Building a bridge — With Deshawn Peterson

Deshawn Peterson was turning 30 when he fell in love — with the financial services business.

Peterson is vice president of advisor relations with PPB Capital Partners in Conshohocken, Pa. PPB works with wealth advisors to help them implement alternative investments into their clients’ portfolios.

Earlier in his life, Peterson had a taste of financial services. While he was a student at Western Michigan University, he worked in collection services at National Bank, now part of PNC Bank. 

“But then I think I was just done with the business,” he said. “In retrospect, this was between 2007 and 2009. It was a crazy time with the economy.”

Peterson began working in the technology field after graduation and eventually moved to China, where he spent several years studying Mandarin and absorbing Chinese culture. But while he might have been done with finance, the financial world wasn’t done with him.

About a decade after leaving the bank, and while he was in China, Peterson was approached by an independent broker-dealer, who told him their company worked with high net worth expatriates and needed help growing their U.S. base. Was he interested?

“I was turning 30 and thinking a lot more about long-term decisions,” he said. “So I said yes. And I walked into the training the first day, and they started teaching me about financial planning, about things like compound interest. I was all in. I thought, ‘I wish I had learned this in high school.’ I’ve been in love with the business ever since.”

What Peterson said he loved most when he was a new advisor was having conversations with those who worked in the wealth business.

“I have friends who were at founding offices, venture capital firms, private equity, and I just enjoyed their conversations,” he said. “I love how nuanced it was, so precise and complicated. It was so much to learn because no one person was smarter than the other.”

Curiosity led to a career

Peterson described himself as “curious by nature,” which helped lead him to PPB.

“When I put all I had learned in the back of my mind, I think it was an equilibrium moment when I started at PPB because I was looking for a change,” he said. “I was looking to learn, and I wanted to be in a smaller company where I can see the outcome of my efforts. I wasn’t familiar with this particular sector of financial services when I started here, but now I feel like I’m on a fast track, growing and learning. So even though I’ve been here for two years, I feel like I’m aging as far as my acumen, learning and speaking to the smartest people in the world. Every day is a new day.”

At PPB, Peterson works with registered investment advisors to scale their private markets programs.

“We’re trying to meet advisors where they are in their alternative investment journey, and we help them scale that to where their end goal is,” he said. “We’re not here to push a product on them. We’re trying to plug into their system and say, ‘How can we build some additional efficiencies? How can we streamline? How can we make a team of eight feel like a team of 15?’

“We’re not coming in saying this is the greatest strategy of the year or trying to pick stocks or assets for them. We’re really just saying, you want to allocate to alternative investments, it can be burdensome and create a lot of bottlenecks internally. How can we take this business decision and build a strong partnership?

“There are three main pillars to this. The first one is using differentiated fund managers. The second one is devising custom solutions — taking the advisor’s best ideas and helping them execute those ideas. The third is providing operational efficiencies. We really try to be a partner with advisors and help them go where they’re trying to go.”

Getting the word out on FPA NexGen

Peterson isn’t working only with advisory firms who want to grow. He is also active in the Financial Planning Association and is public relations coordinator for the FPA NexGen community. FPA NexGen is made up of new and aspiring financial planners who come from a variety of life experiences and backgrounds. The community is a place for those who are early in their career to connect with their peers, share insights and learn how to be a better financial planner.

He said his involvement with FPA came after he went on Google to find a professional association or similar group that would help him advance in his career. Peterson said he found several organizations after his online search, but FPA was the only one that responded to him after he requested more information.

“After my first call with FPA, I felt as though I had found my tribe,” he said. “This is our hub to trade problems and trade questions and all be in a similar space. Every day, I ask myself how we can get the word out there to people who are new in the business that there is a space for them here.”

NexGen has three main initiatives over the next year or so, he said. The first is strengthening its social media presence, particularly on LinkedIn. The second is streamlining the local leadership and increasing communication among the various chapters. The third is to encourage NexGen members to contribute original content to industry media outlets, to share members’ expertise and perspective.

One of the hurdles he sees FPA NexGen facing is “bridging that gap between the up-and-coming in the business and those who are already established.”

“There are countless executives out there who are retiring or leaving the business. We don’t have enough people coming into the business. So we try to create that bridge for opportunities for mentorship, networking and growth, professionally and personally.”

A trip to China is a life-changer

After Peterson had spent a couple of years working in technology after graduating from college, he had a big regret — he had never traveled or studied abroad. He decided to go to China but kept that decision to himself for a year. When he was ready, he bought a ticket, quit his job and went to Shanghai.

“I figured if it didn’t work out, I could always return home and go to grad school,” he said.

Peterson spent seven years in China. He spent part of that time studying at Donghua University, where he learned Mandarin Chinese. Eventually, he went to work for the IBD that launched his financial services career.

“Studying Mandarin helped me tap into my humanity and helped me connect with people,” he said. In addition to studying Mandarin, Peterson spent his time in China tapping into his entrepreneurial spirit, learning about importing and exporting. 

“My time in China was a huge culture shock, but I wanted to do something. I didn’t know anyone there. I just wanted to go by myself and see if I could do it. And it turned into a phenomenal experience.”

Outside of work, Peterson enjoys physical fitness activities. He has done CrossFit and trail running. He currently participates in Spartan racing, which involves racing through and around 20 obstacles on an off-road trail course featuring water and mud. Spartan racers climb walls and ropes, crawl under barbed wires, maneuver on monkey bars and throw a spear as part of the challenge.

His next big goal is to compete in an Ironman triathlon.

“I like challenges, and I like trying difficult things,” he said.

Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected].