Women Leading The Finance Industry: Regina McCann Hess of Forge Wealth Management On The 5 Things You Should Do To Increase Your Financial Literacy
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Pay yourself first.
If you create good habits early in adulthood, they will follow you through life. Getting used to saving a portion of your income with every paycheck can help you create a lifelong routine.
As a part of our series about “Women Leading The Finance Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Regina McCann Hess.
Regina McCann Hess is an Author, Speaker, as well as Financial Advisor & Founder of Forge Wealth Management. She has over 25 years’ experience in financial services and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) as well as a CDFA® professional dedicated to helping individuals plan, preserve and diversify their wealth. To learn more about Regina, visit her website at
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance field?
As I was graduating college with nursing degree, a friend of mine decided that he would gift me stock as my present. There was a catch though. He wanted me to determine which company to own. I had to do the research and come back to him with the company name along with why I thought it was a good holding this stock and the pros and cons of purchasing it. Well, he created a monster. Several years later, I switched careers and went to work in finance. I tell people that I used to take care of their physical health and now I take care of their financial health.
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 take away you took out of that story?
Many years ago, I played Bunco in a neighboring community. As with most gatherings, we socialized before we started playing. I attended regularly and enjoyed the comradery. One night, I heard my name from a couple of different groups. The ladies in attendance had just discovered that several of them were my clients and were making a fuss about it. They turned to me and asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?” I was being put on the spot and I had to explain about client confidentiality. I told them that along with financial information, I must keep client names secure as well. I explained that they, the client, can tell you that they work with me, but I cannot do the same. It was awkward at first, but then you could see the understanding dawn on their faces. In the end, I earned their respect for keeping quiet about the relationships and honoring their privacy. I now tell people about the confidentiality when they start working with me so that they know how seriously I take it.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I have been working on my book: Super Woman Wealth — How to Become Your Own Financial Hero, which will be published in March 2024. It addresses women’s unique relationship with money and offers practical advice on becoming more comfortable with financial planning and managing money.
I want Super Woman Wealth to be a guide to empower women to take an active role in their finances and leave the feeling of overwhelm behind. They will learn that it is time to learn to nurture their money, protect their wealth and be the CFO of their financial future.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I founded Forge Wealth Management to be able to guide people throughout their financial lives. I chose a lantern as my logo because it has a two-fold meaning for me. The lantern will guide you on your path and show you the next steps in your journey. The lantern also reminds me of a teacher, educating you along the way with the light bulb going on as you learn something new. I pride myself on educating my clients along the way and avoiding jargon or “financial speak” so that they understand our discussions and feel comfortable asking questions. I care about my clients. I want to walk beside them on their journey and partner with them on decisions that impact their lives.
My favorite story is about a woman who came to me during a divorce. She is very smart and works in a high-level management position. She was so busy that she didn’t handle any of the finances, but during the divorce, she found that her husband had put most of their assets in his name and while he oversaw the bills, did not pay her credit card bills off monthly. She was shocked to find that she had over $30,000 in credit card debt, even though they had plenty of cash. His credit card balances, however, were at zero.
I am proud to say that a year after their divorce, she had her credit card debt paid off and was completely on top of her finances. She now brings me spreadsheets of her budget and finances for our meetings. She started with a few small steps and as her financial confidence grew, she blossomed! The transformation was incredible!
Wall Street and Finance used to be an “all white boys club”. This has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, what caused this change?
Well, I am not sure it has changed that much since I entered the industry over 25 years ago. This is a tough industry for both males and females, but it is a much steeper climb for women. I have yet to go to an industry conference that has a fair mix of males, females or white, brown and black. It is still mostly white men. This may change as most of those men are older and getting closer to retirement. Also, when leadership takes the stage, it is predominately men. Very few women make the main stage at our conferences. This has an inferred message that there are no women in top decision-making roles.
The one change that I have witnessed is that many financial companies are now offering more internship programs to women and hiring them after college. This is a step in the right direction. The problem that these young ladies face is that once they get into the internship or job, there are few women in roles above them and few female mentors. While men can be good mentors to women, it does help a young professional to see someone like themselves in an advanced role. This helps them visualize their own success and it can help guide them through some of the challenges that they face.
less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support this movement going forward?
Individuals can mentor younger and newer people in their industry, either officially or unofficially. The mentees don’t have to work at the same company, but that sometimes makes it easier. If we all reach a hand up and a hand down, we can help each other advance. Mentoring can be very rewarding. While helping someone else, the mentor can grow as well and be proud of their mentee’s accomplishments.
