Owner, Zircon Financial Services
Jocinta—better known as Jo—is the founder and owner of Zircon Financial Services. She’s been in the financial industry for 27 years and specializes in creating tailored, holistic financial plans for each of her clients. Jo received her Bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Motel, Restaurant, Tourism, and Resort Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
After receiving her undergrad degree, Jo was a manager in a New York City hotel, where she met the CEO of a prominent NYC financial firm. He would stay at the hotel often, working with his clients before, during, and after the NFL and NBA draft week. Jo admired how he worked with his clients, the way he advised them, and how he helped them plan for their financial lives after their athletic careers ended.
When Jo left her job at the hotel, that same CEO invited her to work with him, introducing her to the world of financial advising. As an athlete herself, she loved (and continues to love) working with professional athletes to set financial goals and establish a strategy to reach those goals.
Jo also served in the US Army, and was an Army reservist for some time before going to full active duty after 9/11. During this time, she witnessed many families being unprepared for the loss of their bread winner, which drove her to make financial planning the focus of her career. During her active duty employment, she received an MBA from Tour University. She went on to receive her Certificate in Financial Planning (CFP) from Georgetown University, and her ChFC designation from The American College of Financial Planning.
Jo founded Zircon Financial Services in 2019, using her decades of experience in the financial industry, her in-depth knowledge of government benefits, and her passion for helping others to build her own business from the ground up. She’s overcome many obstacles in the process, including countless naysayers who told her she couldn’t make it as a woman in a man’s industry—but she’s continued to build her business despite it all.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Jo now lives in Virginia with her husband, Paul, and her beloved Jack Russell, Lexi. She is incredibly close with her family. Her sister, Joselyn, is one of her closest friends and her go-to sounding board for sharing ideas. But she credits her mother, Linda, with giving her the inspiration and push she needed to take a chance and build her own financial planning business; Zircon Financial derives its name from her mother’s birth stone.
Jo is a foodie who’s drawn to good restaurants and finds her Zen when cooking for large groups. She’s also an athlete in her own right and remains active, including running two and a half miles every day and hiking regularly with her favorite pace setter, Lexi.
Jo finds great joy in the success of others, and wants to see each person she knows and works with be successful. And, if possible, she hopes that she can provide some of the help needed along the way to guide them to that success.