Possessing an extensive background in investment consulting, Abel Oonnoonny held responsibilities as a senior financial consultant with Charles Schwab in New York for over a decade. Regularly selected to the Chairman’s Club, he achieved a number 10 ranking in 2023 out of 2,014 consultants. This reflected his cumulative impact in planning penetration, net asset flow, client promoter score, and transfer-of-assets ratio. Abel Oonnoonny has provided insights across media channels such as Yahoo Finance News, CNBC, and Fox New York.
Mr. Oonnoonny began his career with Fidelity Investments in New Hampshire in 1998, where he met the brokerage needs of diverse retail and institutional clients. He subsequently joined the Boston office as a brokerage team leader, where he was responsible for directing loan activities and ensuring regulatory compliance. Shifting to the Wall Street branch as an investment representative, he excelled in providing financial planning advice spanning retirement, income planning, and estate matters.
Mr. Oonnoonny was successful in forging an institutional relationship with the International Securities Exchange that generated significant retail net flows and strong results across Fidelity stock purchase, 401k, and cash management divisions. He also developed and managed a sales training program that aligned investment representatives with a fast-paced, competitive workplace. In his free time, he enjoys attending Broadway and opera performances.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical day is focused on my clients and meeting their needs. I typically have a list of things that need to be done, and I go through as many of those items as I can before the end of my day.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I try to take a step back, think about what is working well and what is not. Then I think about how to go about making improvements.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I am excited about how AI can make my job more efficient and allow me to provide more creative solutions to my clients.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Working more hours than most and always following through on promises for my clients.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Stay engaged by doing what provides you with the most personal satisfaction.
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Spanish wines are the best value.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I suggest everyone take one two-week vacation annually. The first week you become relaxed, and the second week you are relaxed.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I usually stand up and walk away for a few minutes.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Having a shared vision with the folks that I work with and supporting them when things go wrong and praising them publicly when things go right.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
I wasn’t getting promoted early in my career despite my view that I deserved a promotion. Instead, I saw people that I felt didn’t deserve promotions moving up. It caused me to have a bad attitude at work. Our operations manager had a conversation with me about why I wasn’t getting promoted and said that I should stop having a bad attitude and work harder, stop complaining, and prove that I could do the job I wanted to be promoted into. That led to my promotion a year later.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I use Jump, which is my AI note taker. It does a great job of taking notes and providing me with follow-up ideas for clients.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
A college counsellor for my son. Paying someone that provides insights into the application process also helps to provide another voice to reinforce some of the things I have been telling him.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
On the Media is a podcast that provides me with a summary of the news from the week, as well as well as a critique of the ways that information is portrayed by the media.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Slow Horses. I love spy thrillers, and this one has some great comedic moments in it as well.
Key learnings
- Add value to client relationships.
- Productivity is maintained through making and following through on to-do lists and putting clients first.
- Hard work, a positive attitude, and colleague relationships built on shared vision and mutual support are fundamental to career advancement.
- Engage in self-care: take breaks when necessary and take one extended vacation annually to unwind and recharge.