Share one of your most memorable professional accomplishments with us.
People’s relationship with money is one of the most interesting studies I have pursued. Early in my career, I wrote a paper that earned me my first trip to Washington, DC. The analysis explored the relationship between lending to female entrepreneurs and the pervasive impact those loans had on the overall community. As my career progressed, I worked extensively with multigenerational families, whose views on risk, stewardship, entitlement and impact differed from generation to generation. These differing views were often a point of friction, or stagnation, in the journey to maximizing the impact of the family’s wealth. I found with trust, candor and a little bit of humor that clarifying everyone’s viewpoint was an affirming, uniting exercise that proved worthwhile. Not only to move forward from a planning or gifting perspective, but to form a better understanding of one another, and the money messages that their legacy and lineage embrace
What are your areas of expertise in solving problems for clients?
Curiosity, coupled with trust and candor, creates opportunities to help protect wealth from encroachment. Investment management is one aspect—one I feel we do exceptionally well—but Bernstein’s advice also includes protecting clients from obstacles that could adversely impact their wealth. These range from tax encroachment to planning pitfalls and the ever-changing tax and legislative landscapes. Market returns plus curated, impactful advisory recommendations and execution are the keys to serving our clients well, earning their trust year after year. The humility embodied by every Bernstein advisor I have encountered—coupled with a culture of intellectual curiosity—ensures that clients receive the best collective advice available at Bernstein, as each advisor puts partnership first to deliver optimal advice for each client situation.
If you didn’t work for Bernstein, what else would you be doing?
I absolutely love what I do but hear me out: I would be a professional organizer…in all honesty, organizing is not significantly different from an all-encompassing advisory engagement. In both situations, a client has come to the realization that they would benefit from the service offered. They don’t have the appetite to take on the task alone, so they are seeking professional guidance. An organizer then challenges assumptions and asks questions to help create a peaceful vision that the client will enjoy when the task is complete. From there, the organizer uses their expertise to solve a puzzle while managing the opposing forces at play in the organizing construct. For instance, if it’s a closet, clothing volume, height, storage space, drawer space, color coordination, seasonality, etc. —with the final solution, every item has its place—just like every financial asset has a purpose. Two sides of the same coin, at least in my brain.