1999- Present
First Vice President – Investments, Financial Advisor
I was recruited to the firm after 17 years with another firm. My intent was threefold: 1) to take a recruiting payment at what I considered was the top of a very speculative stock market, 2) move to a smaller and more nimble firm with a flatter organizational structure, and 3) reduce the size of my practice in order to better service my clientele in the business model that I had chosen: asset growth with risk management for high net worth individuals. The new firm seemed like the correct fit as it positioned itself as a more user-friendly, less bureaucratic and more market driven corporate firm with an entrepreneurial culture. All three reasons proved to be correct.
However, much of this has changed in the last several years due to the merger and an increasingly complex regulatory environment. The parent company is presently the second largest bank in the world as measured by assets under management.
Though the investment climate has been very difficult for the past 4 years I have been able to grow my clientele and maintain my relationships. This has been done by having a thorough and expert knowledge of the financial markets, by paying close attention to the needs of my clients and by providing excellent service. I utilize various facets of wealth management and financial planning.
I continue 1) to develop new business through client education, networking with other financial professionals and educational seminars and presentations and 2) grow intellectually and professionally while learning new investment techniques related to reducing market risk and improve my professional expertise.
Within that context, in the fall of 2003 I decided to return to Fairleigh Dickinson University to complete the MBA studies that I had started in the summer of 1981.
1982-1999
Vice President, Financial Consultant
I came to a major Wall Street firm when I decided to leave education for the greater opportunities of the business world. In preparation for my exit from teaching, I completed my doctorate in educational administration (I’m task oriented) and enrolled in an MBA program in Finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey. As I was comfortable in the classroom environment, I felt this would enable me to make an easier transition into business.
I was correct as the decision to leave education changed my life. The open and entrepreneurial environment during the early 1980’s was exhilarating. The financial services industry was being rediscovered by a generation of investors after the recession of the 1970’s. It was, in effect, a growth business in its infancy. The possibilities were endless; the marketplace wide-open.
As a self-starter, I was able to grow my business from a standing-start of zero, survive the market “correction” of 1987 and thrive as a financial professional.
My first year of production enabled me to more than double what I would have made as a teacher. My production rose steadily during my first decade and into the 1990’s. Each year I was in the first or second quintile in production while making various sales achievement and recognition clubs.
During the year that I moved to another financial services firm, I had produced over $850,000 and was annualized over $1,000,000.
At that point in time I managed over $130,000,000 in assets.
1968-1982
Teacher, administrator, grants writer
After graduating college I began to teach elementary school in the South Bronx. Working in an inner city school was an eye-opening experience. Over time, a colleague and I developed an innovative career education program that implemented a capitalistic environment within the classroom. It was called the Mini-Society and was meant to motivate students by making the classroom reflect the profit motive of the world outside. Students would be rewarded with Mini-Society dollars for getting good grades and doing good deeds. It was initially implemented in the upper elementary grades and then moved to the junior high school level in a separate school. Deep budget cuts during the 1970’s forced the program to be shut-down.
Soon after, I was fortunate to obtain a position at the local board of education level as a grant writer. This position offered me the opportunity to interface with the education departments on state and federal levels and major foundations. A number of successful proposals were written with funding approved by various agencies. After three years at that position, additional funding cuts emerged and I found myself teaching math at a junior high school. It was as that time that I decided to leave education for the business world.
EDUCATION:
MBA, Finance, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1981, 2003- Present, 33 credits
Ed. D., Educational Supervision and Administration, St. Johns Univ., 1981
M.S., History, Secondary Education, History, Iona College, 1972
B.A., Secondary Education, History, SUNY New Paltz, 1968
PERSONAL:
Born Apr.4, 1947
Married, 2 adult children
5’10’, 160 lbs. |
