Before establishing my own Independent Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) practice in 1998, I worked for 13 years at bank holding companies in Florida. My banking career began as an associate bond salesman in Jacksonville and ended as a Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of the Investment Department in Naples. By the time I chose to leave the banking industry, I managed over $200 million of my client’s money and supervised eight employees within the Investment Department.

I decided to open my practice as an independent RIA for 2 reasons:

• I wanted to focus the practice on the retiring clients that needed Income Planning and Portfolio Management. My idea was to address every retiree’s age-old questions of:
  • How much money do I need to retire?
  • How do I minimize the risk of running out of money during retirement?
• And most of all was that while I was at the banks, I came to realize that large financial institutions would NEVER adopt the Fiduciary Standards to put their client’s best interest first. Unfortunately, the corporate mindset of putting the bank profits above the client’s needs is still pervasive today.

The answer was clear. Opening an Independent Registered Investment Advisory practice was the only solution.

My classical education started with a BS degree in Business Administration with honors from the University of Tulsa with double majors in Finance and Economics. During my banking days, I earned 6 different securities licenses. In 1987 I completed the 3 year Certified Financial Planner course to earn the CFP® designation. In 1988 I completed the Advanced Studies program in Investment Management and Portfolio Strategies from the College for Financial Planning in Denver, CO. To put my Fiduciary beliefs into action, I earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary designation from the Center of Fiduciary Studies at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School within the University of Pittsburgh. Then in March of 2017, I earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designation from the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA.

In all honesty, my education never ends, as it is essential to adjust and adapt to changes in both the income and estate tax laws, and to the unprecedented investment landscape we have experienced since the 2008/2009 recession. This is especially important in today’s low interest rate environment. The challenge to provide adequate income during retirement has never screamed for professional help more than it does today.

My personal life reflects my clients and my 35 years of living in Florida. I am an avid tennis player and a beginner at pickleball. I am also a passionate backwater fisherman. I bought our home on Marco Island in 1992 just so I could keep my boat right out the back door and have become close friends with Marco’s resident tarpon. In the hot and humid summer months, I look forward to get-aways in the mountains of Colorado. We found the little town of Ouray in the San Juan mountains which we think of as a second home. My wife Elaine and I met at my first bank job in Jacksonville, Florida where she worked in the Trust Investment Department and we married in 1988. She is my best friend and since 1998, my business partner. This practice would not be the success that it is, if not for her help. We have 2 adult daughters that remind me constantly that it is our love of family and friends that truly matters most in life.