Lauren Oschman, CFP®, CDFA®
Partner & Chief Executive Officer
"I will always be able to work more or make more money, but I only get these years with my daughters once. So “wealth that matters™” to me is being intentional with my time; I have come to realize that how I spend each moment amounts to how I spend my life!"
Lauren has never been one to shy away from a challenge, so it’s no surprise that she decided to cofound a financial planning firm just weeks after giving birth to her first child. She has been a trailblazer in many areas of her personal and professional life, bringing a dynamic blend of strategic vision, productive solutions, and great care for people to her role at Vestia.
Lauren started her career as a financial advisor in 2010. Her expertise has led to her being a sought-after speaker for physician groups throughout Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the surrounding areas. Physicians appreciate her natural ability to translate complicated financial concepts into illustrations that they can remember. In 2021, Lauren was named locally as one of Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40* and nationally as one of InvestmentNews Top 40 Under 40** across the financial advice industry. Her thought leadership has also been featured in national publications such as ThinkAdvisor and Barron’s.
Although Lauren works with many types of specialty physicians, she has a niche working with high-caliber female surgeons. Not only is she a strong advocate for equal pay for these women compared to their male counterparts, she is also passionate about empowering them to spend their time purposefully rather than tethered to their financial responsibilities. As an accomplished financial advisor, executive, and mother of three, Lauren is juggling work and home responsibilities right alongside many of her clients.
Lauren graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Economics and minor in Financial Economics and was inducted into the International Economics Honor Society, Omicron Delta Epsilon. She completed further training in financial planning at Emory University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. She volunteers as a CFP® WIN (Women’s Initiative) Advocate to raise awareness about the profession for young women.
Lauren and her husband, Nick (a teacher at The Harpeth Hall School), met as undergrads at Vanderbilt and have resided in Nashville for over 15 years. They both grew up in small towns and love that Nashville gives them all the excitement of a city without compromising the small-town values so important to them as they raise their three young daughters.
*2021 Nashville Business Journal 40 Under 40 List: Nominations were solicited from the public. Nominees must be under 40 as of March 1, 2021. An independent panel of judges comprised of past winners read, judged, and scored questionnaires filled out by nominees including their top professional accomplishments and community involvement. The top-scoring names were named to the list. Approximately 300 professionals were considered and 40 were named to the list. Individuals were selected solely based on the subjective opinions of the judges and are not indicative of the advisor’s future performance. For more information, please visit https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/. **2021 InvestmentNews: 40 under 40 List: Nominations were solicited from InvestmentNews readers and financial planning industry professionals. Nominees must be 39 or younger and are judged, by the editors of InvestmentNews, on their accomplishments, industry contributions, leadership, and promise (passion, enthusiasm, and ideas). Approximately 1,000 advisors were considered. 4% of candidates were named to the list. Individuals were selected solely based on the subjective opinions of InvestmentNews' editors and are not indicative of the advisor's future performance. Your experience may vary. For more information, please visit investmentnews.comLauren Oschman, CFP®, CDFA®
Partner & Chief Executive Officer
How did you decide to become an advisor?
I had the opportunity to intern at a financial planning firm the summer before my senior year of college. It was a career I had not previously known anything about, but during my internship I realized that financial planning was the perfect marriage of my passion for people and relationships and my affinity for numbers and analytics.
I have learned a lot about the value an advisor can add by watching my parents. My father is a cardiologist and makes a great living, but the old adage “more money, more problems” is so true. My dad never really knew how much was “enough” to provide for his family and his goals, so, he would just put his head down to keep making more. Meanwhile, my mom was the one really taking care of the household finances - depositing the paychecks, transferring money to investments, paying the bills, etc. - but was raising four kids and didn’t have time to focus on more than the “day to day” of the finances.
Once a trusted advisor can step in and help a client understand the goals they are trying to achieve and a path to reach those goals, clients often experience a peace of mind about the future they never had before. They know that rather than spending their fringe hours trying to make more money, they can spend it with their families or enjoying hobbies, because the long term is well taken care of based on our plan. I love being able to do that for families.
