Vestia expands to Cape — Firm headed by Jackson grad Lauren Oschman focuses on financial advising for physicians

Jackson High School alumna Lauren Law Oschman is not a medical doctor nor does she play one on TV.

As a daughter of Southeast- HEALTH cardiologist David A. Law and Laura Law, a former pediatric nurse, Oschman is nonetheless putting her lifelong exposure to the medical community to use as CEO of Nashville, Tennessee-based Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors.

Vestia, launched in January 2018, is a financial advising firm specializing in serving physicians.

Katie Lorberg

Katie Lorberg

Late last month, Katie Lorberg, a fellow JHS graduate and former employee of The Bank of Missouri, joined Vestia as its new Cape Girardeau adviser.

Q&A with Lauren Oschman

Where did the idea come from to laser-focus on physicians for your business model?

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Coming out of Vanderbilt University, I started with a St. Louis firm which already had a physician niche. It was there that I met the four people who became co-founders with me of Vestia. We had a business decision to make. We could have cast a wider net and potentially have had more opportunities for clients. What we ended up deciding is we collectively had 150 years of experience working with physicians, which we felt was nearly unmatched in our industry. Because we had the ability to impact that specific group of professionals, why not put all of our resources and efforts to work in that area? Obviously, I have a personal connection to physicians. The work is often such a grind, and physicians and families give so much selflessly that I had natural affinity for helping that group. We've seen incredible success with Vestia because every decision we make goes back to helping us serve physicians better. We coordinate with attorneys on solid asset protection planning. We work with accountants on tax strategy because physicians pay a lot in taxes. Physicians have some common opportunities to minimize tax exposure. We have a negotiator on our team who helps physicians with hospital contracts. Vestia has access to benchmarking data points that help with bargaining leverage. All of this is in service to help medical doctors optimize what they make for the time they give. We're well versed in adding value because that's all we do. And this service, I think, really resonates with the medical community.

How would you compare what Vestia does to another profession?

We're like sports agents. Professional athletes don't negotiate without agents. We work with younger physicians coming out of training, those taking their first job. They may see six figures on a contract and think, "Where do I sign?" But they may have little idea if the expectation for their output is consistent with what they're going to be making. That's where Vestia comes in and says to the new physician, "With this type of productivity expectation, you should expect a certain level of compensation. Let's see if we can move the needle in that direction." We can advise them on strategy if they want to handle their own negotiation or we can run it for them as their agents.

What are some data points about the size of Vestia's business today?

We are nationwide in scope. We have just over 500 physician families across the company and we manage a little over $500 million in assets. In addition to Nashville, we have office locations in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Omaha, Nebraska. We also have one in the Carolinas, one in Los Angeles and the newest one is in Cape. We also have the ability to engage virtually.

Tell us about the decision to locate an adviser in Cape Girardeau.

There's a thriving physician community there. There hasn't been anyone there doing quite what we do for physicians. Katie Lorberg and I have been friends since high school. Katie's been on Bank of Missouri's wealth management team for years and I floated the idea of joining Vestia. We're not starting out with a bricks-and-mortar location in Cape but we'll use a coworking space to do meetings.

Malpractice is a major concern in the medical community. How does Vestia help physicians in that area?

We try to help with everything that touches the finances of a medical doctor and risk management is one of those things. We do help advise with coverage limits when physicians have options through their hospitals and to their practices. We're always thinking about exposures and vulnerabilities as we help build the financial plan. We know, for example, there are certain investments physicians have which are protected by federal law that creditors can't touch. We, for lack of a better word, "quarterback" a team of professionals. We're financial advisers but we regularly coordinate with accountants, attorneys and insurance professionals. I say we coordinate because doctors and their spouses just don't have the time to make that happen. Doctors pay us a retainer to figure certain things out on their behalf and help take some of the worry and anxiety off their plates, so to speak.

You grew up watching your father and mother work in medicine. What insight do you have for those who don't have the close connection you have?

Doctors are very, very intelligent people [but] they get no exposure to financial education in their medical training. None. If I have an ache, a pain, a disease, I need my medical community. Physicians are the same way with finances. They just don't get exposure to it. I took my first job out of college at age 21, whereas most doctors take their first jobs in their early-to-mid 30s because it's taken so much time to go through medical school, their residencies and their fellowships to get trained to do what they do. Also, financially, their margin for error is slim. Yes, doctors make a lot of money. They also have a lot of loans to pay off and a shortened window of time before retirement. They're not going to get financial aid, usually, for their children to attend college because they won't qualify. What I saw with my dad, he had a lot of professionals working with him — an accountant, an insurance guy, a couple of attorneys and a banker. What he didn't have was one person laser focused on his goal, which for him was asset protection. I was able to coordinate those efforts toward Dad's goal.

If you had to give an elevator speech about Vestia, what would you say about the company?

On our Facebook site, you'll find this language: "We offer a wide range of financial services for physicians who need a trusted guide."

How can people find out more about Vestia?

Go to www.vestiaadvisors.com or call (877) 669-1126.

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