Lauren Adams

Lauren Adams, 36, found her way to partner at the Center for Financial Planning through a somewhat unconventional journey, building her investment chops for nearly seven years as a biotech stock analyst at Morningstar.

While she loved the company and its culture, the position meant “you could go a whole week without talking to anyone, just being at your computer, looking at financial statements in Excel,” she said.

At the same time, people she cared about began asking for financial advice.

“I felt really helpless — and unfortunately a lot of people in my life didn’t get the greatest financial advice,” Adams said. “I felt a calling to get into the personal financial advice side of things.”

She decided to pivot, moving from Chicago to her home state of Michigan.

Before she started looking for a job, Adams and her husband Chris took a year off, traveling to 50 countries.

“It’s easy to be in your own little bubble and listen to the news and think other people are different,” she said, adding that the experience “reminded me of how much we have in common and how beautiful people are.”

She joined the center in 2016, becoming a partner at record speed in 2021. As a financial planner and director of operations, Adams appreciates the firm’s collaborative approach to helping clients. Part of the company’s mission, which she helped revise, is “improving lives.”

“I think about improving lives for our 1,000 clients, many of them who have been with us for 30 years,” she said. “But I also see this as an opportunity to improve life for our team.”

—Emile Hallez