John Wesley Clayton of Twickenham Advisors Advisors on Building Relationships and Giving Back to the Community

As a way to explore the nuances of our brand tagline, “well-th. rebalanced,” we talked with John Wesley Clayton of Twickenham Advisors, who told us how his relationship to wealth has developed over time into a passion for philanthropy.

Growing up, how did you think about wealth? What did it mean to you?

I am one of nine children; my parents were married as teenagers. I grew up in poverty, but I don’t think us kids really realized that we were poor – we didn’t know any better!

How did the experience of being raised in poverty shape your career as a wealth manager?

I was fortunate in that I scored well on tests, which gave me the opportunity to become the first person in my family to graduate from college. I was able to do this because a thousand different people fed into my life and helped me get to a place I would never have been able to go on my own. I’m not a self-made man; I am the product of that help.

In my 20s, I took a job with an investment firm because I was tired of being poor. Two years in, I realized kids raised in poverty don’t have many relationships with wealthy people with whom they can do business. I had to do it the old-fashioned way, a hundred cold calls a day. It was miserable, but I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t have a rich dad to fall back on, I couldn’t go back to the family business.

At the end of the day, to me, wealth has everything to do with the relationships we have with our clients, not what’s in your wallet.

So you believe that wealth is really about the people you surround yourself with – all those thousands of people who helped you become who you are today.

Absolutely. Like I said, wealth comes from the relationships we have. I would be more than happy to have a more modest life than I have to live now, so long as I could retain my relationships. I actually give away a majority of what I make, because I know how to live on a lot less than most.

To me, wealth is the thing we are blessed with that allows us to impact the lives of others. I don’t need wealth to live the life I have. I want to use it to help those people who are like who I was when I was younger – who may not yet have the relationships they need to create a better life for themselves and their families. I like the opportunity to go find those folks who just need one person to make a difference, and then try to be the difference. That’s pretty cool.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a whole bevy of schoolteachers, principals, coaches, admissions directors, financial aid officers and college staff rallying around to help them succeed.

I love the idea of wealth being a vehicle that helps you help others; what kinds of causes are you especially passionate about?

As a practice, we encourage all our advisors and staff to find something that they’re passionate about and give to it in a way that’s in some way sacrificial – whether that’s time, talent or treasure.

I’ve spent a whole lot of time working with kids and young people, because that’s where you can have such a huge impact. Kids have the most time to use the wisdom you share with them.

I know this because it happened to me: When I was a kid growing up in the mountains of Appalachia, my principal thought it would be good for me to go to a summer camp for gifted and talented kids. It cost $250 my family didn’t have, so he went out and raised the money so I could go.

That experience of spending a couple of weeks on a college campus doing a science program was the first time I’d been out of my zip code, and the first time I realized that I was worth the effort people were putting into me. To have a stranger do something for you that promotes you and not them – I just want to find opportunities where I can be that for somebody else.

Do you find that your views on wealth and dedication to philanthropy has an effect on how you run your advisory business?

It does translate into the practice in a very significant way. Our clients are very active in a joint effort to improve the quality of life for everyone in our small city. A big piece of our offering for clients is planning work, and through those conversations, we give them the opportunity to further engage in philanthropy to support the things they’re passionate about.

Ultimately, we want the money that we make as a practice to go back into the community and help to support the causes our clients care about.

To learn more about how Hightower supports advisors in their journey to give back, email us at advisorsuccess@hightoweradvisors.com.