The most important thing for companies to help elevate women to senior positions is to be true to their intentions. If they are going to offer programs or support to their female employees, then top level management must fully embrace it with funding, eyes, ears, and voice. Don’t just put a program in place and make it a marketing event for the company. They need to really want change and be willing to handle the pain that comes with change. Many companies, sadly, use their women’s programs as marketing but don’t truly want change nor do they want to work through the issues that hold women back in their organization. I have seen this too many times in my career and it continues to persist.
Additionally, companies can survey their female employees at various levels of their careers to help them understand some of the challenges that these women have experienced throughout their profession. If companies understand the issues that their female employees face, they may be able to help improve conditions and help women thrive.
Potential Survey Questions:
What challenges do they face?
In General?
Day to Day?
What can the company do to help them through these challenges?
What support systems are offered within the company?
Are these helpful?
What can the company do to improve them?
What support systems do they use outside the company?
How do their office peers treat them?
Are women included in office and after-hours events?
Do they feel welcome?
Do they feel supported?
Do they feel safe?
How does their management team treat them?
What can be improved?
Are they given equal opportunity at advancement?
Can they go to management for problem resolution without backlash?
Do they feel that management values them and their input?
Do they feel supported by management?
Compared to their peers, what percentage of women are promoted versus men at their company?
How can this be improved?
What is the maternity leave available to women at this company?
How does it compare to other companies?
(This is a very important question because the lack of a good maternity leave policy contributes to women not going back to work after having a baby which further inhibits their growth & promotions at many companies.)
Society can support this movement by openly talking about the lack of women in upper management, and in decision making roles. The more this issue is brought to light, the more companies will be forced to act. Through these simple actions, companies can be persuaded by society to do the right thing. They will then guide and mentor women into these coveted roles.
Let’s now turn to a slightly new topic. 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? If you had the power to make a change, what 3 things would you recommend to improve these numbers?
Financial literacy in America is in dire need of a lifeline. There are very few financial education classes in school. From elementary school all the way through college, there aren’t many mandatory classes on situational or life finance. Unless you are a business major, most college students aren’t even expected to take a class that would help them start life as an adult. They could call it “Adulting 101”. This class would include budgeting, discussing income, expenses, balancing a checkbook, savings, retirement plans, health insurance, life insurance, how to pay bills, credit cards, loans, and debt. The list could include many other topics that we all need to start out in life and be more prudent with our money. While most colleges don’t offer this type of class, they do offer classes like wine or beer making, improving your social media skills and how to be an influencer. I think our priorities are not lined up properly.
My recommendations come down to one word or action: Educate.
Education is power. Once you learn something, no one can take it away from you.
Start this education process in your own home. Most families do not talk about finances with their children. Heck, some parents don’t even have that discussion with each other. Money tends to be a taboo topic. You can talk about almost anything with family members, but rarely do you talk about money. This just perpetuates the problem. To end this cycle, more of us could have family conversations at the dinner table about money. They can start small and then grow into a more robust conversation. Ideally, families could work towards having quarterly household financial meetings. This could take the fear out of the conversation and restore power to everyone at the table.
Another suggestion is to add required financial classes at every level of school. Starting with elementary and going through middle school, then high school and college. At each level, have a topic that is appropriate for that age group. At the elementary level, it can be as simple as how to use your allowance. An example would be to split your allowance in three parts. The first part to put in your piggy bank for a rainy day, the second could be for donating to a worthy cause and the third part would be spending practically. In high school, they can teach students how to open bank accounts and handling their income from part time or summer jobs.
The third suggestion would be for large companies to offer basic finance sessions to their employees. Not to just the newly hired, but everyone. Remember, most adults have never been offered this information. They have not been educated on finances and often find themselves “winging it” because they don’t know how to approach their finances.
You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non-intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? Can you please give a story or example for each?
1 . Pay yourself first.
If you create good habits early in adulthood, they will follow you through life. Getting used to saving a portion of your income with every paycheck can help you create a lifelong routine.
Early in my financial career, I worked for a large corporation that offered a company stock purchase plan. I joined it and they took money directly out of my paychecks to fund my purchases. This was helpful for two reasons. First, the money was taken out before I could spend it. It’s usually easier to take money for savings that isn’t already in your pocket. Second, it was set it and forget it. I participated in this for many years. I felt proud every time I received a statement and was able to see my share quantity increase with each period. I then used this approach to contribute to other mutual funds so that I could diversify my holdings. It was a good habit that got better as I saw my success.
