If you’re looking for a lighthouse in the fog of financial planning then Linda Stonier and Lisa Praschma are the business, writes Debbie Reynolds
It takes a few minutes to convince myself I’m not at a boutique hotel and spa, but rather at a financial planning practice. I’m at the Kloof head office of Stone Wealth Management and about to meet partners Linda Stonier and Lisa Praschma.
They are every bit as welcoming and professional as their surroundings suggest. Linda, who started the business 17 years ago, tells me that she began her working life as an attorney in Pietermaritzburg.
“I was headhunted by Old Mutual to work in their legal advising department and soon realised what I enjoyed most about the business was sitting face to face with clients and working out and solving their problems,” says Linda.
She continued to earn her stripes in the industry working at Nedgroup Investments as an account manager until she couldn’t resist the calling to “do her own thing”.
“I was uncomfortable with how financial planning was such a commission-driven industry and how so many supposedly qualified financial advisors gave clients inaccurate advice – no matter how well-meaning – that incurred serious tax and cost repercussions.
“I wanted to build one of the first truly advice-based practices where commission was almost a swear word – where our fee structure stood on its own and where we were not motivated by the wrong factors.”
Enter Lisa Praschma, who with the same principles and goals was the perfect partner.
“We met at Nedgroup where I actually took over her role when she left,” laughs Lisa. “She became one of our clients and I became very taken with her drive for changing this industry.
“I was nervous to leave the corporate world, but what Linda was doing was something I wanted to be part of, so finally I walked into her office and asked her when I could start.”
Lisa’s history includes a stint in London with Citibank and several years with the Nedbank financial planning division in Pietermaritzburg.
While Linda has a Master’s degree in Tax, both Lisa and Linda are CFP (certified financial planner) wealth managers, but Lisa says she thrives on the operational and accounting side of the business while Linda concentrates on the legal, advisory and marketing side.
“We do have separate roles, but we are very interlinked and work together closely on day-to-day decisions,” says Linda. “Our differentiating factor is that we are one of the few practices which has the financial IQ to deal with high-level planning requirements that adds value across investment, retirement, tax and estate planning.”
“It’s all about trust,” they say. “We mine deep to make sure we understand our clients’ affairs and the challenge is always to help them achieve control and peace of mind.”
Lisa says you’d be surprised how even the most professional qualified people have very messy financial affairs. “You’ll find their situation has largely come about by default rather than design and our job is to streamline all that and make it easier and better.”
With the company on track to reach an AUM (book value) of R2,5-billion by next year, it’s hard to imagine that both women have big families and busy lifestyles.
Linda is married to Richard and is the mother of two sets of twins (15 and three-year-olds), and has just finished writing a book on financial planning aimed at the general public.
Lisa is married to Paul and loves running, going to gym, reading, cooking and spending time with her three children who are six, 15 and 18.
www.stonewealthmanagement.co.za
