A focus on Education & Purpose
Our Story
Purposeful Strategic Partners grew out of a professor's desire to continue educating and helping students from his Personal Finance class. In 2016, Joshua Escalante Troesh created a website to allow alumni to ask questions about their finances, and shortly after he began publishing articles on personal finance topics. The original website, Purposeful Finance, still exists today as a 501(c)(3) Non Profit dedicated to providing free and low-cost financial planning resources and financial literacy education.
Wanting to take a more active role in helping people, Joshua saw a comprehensive financial planning practice as a way to change people's lives over the long-term. In 2018, Joshua established Purposeful Strategic Partners as an independent fiduciary and fee-only Registered Investment Advisor firm.
Our Advisors
Joshua Escalante Troesh, CFP | MBA
Josh is a Tenured Professor of Business and Certified Financial Planner. He is regularly sought after by media for quotes on investing and personal finance including The Wall Street, Consumer Reports, Forbes, CNBC, US News & World Report, the LA Times, and more. Learn more about Josh.
Ashley McWhorter, MFP
Ashley holds a Masters in Financial Planning from Texas Tech University and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in financial planning. She works with clients as a financial planner helping clients with cash flow management and the psychological aspects of money. Learn more about Ashley.
From the Founder: Joshua D. Escalante Troesh, CFP| MBA
My journey to becoming a financial planner began with me rejecting the profession — twice. In the early 2000s (and again after 2008), a long-time friend asked me to join him at one of the major firms as a financial advisor, but I turned him down multiple times. I wasn’t interested in the sales-oriented culture, the significant conflicts of interest, and other poor practices common in the major firms.
Shortly after the 2008 credit crisis, I began instructing Personal Finance courses at the college I taught at. Watching the incredible impact the course had on students' lives is what finally sparked an interest in joining the financial planning profession. But I wanted to join a profession, and not an industry.
Teaching is a profession, because it is dedicated to improving the lives of the students, not enriching the professors. Sadly, what I saw in much of financial planning was an industry which created products and hired sales representatives to push the products. But I also saw a noble version of financial planning as a service profession where a trusted adviser helped guide clients toward their life goals.
I created Purposeful Strategic Partners with an intention to create a firm which forced the practice of financial planning as a true profession. I chose the Registered Investment Advisor structure so the firm and it's employees would be legally bound as fiduciaries for their clients. A subscription model for the financial planning fees was chosen so the adviser would be judged by the client based on how positively the financial planning changed the client's life. And to avoid conflicts of interest, all revenue would be earned directly from the client; no commissioned product sales, no referral fees, and no other kickbacks of any kind.
I truly believe the two professionals every person needs is a doctor and a financial planner. Because every goal and every aspect of your life is dependent upon your health and your finances.
I hope you will give me the chance to serve you as your financial partner.
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