Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazel Secco.
Hazel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in South Korea, in a family where the women held everything together. My grandmother ran the household and managed the money. My mom did the same, and she was also the breadwinner for our family. They took care of everyone, including our extended family, and they almost never put themselves first.
I didn’t have the words for it as a child, but I noticed it. The women in my family made the financial decisions and carried everything on their shoulders. They made sure everyone was taken care of, financially, emotionally and in every other way they could. I felt that weight too, and it was passed down to me. I took it very seriously.
Even though my mom and grandmother were diligent savers, they always felt anxious and nervous about money. They worried they would not have enough in the future. Watching that stayed with me.
I graduated from college with a degree in psychology. When I looked at the people around me, I saw that a lot of their stress came from money. So I wanted to help people feel happy with their money. That was my goal from the beginning. I naturally gravitated toward working with women, because I understood what they were carrying. I had seen it my whole life.
I started my career as a financial advisor at a large firm and earned my CFP® as soon as I could. Over and over, I saw that the money was there, but the pieces didn’t connect with each other, and that made everyone involved stressed. I spent over a decade learning how financial planning affects women who make the decisions, especially during major transitions like losing a spouse or changing careers.
I wanted women to have a plan and the support they need, so they don’t feel anxious or stressed every time they think about money because everything feels disorganized.
In 2023, I started Align Financial Solutions. The name comes from a simple idea: your money should align with what matters to you. Life works better, and is more sustainable, when everything works together. Today, I help women put the focus back on themselves first, fit the pieces of their financial life around that, and use their money the way they imagined, on the things they care about most.
Today, I’m based in Hoboken, NJ, but I work with women across the country virtually.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road.
The biggest challenge has been building all of this in my second language. English isn’t my first language, and financial planning has its own language on top of that. I laugh about it now, because tax planning is one of my specialties, but when I started studying for my CFP®, I didn’t know what “deferral” meant. I had to learn the financial terms and the English at the same time. That learning curve stayed with me. I never assume anyone knows the jargon, and I explain things in plain words, because I remember what it felt like not to know.
Finding my place in the industry was hard too. Financial services is still mostly older men. I started in my 20s as a young Asian woman, and I often felt that the way I thought, and what I cared about, was different from most of my colleagues. The sales culture at a big firm never felt right to me, and over time I knew I wanted to build something different.
Leaving was not easy. At the big firm, my pay was never fully steady, but I had a sense of stability. Client support and administrative work were taken care of. When I started Align, everything came through me, and I had to check every detail myself.
I am also building the firm while raising two young children, who are 3 and 5. Some days it is a real balancing act. At some point I noticed I was doing what I watched my mom and grandmother do. I was trying to be excellent at everything and take care of everyone. I am still learning to put myself first, which is exactly what I help my clients do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Align Financial Solutions is a fee-only financial planning and wealth management firm for women who make the big financial decisions in their lives and households. We are based in Hoboken, NJ, but we work with clients across the country virtually.
Most of the women we work with have built significant wealth, and with it, complexity. Many are in their late 40s to early 60s, getting closer to retirement and facing decisions that will shape the rest of their lives. When can I retire? How should I take my pension? What do I do with my deferred compensation or company stock? How do I keep more of what I’ve built after taxes? Many also come to us during a major transition, like losing a spouse or changing careers.
We specialize in retirement planning, pension elections, deferred compensation, equity compensation and tax planning. But what I think we are really known for is connecting all of it. Most women I meet have the money. What they don’t have is a plan where their investments, taxes, retirement income and estate all work together. That is where the name Align comes from, and it is the heart of what we do.
What sets us apart starts with how we are paid. We are fee-only advisors. We receive no commissions, and we do not sell products. We are paid only by our clients, and we are fiduciaries 100% of the time. After a decade working at various firms, this mattered more to me than anything else when I started Align.
The second thing is how we work with people. My background is in psychology, and I have always believed money decisions are personal before they are financial. We start with what matters to you and build the plan around it. When you onboard, we build an initial plan, the Wealth Blueprint, and we keep it current as your life changes. And because I learned financial planning in my second language, I explain everything in plain words. No one should feel lost in jargon when making decisions about their own money.
Brand-wise, I am most proud of Align Your Retirement, our podcast and YouTube channel. It is a place where you can learn how retirement decisions work and how all the pieces connect to shape your financial future.
My mom and grandmother saved carefully their whole lives and still worried about money. I don’t want that for the women I work with. If you have done the work to build your wealth, you should also get to feel calm about it.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
When I’m not working with clients, I’m usually with my two kids or painting. Abstract painting is where I let go of planning everything. You can find Align Your Retirement on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, or visit alignfinancialsolutions.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alignfinancialsolutions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alignfinancialsolutions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alignfinancialsolutionsllc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazel-secco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlignYourRetirement
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/align-financial-solutions-hoboken