2 . Contribute to & max out your retirement plan (401K, 403B, etc.) as soon as you are eligible.
Many of us have seen the studies that show that by starting sooner, your balances grow better than someone starting 10 years later. Looking at those graphs helps us visualize our money’s compounded growth over time. This is a great reason to start saving as early as possible.
Another factor that our young adults need to consider is that they could possibly be retired for over 20–30 years. Longevity is improving and as a result, they may need more much more money for retirement than their parents or grandparents needed. Thus, contributing to their retirement plan as early as possible is a very strategic move. Ideally, maximizing the allowable annual contributions could also help with saving more for retirement.
3 . If available, I prefer contributing to the Roth retirement plan over the traditional plan.
Most accountants are trained to save you tax dollars today, not tomorrow. Most financial planners, like myself, are trained to save you tax dollars over your lifetime. You may be able to imagine the tug of war that happens between accountants and financial planners regarding Roth retirement plan contributions versus traditional. The accountant may prefer that you do the traditional plan and the planner may want the Roth plan. As the financial planner, I usually opt for the Roth. Pay the tax now. Let the money grow tax deferred and then when you take it out in retirement (staying within the rules, of course), it comes out tax free — growth and all. That sounds like a good tax & planning strategy to me!
For example, you contribute $22,500 to your 401k this year.
Roth plan: $22,500 contributed now. We will assume you are in the 22% marginal tax bracket. You pay Uncle Sam approximately $4,950 in taxes on this sum and the full amount gets contributed. Hypothetically, it grows to approximately $126,000 over 30 years. If you take the full $126,000 at that time or later, you get the full amount. There are no additional taxes.
Traditional 401k plan: $22,500 contributed now. You do not pay any taxes on this sum and the full amounts gets contributed. Same thought pattern. Hypothetically, it grows to approximately $126,000 over 30 years. If you take the full $126,000 at that time or later and are still in the 22% marginal tax bracket, you could have a tax bill of $27,720.
4 . My one third rule. With every pay raise, increase your contributions to your rainy-day fund as well as your retirement savings. The last third, spend on yourself prudently.
I talk about the 1/3 rule all the time. It is a great way to increase your savings, without taking money out of your pocket. Also, pat yourself on the back for a job well done and increase your own spending.
5 . It’s about what you keep, not what you spend.
Keeping up with the Joneses. Too often we get caught up in appearances and feeling like we must compete with what everyone else has, wears, or drives. We buy things we don’t need and sometimes can’t afford just to make it look like we are successful. Social media has intensified this competition. It is hard not to get caught up in this, but the less you spend on bougie items, the more you will have for your rainy-day fund.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am grateful to my friend, Michael, who introduced me to saving and investing by having me learn about the stock market. He lit the spark that has carried me through a great career in finance.
Most importantly, I am indebted to my mom. My mom, Theresa, showed me how to overcome obstacles and never quit. I owe her everything. She raised 5 kids on nothing when my dad walked out, and they divorced. She is a true testament to the saying: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” We were poor before my dad left and it got worse afterwards. My mom chose to fight for her children and our livelihood. Failure was not an option for my mom or us. She was able to raise us on little to nothing…and we not only survived, we thrived! My mom is my hero!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Don’t rely on anyone for your needs.
My childhood taught me that I needed to depend on myself. No one else was going to take care of me. When I graduated college, I was used to living on very little. So, I decided to continue in my current lifestyle and focus my new earnings on paying off my student loans. I was afraid of debt and wanted no parts of it hanging around for any length of time. This determination helped me pay off my student loans in less than 2 years. Granted, it wasn’t the student loan balances that some of today’s young adults carry, but it was a lot of money to me. This was a great life lesson and proved to me that I could accomplish whatever I set my mind to.
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. :-)
Take care of yourself first. Especially women.
We tend to take care of everyone and then we don’t have the energy to focus on our own needs. For example, we take care of our husbands, our children, our ailing parents, even to the point where we must take time out of our careers to help our family. We tend not to even have time to think about our own wants and needs, let alone take care of them.
I would like us all to heed the advice of the airline attendants. Prior to takeoff, they give us a safety speech. This speech includes the use of the oxygen mask. The attendant tells us to put the mask on ourselves first, and then put it on our children and other family members. We need this oxygen to breathe life into ourselves before we can help others. I would love for this to be mainstream in our everyday life.
Thank you for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only 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.
