Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn has approached his career in wealth management as a process of continual learning.
Over more than five years in the industry, he has progressed from workplace planning into increasingly complex advisory work while steadily adding to his professional education. He earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification early in his career, followed by the Chartered Financial Consultant® designation.
That commitment to professional growth brought Fairfield-Sonn to Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS), where he is pursuing an M.P.S. in Wealth Management as a recipient of the Wealth Management Advancing Opportunity Fellowship.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity,” Fairfield-Sonn said. “I’m really thankful for it and excited.”
Fairfield-Sonn’s interest in Columbia SPS was influenced by former colleague Sean Perry, a graduate of the Wealth Management program who encouraged him to explore it.
Seeing how the program had contributed to Perry’s professional development helped Fairfield-Sonn envision how Columbia could support his own career.
“He told me, just the curriculum, the education, and the faculty and staff here, it’s the best in the world of who I want to come learn from,” Fairfield-Sonn said. “I’m also excited to be surrounded by my peers who I know are going to be the next generation of leaders in the field.”
Fairfield-Sonn studied political science at Amherst College, where he developed an interest in markets, public policy and legal systems and in how those forces shape individual financial outcomes. His experience as a collegiate athlete at Amherst was equally formative, shaping a team-oriented approach to leadership that emphasizes collaboration, shared goals and an environment where peers can learn from one another.
Despite the technical demands of his work, Fairfield-Sonn says relationships remain at the heart of what drew him to wealth management.
“For the wealth management industry itself, it is really all about building relationships,” he said. “I’m someone who thrives off of working and helping others with their goals.”
That client-centered perspective has also shaped the way Fairfield-Sonn thinks about professional expertise. His certifications and continuing education have strengthened his knowledge of areas including retirement planning, portfolio construction, tax strategy, and estate planning. Throughout his career, he has sought to pair that technical knowledge with fiduciary responsibility and sound judgment.
The Columbia SPS Wealth Management program represents an opportunity to continue that development. Fairfield-Sonn is particularly interested in building deeper expertise in portfolio theory, alternative investments, behavioral finance, legacy planning, risk mitigation and wealth-preservation strategies. His long-term goals include continuing to advance in the profession and eventually leading an independent registered investment adviser firm.
At Columbia, however, he is looking beyond coursework alone.
“Knowing I’m surrounded by industry leaders already, learning from them to expand my skills and knowledge, and then using that, as we mentioned, to pay it forward to others like it’s been done for me is something I feel a responsibility to do after I graduate here,” Fairfield-Sonn said.
That idea of paying opportunity forward appears repeatedly in the way Fairfield-Sonn talks about the fellowship. He hopes to mentor professionals entering or advancing in wealth management and to contribute the kind of support that others have provided during his own career.
The fellowship, then, is not only an investment in his own education.
“I just want to say, thank you to the donors and alumni for this generous gift,” Fairfield-Sonn said. “I understand the importance of what they're giving to me. I don’t take that for granted.”
He intends to make the most of that opportunity while he is at Columbia.
“I’m going to seize every opportunity while I’m here in this program,” he said. “And then after I graduate, I look to be able to contribute back and pay that forward to the next.”
For Fairfield-Sonn, the next stage of his career is about deepening the expertise he brings to clients while preparing to become the kind of leader who can extend that knowledge to others.
About the Program
The Master of Professional Studies in Wealth Management program at Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) is a 16-month online program with asynchronous instruction specially designed to accommodate working professionals. It is taught by distinguished faculty with deep applied experience in their respective fields. Additionally, it is a CFP Board Registered Program designed to help students meet the educational requirement for CFP® certification.
About the Fellowship
The Wealth Management Advancing Opportunity Fellowship supports students of the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program at Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing excellence, leadership and opportunity in the wealth management field.
