What inspired you to join Bernstein?
Growing up, I always wanted to be a financial advisor and help people and organizations meet their financial goals. I began my career right after college at an independent firm outside of Boston. At this firm, I validated what I always knew: that finance advising was the right path for me. When I moved to San Diego, California, my goal was to find a company that had similar values as my own. I also wanted to work for a firm where I could grow as a professional, internally, and see myself staying for the duration of my career. The values that were top of mind in my search for the perfect firm, as they define who I am, were as follows: a firm that puts clients’ best interests first; a firm that is innovative when it comes to finding the right solutions for clients and different processes for working with them; and most importantly, a firm that values hard work and integrity. Once I discovered that Bernstein embodied all of those values, I haven’t looked back.
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
From an early age, I looked up to my brother-in-law who is a financial advisor and former college athlete. He always was there for my brother and me. We also bonded over our mutual love for sports. As I got older, he would sit down and tell me about the markets, the details of his career and how much he enjoyed working side by side with his clients. As these conversations happened more frequently, I began to admire his career path and how knowledgeable he was about the industry. Additionally, he inspired me to accept an internship at an independent financial advisory firm while I was a college senior. I enjoyed the internship so much that I happily worked there three days a week and was hired as a full-time employee right after graduation. The opportunity to intern at such a great firm, at such a young age, was a privilege and truly validated what I wanted to do with my career and life. I’m so thankful for my brother-in-law, and how he drove me in the right career direction.
If you didn’t work for Bernstein, what else would you be doing?
If I weren’t happily advising my clients, I would most certainly work in the food industry. Running a very successful restaurant would be the dream. In high school and college, I worked at a restaurant and managed a catering business. Both of these service industry jobs taught me the value of hard work, and that our customers must always come first. Fortunately, even though I’m not currently in the restaurant business, what I liked most about my service industry jobs actually ended up being what I do in my current role at Bernstein: build meaningful relationships, work alongside all different types of personalities and serve my clients. So, maybe if I own a restaurant after retirement, it would be a natural transition. The necessary skills will be finely tuned. Fortunately, my family reaps the benefits of my love for cooking today and trying out new recipes.