What has inspired you to stay at Bernstein as long as you have?
Bernstein prides itself on a culture steeped in ethics. In my many years here, I have found that our firm’s client-centric business model makes for better outcomes. From our clients to our employees, Bernstein takes excellent care of people. That makes me feel very good about coming to work every day. At Bernstein, I have also been fortunate to engage with some of the smartest and most principled people I have ever met in my life. The caliber of the Bernstein culture makes this an intellectually rewarding place to work. I have been moved by the commitment of my colleagues, from the integrity of their devotion to our clients to the importance they place on investing with purpose to make the world better.
What kind of experience do you offer to your clients?
My clients are diverse in terms of the sources of their wealth and include entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals, and multigenerational families. My clients’ ingenuity and creativity, which is at the center of their success, have taught me so much and been a real-life educational process. Throughout my long and varied work experience, I have seen many unique client situations where I’ve helped clients identify solutions to their problems and find their personal definition of success. I have also married my own experience and research with the vast resources of our firm, ranging from our excellent planning tools to our portfolio construction strategies. My research is rooted in what strategies would most benefit my clients based on their specific circumstances. Helping my clients achieve their goals remains my most important objective, and I am gratified that so many of them have succeeded.
What passions do you pursue outside of work?
Beyond my Bernstein position, I am engaged in several charitable foundations. I am very proud of the work they do. One of the foundations focuses on helping to train people who are seeking employment, so that they can be productive members of society, and is successful at securing the right positions for them. The second organization is focused on keeping various media reporting honest. In a world where the lines between accurate reporting and editorializing have been blurred, I believe it is crucial to insist that reporting is independent and maintains its integrity.
I also enjoy reading, particularly American history, with a focus on the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. I find biographies of the most influential people from those times to be a very efficient way to learn about that period in history. Some of my favorite historical biographies are Hamilton and Ulysses S. Grant, both by Ron Chernow, and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.