Wealth Management Is All About Relationships feat. Crystal Maxwell '03

Crystal Maxwell was born in Texas but raised in Saudi Arabia as an "oil brat." Both her parents worked for Aramco. Exploring different cultures developed her global perspective that helps shape her investment recommendations even today. 

She moved back to the U.S. for college and earned her bachelor’s degree in hotel restaurant management from the University of Houston but pivoted to wealth management with the help of an MBA from Rice.

Crystal sits down with host Scott Gale ’19, and shares her journey: growing up amongst the expat community in Saudi Arabia,  an early career in hospitality and a Rice MBA that led to a 20-year career as a wealth advisor with UBS financial services. We’ll hear her advice for aspiring wealth managers and her passion for the Houston Rodeo. 

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Why is wealth management all about relationships?

14:42 - Wealth management is all about the relationships and you're building relationships with your clients. You're trying to make their lives better. You're helping them in all aspects of anything that has to do with money, and you're not going to be able to do that alone. You need the relationships. I've relied on people from my Rice network, but also within my firm, to bring the right expertise, synthesize the right information, and be able to deliver that to my clients.

A characteristic you need for a career in financial services

17:53 - You have to have empathy [in financial services]. This job is about helping people reach their goals, helping people be able to pay for college for their kids, retire, and go on vacation all at the same time. And then, on the flip side, or further down the road, it's people wanting to make an impact with their assets.

Learning more through business school

13:30 - I know in lots of industries, the amount of information that comes out is quite a bit, but in finance in particular, You've got so much information that comes out every single day, and if you want to be an expert in any one sector, not even stock, but a sector, you could read an analysis all day long. You could really spend all of your time doing that, which nobody can do. As a financial advisor, I can't spend my entire day just reading about different companies. As much as I enjoy that, I've got to synthesize all that information and then know how to apply it and how it's going to affect my clients.

Show Links: 

Houston RodeoAramcoTranscript

Guest Profile:

Crystal Maxwell LinkedInCrystal Maxwell - UBS Advisors