Yes, Taylor Swift wanted to be a stock broker

TAMPA (FOX 13) - She’s a natural on stage. But Taylor Swift hasn't always wanted to entertain millions by singing and dancing. She once dreamed of a career that most of us would deem mundane.

In a lengthy 2011 interview, Swift told a YouTube interviewer that she hoped to follow in her father’s footsteps -- to the stock market.

“On the first day of school they’re like, ‘What do you guys want to be when you grow up?' And everybody’s like, ‘I want to be an astronaut,’ or, ‘I want to be a ballerina,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to be a financial advisor.’”

Swift's father is a financial planner. She said in the YouTube video she admired her father’s “gung-ho” passion for stock brokering.

“I didn’t know what a stock broker was when I was 8, but I would just tell everybody that’s what I was going to be,” she said. “I can broke stocks.”

Taylor Swift is unlikely to shift gears and become a financial planner at this point. But she is a prime candidate to hire one. Swift is a multi-millionaire – and she keeps raking it in. Forbes estimates her annual income is $80 million. The superstar's net worth is $200 million, the magazine said.

So where does a celebrity with a massive heap of money like that invest it? Swift, 25, has apparently had years to weigh her options – thanks to her father.

“Ever since I was a little kid, ever since I was like eight years old, my dad has been telling me to save my money or invest in utilities,” she said. “He lives and breathes it.”

Swift would be wise to take her father’s advice. Utilities are up 43 percent over the past five years, according to data on Google Finance.

With $200 million to invest, Swift’s bet on utilities would have made somewhere in the neighborhood of $86 million (assuming she put it all into utilities – which is not recommended). Even with a smaller investment, Mr. Swift was right: utilities can pay as part of a diversified portfolio.

Though, many financial advisors do not recommend allowing family members to manage your money. An independent planner is more likely to provide objective advice managing wealth. Plus, someone outside the family is more likely to tell you when you are making a mistake.