Hilbert likes to help UCM be ‘a well-oiled machine’

By Tim Unruh

Among the necessary elements at United Capital Management is keeping the operation running smoothly.

That’s where Schelyce Hilbert shines. Her job is keeping the digital side of UCM churning so that all offices meld nicely, by creating efficient procedures for the ease of advisors and clients.

“I love seeing processes work, seeing people succeed in their jobs,” said Hilbert, 33. “That drives me to go farther and create more efficient processes, so it helps everybody. I get excited, and nerdy.”

It may be a pastime for older persons to complain about younger generations, but that doesn’t happen around Chad Koehn, UCM’s founder, CEO and primary shareholder.

“I’m not downing our youth when know people like Schelyce and Tanner (Jackman, UCM junior portfolio manager). “A lot of people don’t have faith in our younger people, but I find an abundance of them with the same work ethic as the Baby Boomers, World War II, or any other generations.”

Described as a bubbly person, who sings and performs, bakes and decorates cakes — her college degrees are in culinary arts, medical coding and insurance billing — Hilbert’s daily office work may appear to be the antithesis of an outgoing lifestyle.

No so.

Hilbert adores every aspect of her life, including marriage and family. She and her husband, Chris Hilbert, have three children. He is a union foreman of sheetmetal workers, who helped build the massive Schwan’s expansion in the Salina Airport Industrial Center, working for Topeka-based P1 Group.

“With my personality, no one thinks I enjoy sitting at a desk, but it evens me out,” Hilbert said. “I love being around people, going to events, and teaching. There is so much opportunity to training the advisors, and they’re open to change.”

She works with 10 advisors in UCM’s six locations.

“Their job is to be in front of their clients, do what’s best for them, and our operations team takes care of everything else. I’m helping 90 percent of the time,” Hilbert said. “I like a well-oiled machine.”

She demonstrates youth, energy and excitement, Koehn said, coupled with high intelligence demonstrated with and aptitude for technology. Hilbert is also a quick study.

“I get a little nervous advertising our employees to our competition, but we pay them well enough,” Koehn said. “Schelyce comes from this industry and she was pre-trained, and came in as a supervisor. There were some things we were wanting to do for years, and Schelyce was able to do it in five minutes. She’s that smart, that fast.” 

The Hilberts moved to Salina in June 2020 from Bloomfield, Iowa. Chris served 12 years in the Iowa Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Schelyce had previously worked for LPL Financial out of her home. The family met with Chad Koehn by accident, first through a casual chat with Chad’s son, Ty Koehn, who handed her a UCM business card. Then during February this year, Schelyce met Chad and other Koehn family members at an event with her Realtor.

“She introduced us and I gave Chad my financial background. He said ‘We need you’ and asked if there was any way to help out with their digital platform. They were transitioning from TD Ameritrade to Schwab,” Hilbert said. “We kept in touch and realized it would be a great move.”

She was drawn to the “openness of everyone” in the “family-oriented” UCM office.”

Talks began in mid-April and Hilbert started with UCM in early June.

“We were looking for a slightly bigger town. Our six-year-old is very academically inclined,” Schelyce said. “We prayed about it, visited Salina a couple of times, and decided it was the best place to be. Using God’s guidance, it happened.”

She has no intention of becoming licensed as a financial advisor, but to continue in her niche of working directly with advisors and clients, fixing problems, and “absolutely loving my job.”