Meet the Partners! An Interview with Rob Bradley, CIMA®, CFP®
Meet the Partners! An Interview with Rob Bradley, CIMA®, CFP®
We are very excited to announce that Rob Bradley, CIMA®, CFP® has joined Chicago Partners. Welcome to the team, Rob; we look forward to working with you!
Rob joined Chicago Partners, LLC in May of 2023. Formerly Rob was a founder and Chief Investment Officer of NorthLanding Financial Partners in Rochester, NY.
His clients depend on his oversight for personal, objective advice on investment allocation, retirement income, estate planning, and tax-related matters. He began his career as a retirement planning specialist with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in 1998, and still today, counts himself blessed to have completed his training in the firm's World Trade Center, South Tower offices.
The caring and knowledgeable approach he guides clients with has been developed and refined over his 25 years of advisory experience. Rob earned the Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner (CFP®) designation in 2003 and completed the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) curriculum through the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business executive education program in 2015. He graduated Cum Laude from Villanova University with a degree in Psychology.
We asked Rob a few questions about his background, wealth management philosophy, and advice he gives to investors.
How did you get into wealth management?
Well, the answer to that starts with an embarrassing story (I’ll spare our readers the gory details here.) I had interviewed for a job in financial services selling long-term care insurance with John Hancock. I didn’t feel very sure or confident that I wanted to recommend insurance for a living, and ended up flubbing the interview so very badly that I was walked out after about 10 minutes. Upon hearing the story of my epic failure, my brother-in-law mentioned that Morgan Stanley was also hiring entry-level financial advisor trainees. I got the interview and atoned for my prior performance.
The deeper answer, though, is because of my father. We grew up in a household of fairly limited means (my mother stayed home, and Dad was an English teacher and track coach at a Catholic school that paid him modestly.) It wasn’t until I was about 14 and saw my father’s retirement account statement that I realized he was actually “rich” – at least he sure looked that way to my teenage eyes. It was all because he had started investing in equities through TIAA-CREF in the 1970s as soon as the 403(b) retirement plan was created. The transformative effect that saving and investing wisely had on him and my mother – both were among the first in their families to graduate from college – left a deep impact on me. Working as an advisor lets me play a lead part in that process for others. For that reason, my work has always been a vocation to me. It’s never felt like a job. Thanks, Dad.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to working with your clients?
How would you describe your wealth management philosophy?
What is the number one question you receive from clients and how do you usually respond?
What is the single most important thing for investors to keep in mind?
What do you like to do outside of being an investment advisor?
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