Tell us about something special from your youth.
When I was in Junior High, we took our first big family vacation to St. John’s in the US Virgin Islands. We stayed in a concrete cottage on the beach with only the most basic amenities. That was before cell phones and there was no television. We spent our days snorkeling the gorgeous coral reefs and our nights playing charades, learning new card games, and telling stories. We laughed so much! That is one of my most special childhood memories.
What are you known for among your friends?
My friends and family know me for my enthusiasm. I was once described as the character Joy from the Pixar movie Inside Out, and many have since agreed with that characterization.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned about helping other people?
Financial planning is not transactional, it is very much a journey. In order to build a strong financial plan, we have to first have a conversation about values – what role does someone want money to play in their life and what do they want to accomplish with it? If I can take the time to understand that and build a plan oriented around someone’s values, then I am better equipped to guide them through life’s curveballs and chaos.
What is your favorite part of what you do at Vestia?
Growing up, I actually wanted to be a teacher. My favorite part of what I do at Vestia is getting to teach and invest in others. I enjoy helping my colleagues with planning and business concepts, and I love sitting down with a client and explaining a financial concept in a way that they understand and can remember it. Seeing a client gain their own financial confidence is so exciting to me!
How do you spend your time outside of work?
We enjoy a lot of family runs and hikes around Nashville. We are avid sports fans, and my husband and I both went to Vanderbilt, so we attend a lot of Vandy games.
What book do you always tell people they should read? Why?
When Breath Becomes Air. It is the story of a neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with fatal lung cancer. Few books have resonated with me beyond the last page as much as that book has – the writing is beautiful, and the lesson is so poignant. The doctor put off “real” life so that he could invest fully in becoming a neurosurgeon. When he got to the point where he was ready to start living his “real” life, he had to come to terms with the fact that he was going to die.
I think most of us have milestones in our heads where we think, “when I get there, then I will…” but we don’t know if we have enough time. That is why the mission of Vestia resonates with me. I don’t want anyone, myself included, to be so immersed in their work that they can’t spend their time doing what really matters. If I can play a small part in helping clients live in the present and BE present because they know that we are taking care of the other things, that gets me up in the morning.
One of Vestia’s values is to model “wealth that matters.” What does this mean to you?
Though it can feel like I’m on a hamster wheel with a business and two young kids, I do my best to be intentional and spend time away from technology and live fully in the moment with my family each day. I will always be able to work more or make more money, but I only get these years with my daughters once. So “wealth that matters” to me is having the luxury to choose how I spend my time; I have come to realize that how I spend my time is how I spend my life!
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
- Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
- Series 66
- Series 7
- Life insurance, licensed agent
- Health insurance, licensed agent
- Financial Planning Association, member
- BA in Economics with a minor in Financial Economics, Vanderbilt University
- Check out the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck
- Board of Trustees, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Tennessee
- Rock the Street Wall Street Mentor
- CFP® Board Women’s Initiative Advocate
- AdvisorEngine: Conveying your financial advisory firm’s value
- AdvisorEngine: Advisors: Listen up! Here are the five habits of effective client listeners
- Financial Advisor Success with Michael Kites, Ep 277: Crafting A More Unique Value Proposition By Investing Into A More Focused Clientele
- Barron's: Finding and Cultivating Wealth Management’s Next-Gen CEOs
- The Flexible Advisor - Ep 18
- The Flexible Advisor - Ep 52
- Roetzel HealthLaw HotSpot
- ThinkAdvisor
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
- Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
- Series 66
- Series 7
- Life insurance, licensed agent
- Health insurance, licensed agent
- Financial Planning Association, member
- BA in Economics with a minor in Financial Economics, Vanderbilt University
- Check out the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck
- Board of Trustees, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Tennessee
- Rock the Street Wall Street Mentor
- CFP® Board Women’s Initiative Advocate