Julie Winston applies the characteristics that made her a decorated military officer to her career as a Morgan Stanley financial advisor.
Integrity. Leadership. The belief that no one should ever have to compromise what they believe in to reach their goals. The same characteristics that made Julie Winston a decorated officer in the military also make her a successful Financial Advisor.
In April 2017, Julie retired as a Lt. Colonel from the Massachusetts Army National Guard after 22 years of service. While serving her country, she graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, went on to earn a Masters in financial planning from Bentley University, and in 2004 she launched her financial services career with Morgan Stanley. And did we mention the Bronze Star she received for her service in Afghanistan?
Today, Julie applies the same passion and dedication that she’s shown to her country to her clients. As a founding partner with the Insignia Group at Morgan Stanley in Wellesley, MA, she’s teaching her clients to do what she did—take ownership of their futures. Julie’s motivated by helping her clients realize and achieve their goals. “A lot of our clients have been really good at collecting all of the pieces they need, but they don’t know how to put them together,” she says.
Putting pieces together is Julie’s specialty. Her last assignment in the National Guard was as the Operations Officer for the 151 Regional Support Group, providing logistical support to other service members and to the local population when the governor called her group into action. As the Executive Officer for the 726th Finance Battalion in Afghanistan, Julie was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her exceptional leadership and financial accomplishments while working with the Central Bank of Afghanistan to help stabilize the Afghani currency.
As with all great leaders, Julie and her business partner don’t tell clients what they can or should do. Instead, they show them what is possible by creating a collaborative, supportive environment that allows clients to visualize their ideal future and define success for themselves. Those goals are the foundation of a customized wealth and investment management strategy that sets each client’s journey in motion.
“We can run the financial plan and show how much money they have and how they spend it,” she says. “But it’s important to teach them how to analyze their own budgets so they can put their plans in place rather than just telling them what to do. It’s very rewarding when you help people achieve a goal that they wouldn’t have been able to accomplish on their own.”
As she settles into life as a full-time civilian, Julie’s looking forward to channeling her energy and passion into her family and her community. “I don’t ever rest or stop,” she says. “You lose a lot of momentum when you stop. When you put one project down, you have to pick up another.”
Of course, part of that energy will be spent driving change as part of the MAKERS community. “It’s about getting change on the table,” she says. “Getting people to think about change.”
