Team Member Spotlight
Meet Nicolas Vieville, one of our Associate Advisors at MFA. Nico has been with us since 2024. Because of Nico’s wide range of strengths and talents, he wears many hats at MFA. Not only does he provide financial guidance to our clients, he is also an integral part of our marketing team. Nico is always ready to explain complex topics in a fun and understandable way and our clients love him for that.
Nico and his wife, Melanie, at a luau in Oahu, Hawaii, in 2024
Why did you choose to become a financial advisor?
I have been interested in economics and finance ever since I was a teenager living in France. Leading up to the ‘08 subprime mortgage crisis, my neighbor was a trader at Rabobank, a big Dutch bank. I would always hear him saying “ca va peter!” … “it’s gonna burst” … which it eventually did. I remember the ‘08 crisis as a major event in America. We would watch on the news that Wall Street bankers were being laid off and escorted out of the building with a box of their belongings.
That picture stuck with me, and I wanted to understand what, how, why, who … essentially everything about the crisis. In high school, I had already chosen the economics track, and I continued that path in my college years.
In addition, I witnessed both my grandparents and my parents working hard yet not making the best financial decisions for their future. That spurred me to have an interest in a financial advisory career. However, my MBA education showed me the challenges for financial advisors in a socialist country like France, where the government dictates most things. By contrast, individuals in America are responsible for their financial decisions and ultimately their retirement. My desire to become a financial advisor reignited when I moved to the US during the pandemic. I knew I could create value and help people in this profession.
What’s a memory from your client interactions that’s stayed with you?
A long-term client of ours wanted her investment portfolio to reflect her beliefs and values. She was ready to sell existing positions even when it meant incurring capital gain taxes in the process.
During our meeting, not only did we illustrate the steps we’d take to minimize the taxes from the rebalancing of her portfolio, we also showed her the cash flow projection we recently updated as part of her financial plan. When we informed her that she could retire today if she wanted to, she was stunned and speechless. She’s been frugal all her life and she thought she still had some years to work to secure her financial independence. I remember her saying “I don’t know what to say, I guess I have to think of what I want to do now.”
We told her that her assignment was to write down projects she’s been wanting to take on, as well as how she’d fill her time once she retires. Shortly after that, she took off for a well-deserved 2-week trip to Tahiti. I love it … being able to see how our work has a direct impact on our client’s life is gratifying to me.
What’s something people might not know about you?
I was ready to immigrate to the US in 2020, but when Covid hit, the Trump Administration decided to put a travel ban on Europe (among many other places). The State Department, then run by Mike Pompeo, decided to freeze all US visas around the world, claiming that US borders were closed anyway.
But there was a loophole … one could quarantine for 14 days in one of the countries not affected by the travel ban aka Mexico. I joined a lawsuit and sued Mike Pompeo for using an unlawful argument to not give me my visa. The judge ruled in my favor and prompted the State Department to approve my visa. The following day, I was at the US embassy for my interview.
When I made it to the US and shared the story, people laughed and said “You sued your way into the US? How American of you!”
What are some cultural shocks you experienced when you first moved to the US?
The first thing that shocked me was how wide the freeways were. The first freeway I saw was in 2018 when I left Chicago O’Hara Airport. Some portions were 7 lanes wide, and you could pass left and right, which seemed wild to me initially. In France, and other European countries, you drive on the right lane and the two left lanes are made for passing only. This is how I learned to drive, and I continue to drive this way even in the Bay Area.
Secondly, the coffee culture is very different. When you order a coffee in France, you get an espresso. When you order coffee here, they serve you drip coffee. Same word, different things. The other difference is having a coffee in France is an activity by itself. You take a break, stand at the counter or sit down at a table, and have your coffee. Here, coffee is more of an accessory; you take it to-go as part of another activity, such as walking, driving, working, or working out.
Thirdly, customer service does not compare. I was blown away by the level of customer service in the US vs France. In the US, you can return a product for a full refund with no questions asked. You can drop off a rental car at the airport by leaving the key on the dashboard and you are on your way to catch your flight. Overall, it’s much easier to conduct business here than in France. I like to tell people that here, the default answer to a client’s request is “Yes” and then you figure it out. In France, it’s “No” before trying to figure it out. I feel so spoiled now whenever I return to Europe.
Why are you excited to be part of MFA?
The biggest reason is the MFA culture. Our leadership genuinely cares about both our clients and our employees. We have an open-door policy, and the partners are always approachable, and their care extends beyond the office. The field of finance is often regarded as shark infested waters, yet the team at MFA is united and that is something clients don’t necessarily know from the outside.
The other reason I like working at MFA is how tax aware we are as part of our wealth management approach. Working with our client’s tax advisors, we always strive to manage tax as best as we can. To give you some context as of why MFA approach to taxes is so important to me, here is some data: France has the highest tax per GDP ratio (ties with Denmark), and the highest government spending per GDP, Cocorico!
As the great Nobel-prize winning economist Milton Friedman once said, my money is always best spent … by me 🙂