At its spring board meeting, the USI Board of Advisors welcomed new board member Sarah Moore, CFP®, President of Donaldson Capital Management, where she has been serving clients since 2018. Sarah has held several positions with DCM, including Investment Advisor, Director of Financial Planning, and VP of Client Experience. An Evansville native, Sarah graduated from Signature School and attended DePauw University, where she was a Management Fellow and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Management in 2008.
Sarah has spent her career in the wealth management industry, serving both families and institutions. In 2008, she joined J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Indianapolis as an Investment Analyst. Beginning her career amidst the financial crisis, Sarah learned the importance of risk management in investing. In 2011, Sarah relocated to Nashville, TN, and joined Merrill Lynch, where she worked directly with families and company retirement plan sponsors, providing financial planning and investment management advice to business owners and employees. In 2011, she completed her studies to achieve her Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation.
In early 2013, Sarah returned to J.P. Morgan Private Bank to open an expansion market office for the bank in Nashville. During this time, Sarah worked with some of the most successful families in Tennessee. She was responsible for advising families on their assets and liabilities and tax, estate, and philanthropic planning.
In 2018, Sarah and her husband David, an Evansville native and Urologic Surgeon at Deaconess Clinic, returned to Evansville to continue their careers and raise their growing family closer to home. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Madeline. Sarah is on the board of the Evansville Estate and Financial Planning Council, Evansville Country Club, Charles Schwab Advisory Services Advisory Board, and the Advisory Board for the USI Romain College of Business. Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, running, reading, concert-going, and exploring the great outdoors.
Take a moment to get to know more about Sarah in our interview below:
Who do you think are the most important/influential people in your industry today?
Our clients. Full stop. What our clients need and ask for drives every decision we make about where to invest in our business. Their feedback will shape what Donaldson and our industry looks like in the future.
What topic could you spend hours talking about?
Wellness. I’m endlessly curious about what people do to stay healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Everyone’s routine looks a little different. It is fascinating the outlets that people find to take care of themselves so that they can show up as the best version of themselves every day.
What is your connection to USI?
I love basketball. As a kid, I often came out with my friends to watch Chancellor Dugan coach the women’s basketball team. We dreamed of playing in college and in the WBNA (which had just started in 1997). She was an inspiring coach and a great advocate for women’s sports. Coach Bruce Pearl was also at USI at the time, coaching the men. I’ll never forget getting to sleep on campus and interacting with the coaches and players at the summer USI basketball camps.
Today, I love running the USI–Burdette Trail. Donaldson employs many USI alumni and also hosted its annual all-employee conference at the Griffin Center this year. What a fantastic facility!
What advice would you give USI students who are incoming freshmen and those in their senior year? What do you wish someone had told you?
I would tell the freshman to stay curious and open-minded about their future. Don’t come into college having already decided exactly who you will be and what you will do with your life. College is an opportunity to expand and to welcome new influences. Stay open to growth, and stay curious.
To the seniors, I would tell them to use the network they built of adults and professionals who believe in them. Don’t just seek advice from mentors, but actively apply it. There are a lot of people who want to see you succeed and thrive after graduation.
I wish someone would have told me I already have an implied no. Meaning that you have nothing to lose by asking, so ask for the job, the opportunity, the raise. Ask for what you want and need – you already have a no – but you might just get a yes.
What attributes make a person successful in your industry?
Financial services is a part of the broader professional services industry. In our industry, trust and strong relationships are the foundation for long-term success. The most successful people I see are authentic and self-aware. They establish deep trust with clients by being excellent communicators, technicians, and display strong ethics and integrity. They also love what they do and have fun doing it. Most of them have an infectious can-do-anything entrepreneurial spirit.
Published June 12, 2024