Brenda Cox and Alexandra Bristol
Nspire Wealth
Family owned and run financial advisor teams are inspiring to us! We have several firms with this type of structure in our advisor network. Integrated thinks this type of financial advisory has quite a few benefits, and we love supporting them as they grow and pass knowledge and practice to the next generation.
One of our family teams, Nspire Wealth, is run by mother and daughter Brenda Cox and Alexandra Bristol. Based in Denver, Brenda and Alexandra have more than 30 years in the industry. And they pride themselves on incorporating community involvement into their business model. We caught up with them to ask them about Nspire Wealth and their firm’s unique structure.
Financial planning inspired by family
“I didn’t think the kids would want to be in the business because they saw the hard work I put in as a single mom as they were growing up.” ~ Brenda
Brenda’s corporate career experience includes time at a small regional bank and two large banks, with her last stop at investment management company, Merrill Lynch. But she grew tired of answering to shareholders instead of doing what was best for her clients. She didn’t want to sell products just to grow the company’s top line. She wanted to do what was right for the client.
Another defining factor in going independent was the desire to create a business to support the continuing legacy of clients. The mother daughter duo want their current clients’ grandchildren to understand why they invested the way they did and continue Nspire’s relationship with the family for generations.
So Brenda went independent in February 2020, right before the pandemic lock down.
In her teens, Alexandra time and time again would be her mom’s plus-one at industry functions including black tie events. She always seemed to fit in and was wise beyond her years.
“When I was seven years old, I was quizzing my mom and helping her prep to take her Series 65 exam.” ~ Alexandra
Alexandra remembers her mom trying to talk her out of getting into the industry. So, she went another route. She eventually landed at a niche recruiting firm where she enjoyed finding professionals their next career fit. Still, she wanted more balance. She wanted to focus on meaningful work including company operations, while having a life outside of her career.
Brenda actually discouraged Alexandra at the beginning from joining her in running her practice. However, Brenda’s practice was growing and she was having a hard time finding someone who could help with what she needed. And, someone who didn’t need a lot of training. With that, Alexandra finally convinced her mom to hire her in early 2021. She showed her how she would build out operations and make the advisory practice more efficient.
So the inspiration for Nspire took shape — a mother/daughter financial advisory duo.
A Family That Works Together Is Inspiring
Brenda and Alexandra think that it is important for families who work together to do three things. One is to understand and accept each other’s weaknesses. The second is to know that work is work — it’s not personal. “Don’t take offense to constructive criticism.” And third, find and define your boundaries at home and work with each other. Sticking to them makes both relationships healthy and productive.
Brenda’s husband is also involved in the business as he is retired. He calls himself the head of HR. “We use that term lightly,” laughs Brenda. There is a lot of laughter at Nspire.
Balancing Day-to-Day at Nspire Wealth
They say it’s a challenge for them to balance talking about their personal lives during work hours. Sometimes it can be too much. But to be able to go back and forth is healthy for them and their clients. “What we don’t do enough is celebrate our wins.” Brenda says that early in life she learned not to highlight her accomplishments because that was considered bragging. She certainly inspires us here at Integrated Advisors Network, and we’re proud to celebrate all their wins with them.
Alexandra is helping Brenda be more open minded about a lot of new things including technology. Alexandra has incorporated new technologies into the business freeing Brenda up for the things she loves most, servicing her clients, marketing and business development. She truly cares about people, family, friends and her community. She is honored to work with the best in the business.
Integrated Is Inspired by Brenda and Alexandra
Integrated supports Nspire Wealth and is the perfect partner they tell us. “The network helps give us other advisors to bounce ideas off of and learn from in a collaborative manner,” says Brenda. They have found joy, business best practices and idea sharing from the newly formed female advisor group within the Integrated community of advisors, that launched in April of this year. “It is a true community — a group of supportive, yet highly competitive brilliant women who are each other’s cheerleaders and truly want each other to succeed.” We couldn’t agree more.