About Me
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My name is Lanette Schmidt and 5th Hummingbird is my financial wellness practice. I live in North County San Diego with my husband, a mostly-retired biotechnology patent attorney and litigator. Our daughter graduated from University of Michigan in 2023 (Go Blue !!) and is now thriving as a second year student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
We enjoy hiking, beach walks, listening to music, playing cards, and just hanging out together. We also love dogs. Though we lost our long-term companion (a beautiful, sweet German Shepherd) a few years ago, we are good friends with the many dogs in our neighborhood and make new dog friends wherever we go.
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As a financial planner, I developed strong and trusted relationships with clients and client families, honed my skills for creating and communicating comprehensive financial plans, developed a unique "coaching" approach to working with clients, and carefully guided clients to practical solutions tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. ​
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Over time, I developed a deep connection to helping my clients in ways beyond financial planning. My natural coaching approach, together with discovering and learning about the process of Money Coaching, opened new, exciting ways to be helpful to my clients. My path became clear, and I founded 5th Hummingbird to focus on clients' overall financial well-being, with Money Coaching as an important initial offering.
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My Background
Education
I grew up in a small Iowa farming community, where education was a cornerstone value. I attended Drake University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA. I thank my parents and our community for their consistent and tireless encouragement and support.
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Experience
I started my career at Strong Funds, where I began to specialize in aligning technology solutions with business strategies. Later, I was recruited to Schwarz Pharma and developed deep technical skills and experience with a variety of sophisticated business software systems, and worked hand-in-hand with business leaders to ensure technology supported the business (as opposed to the other way around).
After Schwarz was acquired, I joined Human Genome Sciences and led the development of IT infrastructure for an enterprise-wide vertical integration and commercialization initiative. ​
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When Human Genome Sciences was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline I decided to move into financial planning, which I felt would allow me to work more directly with people and be more immediately helpful. In addition to developing my financial planning skills, I furthered my interest in technology by diving deeply into financial planning-related systems (e.g., Salesforce-XLR8, eMoney, Schwab Alliance, Social Security Analyzer, Tax Clarity, Holistaplan, FP Alpha, fpPathfinder) to help my firm develop tools and efficiencies to improve our clients' experience.
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I am also proud to have accomplished the hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park with my husband in 2023, including the notorious, treacherous, but very fun "cable climb" section at the very top.
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Certificates & Professional Memberships
I am a CFP® professional, a Certified Money Coach (CMC)®, and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).​
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.