This profile highlights one of
Whether 30-year-old Patrick Yaghoobians is addressing clients, prospects or rooms full of school-aged children, he remains mindful of something: it wasn't too long ago that he needed the quality services he now strives to provide.
The Canadian-born founder of
The moment he learned about financial planning, he was hooked. After completing a double major in college and passing the CFP exam, he gained solid experience before
"I want to serve a community of people I felt were being overlooked within the industry," he said. "I love talking to people."
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That passion also prompted him to join the Los Angeles chapter of the Financial Planning Association, where he serves as NextGen director.
"When the opportunity was presented, I jumped at it," he said. "I was happy to be part of it."
His enthusiasm for service stems not only from his passion for talking to others, but also from his goal of reshaping the narrative around the financial advisor landscape.
"There's a lot of negative connotations about our industry," he said. "Some of them justified, some of them based on stereotypes from a long time ago. People still primarily think of us as insurance salespeople, or they think 'Wolf of Wall Street.'"
Debunking those preexisting assumptions includes collaborating to craft an industry where
Additionally, Yaghoobians is a facilitator at the Finance Park program with the nonprofit Junior Achievement of Southern California. This program puts him in front of students who learn about financial goal-setting, money management and decision-making skills. He also mentors other volunteers to help carry the program's message and lessons forward.
"Financial literacy spreads," he said. "It's really at the core of everything I do."
Christine Kunishige oversees the financial literacy program at Junior Achievement and has watched Yaghoobians' community work up close.
"One thing that really stood out to me before I even met him was that he has a really great background in finance," she said. "It was clear that he had a passion for wanting to help young people."
As she interviewed him, his family's story resonated, as did his goals.
"He really wanted to be a support for not just people in general, but for young people," she said.
Yaghoobians impressed her, and importantly, he is having an impact on the program's students.
Although his financial background is impressive in its own right, "He's personable," said Kunishige. "He really wants to get to know the people he's working with [and] trying to break through in a way that's personable and friendly and empathetic."
Yaghoobians hopes his work shows young advisors a better way. He also hopes it conveys the message that quality people are there to help.
"We are people who genuinely care about the people we work with," he said. "We want to make sure we're doing our fiduciary duty to do what's best for the clients, not just what's best for our paychecks."
