CEO Spotlight: Francisco Faraco, CEO of Faraco Partners LLC
Francisco J. Faraco is CEO & Founder of Faraco Partners, LLC, incorporated in New York State in 2017. With many years of experience in the financial industry, he provides Wealth Management Services to corporations, families, and individuals. As a public figure and mentor, he regularly speaks at financial workshops and conferences. But who is the man behind the financial success he helps others achieve?
His Background
Faraco has worked with the greats in the financial industry, including the minds at J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He attended the University of Chicago, where he obtained his MS in Financial Mathematics, which integrated coursework that explores the deep-rooted relationship that exists between theoretical and applied mathematics and the ever-evolving world of finance. Faraco also holds an MA in Economics, with a concentration in Financial Economics and Economic Development Policies, from The American University of Washington DC, where he graduated at the top of his class. Before pursuing a more global perspective by attending universities in the States, he received his BBA in Banking and Finance at Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela, . There he graduated as valedictorian and won several athletic awards. Last, but not least, in 2012, Faraco passed the last, Level 3, exam of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, which is a post-graduate professional qualification and considered to be among the most mentally grueling exam experiences on the planet. The program has the highest level of international legal and regulatory recognition of finance-related qualifications and covers a considerably wide range of topics relating to Advanced Investment Analysis, Security Analysis, Statistics, Probability Theory, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Economics, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Finance, Alternative Investments, and Portfolio Management.
As a globally educated athlete and an experienced financial expert, Francisco brings a unique personality and perspective to financial analysis and portfolio management for his clients across asset classes. He has been quoted as saying, “Be obsessively organized on everything you do.”, which shows in the results he helps his clients achieve. It’s no wonder that one of his favorite quotes comes from fellow athlete Babe Ruth, who famously said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”
Most Exciting Trend Right Now
Faraco has said that he’s most excited about artificial intelligence. Not only does AI have considerable applications in business and finance; it also has the potential to transform our everyday lives, as we’re already seeing in many uses today. By nature, when technology can teach itself, the things we can achieve through this tech are virtually without limits.
While Faraco is optimistic about the future, he’s also been open about the challenges in his field.
Most Challenging Aspects of Being a Financial Consultant
He has said of finance, “{it} can be quite intense at times”. One must commit to working long hours, late nights, and getting almost no sleep sometimes. This is especially true when you’re just starting. But as you develop your career, you find the right work-life balance.
Additionally, Francisco has talked about overcoming mistakes. No one can predict every potential outcome in the markets and economy. And he’ll be the first to admit sometimes even he gets it wrong. But he says the important thing is not letting mistakes defeat you. Instead, learn from them and keep moving forward. The worst thing we can do to our financial portfolios is to let past mistakes cause us to live in fear because then we make it so much worse instead of making the best of bad situations.
Importance of Experience When Pursuing a Consulting Career
Francisco Faraco shares that experience is everything. The most desirable graduate positions with the companies you’ve actually heard of require experience. They’re not looking for someone who’s spent all of their time in the classroom. You need perspective you can only achieve through real-world experience. Faraco earned his first real experience at age 19 in Venezuela when he started working as a Prop Trader at Eurobanco. After less than 2 years in the job, he was overseeing all Local-currency and US Dollar Funding, Repo Trading, Short-dated Interest Rate Business and Emerging Markets Dollar-denominated Bond Trading. From this humble beginning, he learned the industry and developed the skills that would help him achieve his career goals and become the investment professional he is today.
Importance of Developing Productive Habits
Faraco believes that developing productive habits have been the key to his success. And when he works with clients, helping them develop productive investment and money habits is integral to their success. He says he wakes up every day with a “plan of attack”. This involves a schedule and structure, he works to stick with not just to get more done, but to get the essential things done.
While he does focus on structure, he points out that we must be flexible with our days. Things don’t always happen exactly as you planned, so adapting on the spot is a quality he’s worked to develop. We can dig deeper into the minds of Francisco Faraco by exploring his passion for investments and wealth management.
The Most Rewarding Aspects of His Job
Faraco admits that the most rewarding thing about his job is knowing he’s using an understanding that comes very naturally to him to help others achieve their financial dreams. He has discussed how hard it is for the average household to build wealth between college tuition skyrocketing, home prices soaring, and the costs of many of life necessities increasingly out of reach.
Francisco enjoys helping people look past the day-to-day to find the money to invest and build a more prosperous and secure future for their businesses or families. He has also shared some of the most frequent concerns he hears from clients that he helps them overcome.
Common Investment Concerns of Clients
He’s found that clients are worried about the state of their current portfolios. They’ve been trying to build wealth or achieve other financial goals alone. And they feel their strategy is falling short. During the recent downturns, such as the housing crisis in 2007/2008, people saw a lot of their wealth evaporate. Francisco considers it his mission to help clients think bigger. This includes a variety of risk and reward levels from high risk-reward, to more stable investments. Diversification is the name of the game. But honestly, many diversification strategies aren’t that diverse when you take a closer look.
He enjoys helping clients develop a truly varied portfolio that can weather the storms we all know will come from time to time. We can further understand the man behind the consulting by considering what he would share with others looking to follow a similar path.
Advice for Someone Launching a Finance Career
Faraco says he would advise any up-and-coming investment professional or student to: “enjoy what you do”. If they don’t like the idea of sitting for hours, hovering over numbers, this isn’t for them. He wishes more people considering a career path had the opportunity to explore the day-to-day of the job before choosing a path in school. Because without the passion for it, people just won’t reach the levels they want to achieve.
He has also said patience and perseverance are essential. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Take the time to get the experience. Develop a plan to learn and do many things in the industry to broaden your horizons and best serve your clients. Faraco referenced Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, when asked about the vital importance of experience in financial consulting. You can learn this stuff in school. You need to live it and do it.
Ma said, “Before you turn 20 years old, be a good student, and get some experience. Before you turn 30 years old, it’s not which company you go to, but which boss you follow.”
Leading by Example Through Giving
While wealth-building often seems a one-way street, Francisco imparts to his clients and his children the importance of giving. He recently shared a story. It was around the Christmas holidays, and a local church had asked for partners to help supply meals to low-income families in the community.
The church took up a collection. But Francisco wanted his kids to be involved in the giving in the most meaningful way possible, and he knew this went beyond giving money directly. He took them to the grocery store and helped them carefully choose foods for the meals. He asked them to put themselves in the shoes of those less fortunate and consider what having a nice meal around the holidays means to them.
There are times to give and times to receive.
Who Is Francisco Faraco?
Francisco Faraco is a father and a scholar who understands the importance of experience and loving what you do. He’s passionate about putting his years of financial expertise to work to help individuals, families, and corporations build wealth.
He’s excited about the potential of technology to change how we live and work. And he’s dedicated to being “obsessively organized” about his work to help his clients achieve their financial goals and live their financial dreams.
Keep Up With Francisco Faraco on Medium & Crunchbase