Meet the Team

Growing up outside of Chicago, my interest in finance began early. My grandfather gave me 10 shares of Coca-Cola and told me every time someone buys a coke I would get a penny. The math may not have been exact, but the concept stuck with me for life. Around my 11th birthday, I was at school and watched as they installed these brand new colorful computers, so I went home and asked my dad to buy me stock. I didn't know the name but I remembered the logo and said "Buy the one with the apple with a bite taken out of it." Instead he bought a stock that was all over the newspapers that "everyone" should buy. That was my first lesson in buying quality over what's popular that day.

After my first year of college at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I received a scholarship to Auburn University where I received my degree in Business Administration and Finance. Ultimately my early passion for investing paid-off after my scholarship ran out during the recession and I used my stock market earnings to pay for the rising cost of tuition. After obtaining my securities licenses, I began my career as a Financial Advisor at the Edward Jones headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri where I managed multiple branch offices across the country. I ultimately began my own advisory practice as a Financial Advisor outside of Chicago. After some time I left Edward Jones and joined a smaller firm at the ground level and helped grow the organization. I learned many valuable lessons about additional services I now offer and the technology that allows me to serve a growing client base without sacrificing the level of service I provide. In 2020, I took the opportunity to realize my dream and start my own business, providing my clients with the level of service I believe they deserve.

When I am not working, I love spending time with my beautiful wife, Vanessa, and my incredible daughter, Layla. To add to the fun, we adopted a great rescue dog, Luna, who can always be found within a few feet from the girls. We love to cook, travel and take advantage of the great food and sights this beautiful city offers.

Other than a brief stint in Davenport, IA where I attended St. Ambrose University to earn my BA in Accounting & Finance, I have spent my entire life in the Chicagoland area.  My career in the securities industry began with sideline chatter with my teammates during a volleyball game and an eavesdropping coach who happened to be a financial advisor offered me his internship position at a local Scottrade branch if I was interested.  Outside of my internship, I had taken such an interest in the world of investments that I began doing my own research for how to start investing.  I kept reading to invest in companies you like, use, and know a lot about.  With the appetite of a 20-year-old and the ability to engulf 2 Chipotle burritos in one sitting, I decided to invest in what I eat!  With that, I decided to invest in Chipotle.  After about a year, I learned my first investment lesson during the 2008 Financial Crisis about what fear, emotion, and a lack of a plan can do to your investments.  I sold my Chipotle shares at $85 for a mere $10 profit per share.  If I would have held onto those shares and not give in to my emotions, I would have been much happier with the return.  Maybe 10-15 times happier.

Upon graduation, I obtained my securities licenses and was offered a position as a registered representative in the Gurnee, IL Scottrade branch and eventually moved to the primary Chicago location. After my time with Scottrade, I joined Charles Schwab where I helped consolidate and manage over $500MM and 800+ households.  After 6 years with Charles Schwab, I moved to the institutional space assisting financial advisors and their practices with the onboarding process at LPL Financial. 

This is when I realized what I wanted to do with my career. During my tenure with LPL I worked with nearly 100 different financial advisors and gained valuable exposure to various business models, financial advisor personalities, and strategies for advising clients from all across the country.  While working intimately with one financial advisor after another, I started to see variations of models from those that were efficient and practical to others that I felt were outdated or may not be in the client’s best interests. I was not actively looking to make the career change to financial advisor just yet until I met with Serenity Wealth Management. After learning about the SWM process, I realized that the firm was putting all the ideas I had for what modern wealth management should be into practice. It wasn’t long after my introduction to Serenity that I decided to leave my prior company and become a Financial Advisor. What I liked most about my conversations with Rich was that it was clearly evident that putting clients first was non-negotiable.  Our fiduciary responsibility is vital to the success of our clients.

Outside of work, I always enjoy spending time with my amazing wife Kristyn and our rescue pup, Remy.  We LOVE FOOD and try to discover new cuisines in every nook and cranny of our city.  When additional time allows, we volunteer at local animal shelters, travel the world, and play volleyball.