Trust Company of the South is proud to recognize the women whose experience and dedication make a lasting impact. This Women’s Month, we’re highlighting Westray Veasey, J.D., Chief Fiduciary Counsel and Principal, for her commitment to guiding families through estate and wealth planning.
With over 25 years of experience in estate and trust planning, Westray Veasey, J.D., has helped clients structure trusts, manage generational wealth and build long-term plans for their families. She reflects on the role of women in financial decision-making, the financial habits she encourages early and the mentors who shaped her career.
Read more about Westray below.
Getting to Know Westray
Tell us about your journey in wealth management. What led you to this career?
I started my career in private practice as a trusts and estates attorney with a large firm in Greensboro, NC and then spent 13 years at Poyner Spruill in their Raleigh office. This phase of my professional life allowed me to develop expertise in providing estate and business succession planning advice to high-net-worth clients. I was asked to join Trust Company about 10 years ago to serve as their in-house counsel and also provide education, strategy development, oversight and estate plan maintenance to Trust Company’s client base. In my role with Trust Company, I work with and assist a small (but growing!) client base on an ongoing basis, guiding them and future generations through successful legacy wealth planning.
What do you enjoy most about your role at Trust Company of the South?
Working alongside wonderful and smart colleagues to help families across generations make their legacy wealth planning experience successful and rewarding.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in the financial industry, and how have you navigated them? There is a perception that women are either not interested in wealth planning or they are not capable of understanding it or appreciating its impact on them and their families. I find that not to be true. Women are often the ones in the client family who are most interested in ensuring that the family’s estate plan is in good shape, and when brought into the conversion are very engaged. Both as clients and advisors, women bring a unique and advantageous perspective to wealth management: they frequently understand family dynamics best, have a “listen first” communication style, and are very task and goal oriented. Women in wealth management can combat this misperception by displaying to their clients, colleagues and professional partners that they are great communicators and high achievers.
Advice and Perspectives
What advice would you give to your younger self or other women looking to build a career in wealth management?
We know that vast amounts of wealth will shift to women over the next decade. Attracting and retaining women clients will be essential for the growth of wealth management firms. Women frequently like to have a female advisor on their team. We know statistically that women are paid less than men for doing the same job. One factor can be the flexibility women may need during periods in their lives when they are raising children or caring for aging parents. But wealth management firms would be remiss to not invest in and support professional women as they navigate balancing their personal obligations, the fulfillment of which is vital to our society. My advice would be to determine where your skills, smarts and interests lie as early on as you can, foster and grow them and then find an employer-partner that will support you in your career (and personal) development. Know your worth and advocate for yourself. Take on roles that challenge you. And if you can, become a business owner.
What’s one financial lesson you believe everyone should learn early in life?
The earlier you start saving, the more time your money has to grow through compounding. Set up a ROTH IRA. Create a budget and stick to it.
What inspires you most in your work?
Being part of a wonderful team that works together to provide a stellar client experience.
Beyond the Office
When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
My husband, my children and I have always spent a lot of time at the beach, specifically out on the water. The North Carolina coast is extraordinary; it is beautiful with wide open spaces and clear water, teaming with wildlife. My favorite quote is from Isaak Dennison: “The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears or the sea.” I try and spend some time each week giving back to my community, even if it is a small contribution or gesture. I love to travel and enjoy live music. I am also a crazy Tarheels basketball fan.
Do you have a book, podcast or mentor who has influenced your professional journey?
I participate in a local estate planner study group, the members of which are all brilliant attorneys. I am inspired by their intellect, their respect for their profession and each other and their commitment to their clients.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, is there a woman—historical or personal—who has inspired you?
It’s difficult for me to select one woman who inspires me. So many extraordinary women have achieved so many amazing things. Much has changed during the lifetimes of the women of my parents’ generation, and they were the catalyst. By pushing boundaries and speaking up for themselves, they created opportunities for the women they raised. But if I HAVE to pick one, it would be Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She stood up for herself and her beliefs, and in doing so, bettered the lives of all women.
