Meet Carl von dem Bussche, Jr. of Financial Guidance Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carl von dem Bussche, Jr.

Carl, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Tampa, FL in a financial planning family. My dad started in the business in 1977 and started our current company (Financial Guidance Group) in 1993. In college, my path was always to get my degree and join the family business, which I did upon graduating. The only problem was that I had started a band in college and we were gaining momentum. I would work for FGG during the week and tour regionally on the weekends. We ended up getting a record deal with an indie label in Nashville and I had to make a choice.

I’ve always looked to my dad for advice and I thought he would be disappointed that I may want to follow the music dream, but he told me that financial planning will always be there, a record deal and a chance to chase down a dream wouldn’t. At the time, I was newly married and my wife and I made the move. We had a lot of fun touring and made a lot of friends but never really became financially viable as a band. Eventually, with the changing landscape of the music industry, our label went under and we had another a choice to make.

We had some interest from a major label and started to go down that road, but life and family situations made it clear we weren’t supposed to move forward. The good thing was that the major we had been talking to had an opening in A&R and I needed a job. I got hired and loved working in A&R but something was missing. Eventually, we moved back to Tampa to work for a church, which led me back into the world of finance as the church grew and I was in charge of the business side of things and investing funds for future growth.

During that time, we had a wedding to attend back in Nashville and we were visiting with music industry friends who started asking me about investing and where they should start. They suggested that I start an office in Nashville that took our family business and the core values of Fee-Only financial planning/investing to the entertainment space. This resonated with me and we started FGG Nashville in 2016, with our family moving back in 2017. It’s been an amazing journey and I love what I get to do.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s hard to start a new business in a new place while raising a family. However, I was fortunate to have a great wife who enabled me to take the time needed to build the business and get my CFP.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We help people organize and simplify their financial lives. We have two offices, one here in downtown Franklin, and the other office is in the Tampa Bay area.

We work with our clients in what is called a Fee-Only method. It just means that we don’t get compensated in any way by selling investment products to our clients. We feel like it enables us to look more objectively at what is most appropriate for each client and reduces conflicts of interest that exist when a financial advisor is incentivized to sell certain products over others.

I think that is what sets us apart and also resonates with our clients in that they fully understand what they are paying and what we do. In our Franklin office, about 70% of our clients are in the entertainment industry in some way, and the remaining are mostly corporate executives and small business owners. We also help several small businesses set up 401k plans for their employees.

In 2021, my dad transferred the company ownership over to my brother and me but he still comes to work every day and we love having his voice of over 45 years of experience. We have no intentions to become the next big financial firm, we would rather stay small and deliver a high level of service to clients who are a good fit for our firm.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Even though most of my clients know my story, I think most people are surprised to know that I once was a struggling musician and lived gig to gig singing and playing guitar.

It’s a funny path to becoming a financial advisor but I think it gives me a unique perspective when helping clients in the music industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fgginc.com
• Instagram: @fgg.inc @carlvdb

Image Credits
Jeremy Cowart and Jean Kallina