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.