Occident Wealth Management
Didier Occident
Wealth Management Advisor
Get to know our dedicated team
Our mission is to inspire our clients to be the best financial versions of themselves. This can only happen if we consistently show up with the determination to be the best versions of ourselves. Our aim is to attack every single day with one main focus, asking ourselves, “How can I be better than yesterday?”
We do this by living out our core values of G.R.I.T.— Growth, Resilience, Initiative, and Team.
With a culture that demands excellence and invites a growth mindset, our team sees the big picture. This enables us to proactively and creatively develop comprehensive financial plans with easy steps of execution.
Occident Wealth Management is uniquely positioned to positively impact our clients' lives by empowering them to own their financial future. Every day, our primary goal is to align actions with intentions and inspire our clients to reach their full potential.
Didier Occident
Wealth Management Advisor
Didier Occident, founder of Occident Wealth Management, has been with Northwestern Mutual for 14 years and is one of the top Wealth Management Advisors with the company. Joining Northwestern Mutual in 2009, Didier was named top under five-year advisor in the Southern Region each of his first five years with the company, the first African American to achieve this honor. Didier is a perennial member of Million Dollar Roundtable which recognizes the top 2 % of financial professionals worldwide. He is also a sought after industry speaker on the topic of financial planning.
His passion for sports and financial education led him to create a financial literacy program specifically for collegiate athletes and NFL teams. Didier has been married to his wife, Sarah, for 15 years; and they have two children – one daughter named Lucie and a son named Lonnie. They enjoy attending sporting events, travel, and involvement in social justice and community events.
Hayley Freshour
Associate Financial Representative
Hayley is from Superior, WI. She recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior with B.S. in Mathematics and in Business-Finance. She started her career with Northwestern Mutual as a college intern. In this space, she was able to grow both personally and professionally. She developed conviction around the company along with a passion to help others financially. She recently relocated to Richmond, VA where she has started her role as a Financial Planning Associate for Occident Wealth Management. Hayley is looking forward to continuing to grow into this new role and develop herself both personally and professionally. Personally, she has a strong desire to travel and learn new things. In her free time, Hayley enjoys reading, camping, photography, spending time with her husband, Justin, and her fur babies, Freya and Goose.
Joseph A Staples
Financial Planning Analyst
Joe draws on nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and obtained his CFP® in 2019. He attended the Fox School of Business at Temple University with a focus on Financial Markets and Accounting. As a Senior Financial Advisor, he worked with high-net-worth clients helping them align their finances with their values to decrease financial stress and set them up for short and long term success.
At OWM, Joe will work with you to develop and implement a comprehensive financial plan that is personalized to your needs.
Joe and his high school sweetheart, Angie, have been together for 21 years and married for 11. They have three children. Henry is 10, Elizabeth (Izzy) is 9, and Leo is 7. They also have 2 dogs, a cat, and a bearded dragon! Joe likes to play basketball and golf on the weekends, is an avid runner, and plays guitar. He enjoys attending the kid's activities, relaxing on the beach, and exploring new destinations.
Victoria Anne Fischetto
Investment Operations Associate
Victoria was raised in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, a small town located a few miles outside of NYC. She attended Monmouth College in West Long Branch, New Jersey studying Psychology. She began working within the financial industry at a boutique investment banking firm, then for Ernst & Young Consulting in New York City. Prior to joining Occident Wealth Management, Victoria worked in Omaha for Weitz Investment Management, where she excelled in building investor relations, assisting direct clients with their accounts. Victoria and her two children have lived in Pennsylvania, California, Ohio, Texas and currently reside in Omaha, Nebraska, where both of her children graduated from the University of Nebraska. She enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and watching Husker football. In her spare time, Victoria leads a CureSearch for Children’s Cancer team and manages the Evan Sharp Memorial Scholarship, a fund that she and her son established in 2019 in memory of his best friend Evan.
About Northwestern Mutual
At Northwestern Mutual, we’ve been helping clients take control of their financial future for nearly 160 years. Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, two world wars and a number of recessions, we’ve stood alongside our clients, helping them manage financial risk and achieve financial security.
We do what’s right.
With every important decision, we ask ourselves this poignant question: “Is this in the best long-term interest of our clients?” It’s the primary reason we created a distinctive, comprehensive planning process that puts your needs first.
We put people first.
Our business is about helping people succeed, and that starts with putting people first – our clients, employees and financial professionals. We’re passionate about helping people build brighter futures and believe the best way to do that is by building strong, long-term relationships; finding out what matters most to people; and providing the financial guidance, tools and solutions they need to succeed.
We provide financial strength.
We’re known for our financial strength and have the highest financial strength ratings awarded to any life insurer by all four of the major rating agencies. More than just bragging rights, it means that we’ll be here for the more than 4.2 million clients who are counting on us to help them build a secure future. We not only reserve the capital needed to honor our commitments and survive economic downturns; we also grow our surplus so we can seize opportunities, invest in our people and fund initiatives that will better serve our clients.
We take a long-term view.
As a mutual company, providing the best long-term value for our clients is something else we value. We don’t believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains, so we make every decision with an eye toward the future. It’s how we run our business, design our products and manage our investment portfolio. And it’s an important part of why we’re able to help our clients build a lifetime of financial security.
Planning the Northwestern Mutual Way
Here's how I’ll build your personalized plan:
Look at where you are today
Your plan will help you make the most of what you already have, no matter where you're starting from, and give you a snapshot of your financial big picture.
Identify where you want to go
Whether it's shorter-term goals like managing your debt, or longer-term ones like saving for a new home, or retirement, your financial plan will show you how you're tracking, help you understand what's working, and point out any gaps you might have.
Put together range of options to get you there
Looking across all your goals, you'll get personalized recommendations and strategies to grow your wealth while making sure everything's protected. And I'll help you determine the right moves to make today and later on. And as your priorities change throughout your life, I'll shift the financial strategies in your plan, too. So your plan always stays flexible, and you stay on track to consistently meet goal after goal.