Fairfax Businessman Enjoys Helping People Find Financial Security

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Edwards Williams recently read a report comparing the financial situations of people who had a financial advisor and those who didn't.

"The number was well over 60 percent of people that work with a financial advisor tend to do better with their finances and their retirement planning than those that don't have one," he said. "The benefit of having a financial advisor is that you will most likely be in a better financial position than if you didn't have one."

Williams is the managing partner and senior financial consultant of DEW Financial Management Group Inc., an independent wealth management firm located on Main Street in the City of Fairfax.

A former branch manager at Smith Barney, Williams started DEW in 2010, having left his previous employer during the 2008-10 economic downturn.

"My customers are pretty much general individuals and small businesses," he said. "My clientele includes people that are working, people that in some cases own their own businesses, people that are working for contractors."

While the majority of Williams' clients are in the metropolitan D.C. area, some are located in other parts of the U.S. He and his firm are licensed to do business in 15 states.

As to when a person should reach out to a financial advisor, Williams said it should be when that person realizes he or she needs to start improving their own financial situation.

"I have clients that are right fresh out of college," he said. "They are using my services to build a better financial picture for themselves and their family. And then there are some that, because of a situation that occurred in life, they haven't been able to do that until later on in life, maybe after the kids have gotten out of college. Now they have some money to really kick in to doing their retirement planning. The spectrum of where people should start I suggest is as early as possible."

The coronavirus pandemic has definitely had an impact on some of his client's financial planning, according Williams. Some people had to dip into their retirement fund after losing a job, while others were working fewer hours and earning less.

"We had a big downturn in the market in the March time period, a 30-35 percent decrease in market value," he said. "We had to make some changes in clients' financial plan. It has impacted them and some are still in that situation where it's reduced work or no work."

Originally from Connecticut, Williams grew up just outside of Columbia, South Carolina. He attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, graduating with a degree in applied mathematics and computer science. After working in the engineering world for about 20 years, he opted for a career change and entered the financial services industry. He joined CitiGroup Smith Barney in 1998. He moved to the D.C. area in 2007 to become a branch manager.

"Then the recession hit and there was some change. Smith Barney got merged with Morgan Stanley, and so, here I am, 10 years later," he said.

What Williams likes about his job is that he gets to help people become more financially secure, from providing for their children's education to preparing for those "rainy days" that come up in life.

"I just love the people relationship that this business brings," he said.

When Williams moved to the D.C. area in 2007, one of the things he did was to look for organizations he could join to get to know people in the business community and network. One of those organizations was the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce.

"It was a young organization at that time, just getting started," he said. "So I started to participate in the activities of the chamber as a individual member."

Later on, when Williams became an independent financial advisor and business owner, he became more active in the NVBCC. He was selected to be a committee member and eventually was elected to the chamber's board of directors. He served on the board until July 1, 2020.

What Williams enjoyed about serving on the NVBCC board was helping other minority businesses to become successful. One of the efforts he was involved in was establishing the Multicultural Chamber Alliance, which gathered together Black, Asian, and Hispanic business groups from across Northern Virginia.

"You can help your own business by being a part of an organization like a chamber, because there are always members that can provide you service and there are members that can use your service outside to help you advance your business profile, advance your business income," he said. "The use of referrals is very important."