Lyndah Trello, financial advisor and mortgage broker serving in the Triangle
Lyndah Tello was 23 years old, taking a cab home at 8 o'clock at night after arriving at work at 6:30 in the morning, making serious money on Wall Street. She lived and breathed that job.
Then she got pregnant.
"I realized I'm gonna leave before that kid gets up and I'm gonna get home after it's in bed. I've never seen my baby. This cannot be my story."
So she walked into her boss's office to resign. He wasn't having it.
"What are you doing? We are grooming you to be a junior person around here. You're very talented."
Her response? "Listen, I wouldn't hire a woman to be my husband's wife, so I'm not gonna hire one to be my kid's mother. I'm doing it."
He banged the desk. "I got nothing."
She left Wall Street and became a schoolteacher—"an oath for poverty," she jokes—but those years of stretching a dollar while raising kids? That's exactly what makes her different from most financial advisors today.
Why She's Not Chasing Millionaires
"A lot of people who have my licenses are looking for the richy riches of the world, because big money means big commission and that's sexy and cool," Tello says. "But I need an emotional paycheck to feel whole. I need to feel like I'm making a difference."
When she left Wells Fargo—where you needed $100,000 in liquid investable assets to get one minute of her time—she had dinner with Fidelity, Edward Jones, all the big names. They all wanted to recruit her.
She signed with Primerica instead. Why? Because they told her something the others wouldn't: "We'll let you open up an account with $100 and a $50 a month commitment."
Translation: she gets to pick who she works with.
The minute she opened her doors, her calendar filled up. Every friend, every contact from her networking groups—people who'd never had $100,000 lying around but absolutely needed someone in their corner.
"I knew that about my marketplace. Nobody was coming to the meetings in a Maserati. But I knew that's where I could really make a difference in Main Street America."
The Misconception That Keeps People From Getting Help
Here's what most people don't know: working with a financial advisor like Tello doesn't cost you anything out of pocket.
"I get a thank you check from the companies we're doing business with. Nobody ever writes me a check for my services."
If you went directly to a mutual fund company without an advisor, they'd charge the same fees—you just wouldn't get any guidance. "You're paying for something, getting no advice, because you think you know everything and you want to run it yourself."
She's not knocking the DIY crowd. Some people have the time and interest to manage their own investments. But most people running businesses, raising kids, or just living their lives? They don't have time to do the research.
"Just like we don't take out our own kidneys—we go to a doctor. We don't replace our transmissions—we go to a mechanic. It's okay to call somebody who knows more than you and let them help you."
The Wells Fargo Exit
The real story of how Tello went independent happened during COVID. Wells Fargo announced that everyone in her department—affluent relationship managers serving clients with $5 million or more—had to relocate to Charlotte.
Two weeks after they announced COVID.
Lyndah Trello, second from the right and founder of 1099 Ladies Networking, here pictured during a networking outing
"I thought, okay, I'm going to go to work, and I'm going to go home and sit in my empty apartment because everything is shut down and I don't know a single person."
Her boss said she didn't have a choice.
"That's where you're mistaken. I bought my freedom a long time ago."
She explained: "There's two ways to feel rich. One is to make a lot of money. The other is to have such a low overhead that whatever comes in the door feels abundant. I've worked my life so that my overhead is so small I could work at McDonald's and carry my life if I needed to."
That freedom let her walk away and build something on her own terms.
Oh, and She's a Mortgage Broker Too
When she left Wells Fargo, her mortgage license lapsed. Then Primerica partnered with Rocket, and she decided to get re-licensed.
The mortgage licensing exam is famously the most failed exam in the industry. Tello walked in and got an 88—on her first try.
"Why wasn't it a 98?" she complained to her mom.
"Shut up, Linda. Enjoy the license. You're ridiculous."
The mortgage broker angle matters because here's another thing most people don't know: "The banker gets paid whether the loan goes through or not. I only make money if the loan goes through. I want you to get that loan as much as you do."
Plus, a bank can only offer you their products. A broker can shop the whole country for the best deal. Same cost to you, better outcome.
"Even if you don't work with me, you should always work with a mortgage broker instead of going to your bank. They don't care that you've banked there for 20 years. There's no discount for you."
The Bottom Line
When asked for a takeaway for Chapel Hill Insider readers, Tello didn't hesitate:
"Care about yourself enough to save for the future. Most people don't have to work till the day they die. Care about yourself enough to do something. The sooner you start, the better. And doing something is better than doing nothing. Just start."
Connect with Lyndah:
Email: [email protected]
For financial planning or mortgage questions, reach out to Lyndah
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