Meet Gigi Verrey of GCG Financial, An Alera Group Company in Englewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gigi Verrey.

Gigi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Wow, the story of how I got started in the financial services industry is definitely random. When I think about it, how it happened it makes me smile. In the industry, I am known as what is called a career-changer. I came from the interior design industry. When my position with a Herman Miller distribution center was eliminated, I began working on a few projects around my new home.

Yes, my position ended three months after I bought a new home! Everyday I would go out to the back of our lot and dig away at a very large mound of dirt that was left in our backyard. At the same time every morning, with a cup of coffee I would grab my shovel and start to dig away at this large pile. The person who lived behind our home noticed my diligence as he left for work each morning. After about two weeks, we struck up a conversation, and he asked me if I had ever considered financial services. Within three months, I was fully licensed and working for a Wall Street based firm selling penny stocks, mutual funds and working 80 hours a week. I recognized quickly the lack of work-life balance and moved on to the Principal Financial Group where I realized I could help so many more people my age.

While entering this industry 28 years ago was quite random, the reason why I remain is not. My mother died suddenly of a heart attack when I was 20 years old. I was left with nothing. Her life insurance contract had expired three months prior. My mother was only 44 when she died, did not have a will nor did she have any money to leave her three kids because she had just suffered a horrible divorce months prior. I made it my mission and my life‘s work to help women and the people they love to be financially prepared. Whether it is saving for their children’s college education, saving for a happy retirement and/or having enough life insurance should something devastating happen to their family, I do my best every day to ensure people do not have to suffer the way my siblings and I did. Hands-down this is what keeps me going in good times as well as bad.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say the path throughout my career in financial services definitely had some bumps and even crevices along the way. Unfortunately, there is still is a very small percentage of women in the financial services industry and often it is because most management teams do not understand how we sell and how we think.

I have dealt with gender discrimination/exclusion, sexual harassment from clients and management teams that did not take me seriously.

These experiences drove me to succeed even more and I believe I’ve done so by being a champion of women and giving many hours of my time to helping young women learn to budget, save and invest.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about GCG Financial, An Alera Group Company – what should we know?
I am an investment advisor and financial planner with GCG Financial, an Alera Group company. I work out of the Englewood, Colorado office with my colleague, Mollie Savage, as well as an office in Deerfield Illinois, where our company headquarters is located. Our firm has locations throughout the United States with roughly 2,000 employees working in the areas of wealth management, retirement planning, risk management and employee benefits. I specialize in wealth management. I think the collaborative spirit of GCG is what I am most proud of. It sets us apart from other companies since we work as a team and do our best to help the other departments within the company (even when there is no benefit to us) to go above and beyond in helping each other’s clients. I think if I needed to identify one thing we are known for, it would be doing the right thing. Telling a prospect that they are in good hands with her current advisor or telling a client not what they want to hear but what they need to hear.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Over the years, my best supporters have been my clients. The feedback I receive when they retire successfully or get their children through college is immensely gratifying. Mollie Savage, my teammate, is also an incredible advocate for women and one of my biggest cheerleaders. My husband, Rob Gulans, is always there for me when I’m feeling down. The financial services industry can be tough. Money brings out the best and the worst in people. I am part psychologist, coach, mentor and marriage counselor.

Contact Info:

• Address: 6465 S Greenwood Plaza Blvd,
  Suite 500
  Englewood, CO 80111
• Website: https://gcgfinancial.aleragroup.com/team/
• Phone: 8476095853
• Email: gigi.verrey@gcgfinancial.com
• Instagram: @verreysmart
• Facebook: Gigi JM Verrey

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