Tyson Ray
Founding Partner of FORM Wealth Advisors | Founder of Children’s World Impact
In 2001, Ray and fellow UWF alumnus Luke Kuchenberg founded FORM Wealth Advisors. Five years later, Ray and his wife, Jenny, founded Children’s World Impact, a charitable organization that works to break the cycle of poverty for orphans and widows in impoverished circumstances around the world.
What do your responsibilities with FORM Wealth entail?
The simple answer is that I’m responsible for the investment management of roughly $220 million in assets. Since this money represents the life savings of more than 300 client families, the full answer is a little more complex. As a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, I am responsible for guiding families in setting aside what they need to fund the lives that they want to live. Because every client is unique and has a unique set of financial and life goals, my responsibilities vary with each client, and also change as a client transitions from planning for retirement to retiring, and again as they begin to contemplate the legacy they wish to leave behind.
How did UWF prepare you for your career?
UWF gave me opportunities to not only take classes, but to take on different leadership roles in SGA, in the fraternity associations and in intramural sports. It taught me how to balance my priorities. Through being a resident assistant, I learned how to oversee rules and budgets and help people be safe. It also helped me realize that I have a heart to volunteer and to give back.
What memory stands out from your years at UWF?
At UWF, I experienced the first and last time I was ever fired. I was so busy trying to do so many different things at once, I was not able to take the time to do the real work of a student ambassador, which was to take other kids on tours, to show them the University and to encourage them to attend. Martha Lee Blodgett called me into her office one day, after giving me many different warnings, to tell me that I needed to resign. She said that she was teaching me a lesson, that you can do a few things really well, but you can't do a lot of things well. I’ve never forgotten that lesson, which is to focus on what’s important and to do it with excellence. This lesson is part of the reason I've been so successful in my career and my personal life.