My Story

I was about 15 years old. It was a cool, Western New York, Thanksgiving day, and football was on the television. I watched, accompanied by my Uncle. As we sat there, he turned to me and asked a question, “How many players do you know on the field right now?” Since I was involved in sports, and spent my weekend mornings watching the ESPN reruns, I turned back and confidently answered, “Quite a few.” It was then when he posed the question that has stuck with me ever since, “What if you knew as much about investing, as you do about sports and the players on the field?”

As a young boy, I had no idea how to answer that question, but I was curious to learn more. I began to read books on personal finance, launch a lawn-mowing and shoveling business, and open my own Roth IRA on my 18th birthday. When deciding on a major for college, it was without a doubt that I’d go for Finance, again out of sheer curiosity.

Within the next few years, I discovered the concept of fee-only and the importance of minimizing conflicts of interest when working with clients. Since then, I have seen many clients who were sold a bill of goods, rather than receiving sound financial advice. Too many times I have seen the result of clients who worked with a salesman and not a financial advisor. Unfortunately, nuances in the industry make it nearly impossible to know who to trust.