>> I'm Melissa Reaktenwalt.
I'm a financial planner.
I'm a partner at Highlander Financial Group
which is a small independent financial
planning firm based out of Rockville, Maryland.
I've been a financial planner
for about six years.
I love it.
A financial planner is someone who
helps with wealth accumulation,
risk management through insurance,
investment planning.
All these things that scare
people to death when it comes
to their money that's what I help them with.
When I meet with a perspective client I'm
usually introducing myself in the firm.
I'm asking what their needs are mostly
and letting them do most of the talking,
from that I get an idea of if they need a
financial planner and if we'd be a good fit.
It varies day to day what my job has me do.
Because I'm partner in the
firm I run my own schedule
but sometimes that can be a little bit hectic.
Usually following up on emails and phone calls
in the morning and then meeting with clients
in the afternoon into the evening,
that's usually what my day looks like.