Don Blanton

In 1987, Don began a career in the financial services industry as an insurance representative for Gilsbar Inc., a third party administrative firm in Covington, Louisiana. There he served the Louisiana Bar Association, Louisiana CPA society, Louisiana Dental Association and other similar professional groups in the south. It was during this time that he was struck by the fact that most of the educational information available on finances was written for the advisor, not for the client. In addition, it became evident that many of the companies who were hiring advisors, were also getting out of the business of training them. This fundamental shift introduced a climate in which financial services professionals became ever more focused on product, as opposed to process. While there was plenty of industry training available to the advisor which focused on various financial products, there was precious little training which focused primarily on providing education for the client about how any of those products actually worked.

So in 1994, Don founded MoneyTrax Inc., a company dedicated to training advisors in the financial services arena to improve their level of communication with clients, transfer a greater depth of
knowledge on financial topics, and offer reliable guidance through the use of easy to understand conversations designed specifically to increase the financial knowledge of the client. Don brings a
unique approach to an industry that is still primarily rooted in, and focused on products. He offers a refreshing alternative to a constant search for better products which may potentially pay higher returns, but which often require more risk. Don counsels his clients that he has a greater opportunity to serve them by helping them to avoid unnecessary losses, than he does by trying to help them to pick better investments that could potentially produce higher returns.

Don has worked to educate more than 20,000 financial advisors in his nearly 30 year career as president and founder of MoneyTrax Inc., and still maintains a successful personal practice as a financial advisor today. The core concepts, tools, and principles which he has developed to teach and train financial services professionals are now being made available through PEM LIFE curricula in an effort to extend financial literacy. Like many others, Don is deeply concerned about the lack of financial literacy which is so prevalent in our world today. As a society, we spend a small fortune for our children to receive an education, yet they graduate with little to no understanding of how to manage the money they will earn. A deeply seeded understanding of the way in which financial mechanisms actually work, not how they are perceived to work, is the first step to ensuring a solid and secure financial future. The purpose and desire of this organization is to improve the financial literacy and the financial well-being of everyone who completes the course.