Words by Jeffrey Authur
The Urban Financier(a.k.a. Franklin Asante) breaks down the ABCs of building wealth.
The world of personal finance isn’t exactly sexy. Account for the fact that most people’s first – and sometimes, only – introduction to the subject comes courtesy of the adage “money doesn’t grow on trees”, and our collective avoidance of the matter makes plenty sense. Few people are willing to openly talk about money. It’s a touchy subject – but one you should engage with nonetheless.
Enter Franklin Asante – a.k.a. The Urban Financier – a man on a self-confessed mission to educate the masses about all things money. Building wealth is his thing, a subject he’s found himself curating online content about over the past few years.
For all intents and purposes, Asante’s a modern day-influencer. To date, The Urban Financier boasts an impressive online following, owing to his ability to break down the big financial concepts in plain English. And this isn’t another case of an influencer preaching to the masses about something they know little about, either. Boy knows his stuff. I know this because he spends his day job doing the same – only for one of the world’s biggest financial institutions.
His motive for putting his “face out there”, he tells me, is to bridge the knowledge gap between those who know and those who don’t. “I come from London. I grew up in a place where, you know, there was no expectation for you to make anything of yourself. It was kind of like, if you survived, great – you’ve achieved.” It’s important you understand that part of his story, given it pretty much forms the foundation for all that is Franklin Asante. By using social media, the London-based banker is betting on his ability to help a few wrap their heads around the whole how-to-build-wealth thing.
As such, he regularly makes appearances on podcasts and shows, breaking down financial concepts and wealth-building to thousands of keen 20 to 30-somethings. His advice usually starts with some variation of the same concept: the need to understand what wealth *actually* is. It’s not, he says, nice cars or fancy trips – and it’s definitely not expensive jackets and shiny rings: “this idea of what it means to be wealthy is completely wrong. You know, just because you drive a nice car and wear nice clothes does not make you wealthy.” Even when the “end result” looks the same, he says, “it rarely ever is.”
The Urban Financier is big on the long-term game, and he’d sooner leave the conversation than entertain any notion of short-term indulgences at the expense of building healthy financial habits. Using what you have to get more is a phrase he repeatedly utters, adding emphasis in the style stereotypical of bankers (straight, no-nonsense and with a hint of annoyance). Shunning all things bright and flashy – especially when you’re young with little resources – is a sine qua non. And as expected of any reputable finance guru, he comes equipped with a reading list to make his point – starting with Atomic Habits. The recommendation came courtesy of a friend – and it teaches, he says, the importance of persistence and discipline.
Building wealth is a “marathon, not a sprint.” “This isn’t crypto”, he says, referencing the unpredictable nature of that particular market. You should focus instead on getting the foundations right. Or, as he puts it: plant the seed, water the soil, and make sure the conditions are right for the plant to grow. In plain speak: “If you’re a young person, there’s no better place to start by making sure you’ve cleaned out your closet. [That] the credit score is good. You’re not spending recklessly. You’ve got a budget plan. You’re tracking your expenditure.”
It’s the way to go, he says – and doing anything else is pretty much a waste of time: “starting with the basics is the best way to ensure you’re actually building wealth.” That – in addition to keeping your saving and spending habits in check – will put you in good stead. And we’re not talking big bucks here, either – just anything you can start and commit to.
Asante can speak for hours on this stuff, elaborating again and again, using metaphors, similies, and just about any other language device to make his point. On books to read in addition to Atomic Habits, he mentions The Richest Man in Babylon which, he says, is a personal favourite. It’s personal finance made easy, a series of lessons written with poetic flair. Its most important lesson, he says, is the need to use what you have to get more. “Always think: where’s my next £1000 coming from?”
Personal finance and wealth-building has long been a game of penny-pinching. Asante’s no fan of such an approach, and he’s keen to use his platform to dispel it: “This is what finance speakers in the past have done. ‘Let’s just preserve what we’ve got.’” Forget that, he says, and adopt a “growth mindset” instead. He goes on, adding that where your “next pound is going to come from”, is just as important as “when your next pound is going to leave.”
That balancing act requires a whole lotta zeal. As such, he’s big on the current Gen-Z desire to “make their bag.” As far as he’s concerned, the drive of younger people to explore different ways to make and build wealth is a good thing. “There’s no shame in wanting to make more money”, he says – and the sooner you realise that, the better. From side hustles to building effective investment habits, dreaming up different ways to make more money is always a good thing.
The British need to maintain a ‘stiff upper lip’, which in turn means having discrete and abstract conversations about money, isn’t helpful. Across the pond, the somewhat loud and shameless approach Americans take to all things money, he says, gets better results: “they’re [Americans] much better at it than the UK. They’re all forward-thinking. I think there’s a British mentality of you don’t kind of expose the interiors of your jacket. Everything is very much ‘oh no, we shouldn’t talk about these things.’” Self-education is important, but so is being open to talking to others. That’s not to say you should go around revealing every last detail about your personal finance. It’s more of a push to open up a little if and when you need financial advice.
On the impotence of credit, The Urban Financier is in no mood to mince his words: “what [people] don’t realise is that because you’ve got bad credit, you’re spending way more money than you actually need to. Money that could otherwise go towards building a better future.” It’s no use you putting it off till later, either. Best to tackle bad credit head-on, he says – and the sooner the better. Putting it off means paying the consequences later – and at a much higher price.
The money game can be a hard one, especially if you’re starting out (like Asante did) with little to no knowledge or resources. It’s why he’s intent on making personal finance-related content, even if it means juggling it with a full-time job. Asante is fully aware of who his audience is, and as such sets about curating content he knows they’ll engage with. It helps, too, mind you, that he happens to be a young Black man at the forefront of personal finance-related influencing in the UK. Deny it all you want, but representation matters – especially in fields and professions previously reserved for those from a certain background. What Asante’s doing is pretty big. He’ll never really know the true impact of his work – but a quick scan of the comments section on his videos, podcast appearances, and social media posts ought to tell you everything you need to know.
The global Gen-Z movement to figure out different, more sustainable ways to make money and build wealth needs people like Asante to help things along. The role of an influencer will always be somewhat controversial. Not controversial in the political or religious sense, but more in the ‘what do they actually do’ sense. For those firmly in the they do a lot camp, Asante’s a shining example of the good influencers can do using social media.
On matters of style, he’s a big fan of all things Tom Ford (he showed up to his interview donning one of his suits), admitting to loving his “simplicity and elegance.” If given the chance to dine with anyone – dead or alive – he’d choose his younger self. Why? “So I could tell myself to take his time again. I think there are so many things that I could have got deliberately right.” And before we part ways, he has a thing or two to say about financial literacy in schools. He’s of the strong opinion that enough isn’t being done. There’s a need to teach kids about personal finance “as early as possible”, he says, adding that most households “don’t talk about money.”
So what’s next for The Urban Financier? A super secret project that he’s not allowed to tell me about – but one he can barely contain his excitement for. He’s working with others on something that, he tells me, will make the wealth-building journey a whole lot easier. It’s on that note that we wrap up our chat. In 45 minutes or so, I got a front-row seat to Asante’s wealth-building show. The review is in: it’s pretty good.
Contact details for Franklin Asante’s management: email.