Pursuing answers for financial inequality

As a kid, Filipe Delvaux developed a deep curiosity about inequity. He wondered, “Why do some people thrive while others starve?” The pursuit of this answer caused Filipe to develop a strong sense of empathy for others and led him down a path to educate himself so he could help those that have less.

Growing up in a military family in Brazil, Filipe moved every two years. Doing so exposed him to not only the beauty of South America, but also to the stark inequities of places— those where wealth was prevalent, and those where poverty was widespread.

“I remember doing volunteer work with my dad and talking to a family who told us they would run out of food that day,” he recalls. “That left a big impression on me. I knew that some people went without food, but to meet them and talk about their struggles made it very real.”

While Filipe and his father were able to return with supplies for the family, Filipe wanted to do and learn more. He moved to the United States to pursue a career in finance in order to, as he explains it, “better understand the story of capital.”

In his freshman year at Brigham Young University, Filipe understood very little due to his limited English. But not one to be defeated, he diligently read his course work and relied on the support of his professors to help him piece it all together.

After undergrad, Filipe pursued a master’s degree in Wealth Management at Columbia University. He still wanted to know why some people thrive while others starve, so he dug into financial psychology and learned about money scripts (unconscious beliefs about money, often rooted in childhood, that affect adult behaviors and perspectives) to better understand the how peoples’ personal stories impact how they see and manage money.

After graduation, Filipe combined his motivations and his education and embarked on a career in wealth management. In his new career he was keenly interested in serving the unique needs of his clients.

“My priority when I’m sitting across the table from clients is to learn their stories,” he explains. “Everyone has a different path and there is no single recipe for success, so I can best help them when I know about their experiences.”

Filipe has remained steadfast in this desire to help others. He joined Schwab as a Financial Consultant based out of Frisco, CO, in 2020. He explains that the company’s breadth of offerings allows him to better help clients with customized solutions, instead of forcing their problems into a single solution, which felt unnatural to him at other firms.

“I know in this industry we don’t always get labeled as people who want to help,” explains Filipe. “But a lot of us really are here because we really care about people. I want to help, and I feel like I can do that better at Schwab than anywhere else.”

While Filipe continues help his clients through understanding of their stories, in his personal time he’s building the story of his family with his wife and three kids by spending time outdoors in their small mountain community.