For This Mother-Daughter Team, Money Knowledge is Power
Growing up, Lois Basil remembers frequent conversations about money at the dinner table. Her stepfather owned a small business and often discussed issues related to his business with the family.
“I lived and died ‘cash flow’ – we all did,” Lois remembers.
But along with all the talk about cash flow and business operations, Lois learned something even more valuable from her stepfather: how to be independent. It was a lesson she took to heart.
“He gave me a book called, ‘A Woman of Independent Means,’ and told me that if I could always support myself financially, I would make good life choices because I wouldn’t need to depend on anyone,” said Lois. “That resonated with me and became one of my lifelong goals.”
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Lois chose the accounting profession at her stepfather’s recommendation and eventually started her own accounting firm, which she owned for 13 years before starting Basil Financial Group. She also married her husband, Greg, and raised their two daughters – Hannah and Hope – to make smart financial decisions.
“At a young age, I had a stronger than normal sense of financial literacy,” says Hannah Bryant, who credits her mother with her interest in finance. “Lois encouraged us to open bank accounts, balance our checkbooks, understand the importance of positive cash flow, and manage our babysitting income,” she laughs.
In college, Hannah majored in economics and minored in business and management before studying corporate finance and international marketing at the London School of Economics. “I realized, as I entered my first job, that many of my peers didn’t have the same level of financial knowledge that I grew up with,” she says. “How fortunate I was to have learned those money lessons at a young age!”
In 2015, Hannah joined her mother at Basil Financial Group, a firm Lois started when she and her husband were unable to hire a fee-only planner who could meet their needs. Both mother and daughter became financial advisors, working with clients to encourage positive financial change in their lives. They say the journey has been transformative.
“You can just see the benefits,” says Lois. “I think the longer a client works with a financial advisor, the more I can see the relationship’s potential to be life-changing. We’re so lucky to be in a position to help impact people’s lives. It feels like the work we do can really make a difference.”
One of the first things Lois and Hannah did after joining forces was to hire a business coach to help them work well together while still maintaining their strong family bond. They also met with a family therapist, who helped them focus on how to communicate with each other.
“I now call her Lois at work, and Mom at home,” says Hannah. “It helps me compartmentalize the relationship between work and family.”
The two worked together to help serve clients and build a successful operation – so successful, in fact, that Lois and Hannah decided it was time to join forces with a larger firm that could offer the technology and additional resources their clients needed. That decision led them to Savant Wealth Management in 2023.
“We were thrilled to become a part of Savant,” said Lois. “We share a vision, and our investment philosophies are almost identical. Savant’s planning focus was also important to us. Now, we’re able to scale the work we do for clients and still work together.”
Lois and Hannah are now part of Savant’s Northcenter office, located at 4040 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago (the former location of Basil Financial Group) – a move both believe has helped them create an even better balance between their work and family lives. Hannah can now spend more time with her young daughter, Ruth, and she and her husband are looking forward to the birth of their second child. Lois remains active in her church and enjoys traveling and being a grandmother.
“I like to say that joining Savant was the second-best decision I ever made,” Lois jokes. “My best decision, of course, was marrying my husband. But this ranks right up there!”