About me

If you currently work with an advisor, how well do you know him/her? My clients end up sharing a lot of personal information about themselves during the course of our meetings together. I feel it’s only fair to share a little about myself. After all, being an advisor is secondary to being a good father, husband, son, friend, and citizen.

I grew up in Wisconsin, detouring for a while in Texas and Florida before moving back to Brookfield when I was 10. I graduated (with honors) from Brookfield Central High School and subsequently (with honors) from UW-Madison with a Finance and Marketing double major. I am blessed that my immediate family is still in the area. My parents, Dan and Dianne, have owned a mortgage company for over 20 years. My brother, Kristofer, and his family are nearby in Delafield. I have been married for three years to my wife, Spring. Our lives significantly changed with the birth of our first child on August 3rd, 2010, Liliana. She is a healthy baby girl with a flair for fashion (and soiling diapers). She has this expression of curiosity that often makes me think she’s smarter than me.

Professionally, I have been in the financial services industry for four years now. It is important to me that my clients know that I take my chosen profession seriously enough to continue to study on a purely voluntary basis.

At the same time, I’m not the type of advisor who takes himself too seriously. I enjoy a good laugh, often at my own expense. The suit and tie that most of my clients are accustomed to seeing me wear belie the fact that I’m a t-shirt and jeans type of guy. Steak and lobster is nice, but I am just as happy with chili-dogs and mac and cheese. I enjoy watching all manner of sports, particularly those played by the Packers and the Badgers. I play softball and volleyball but I am not athletic enough to do anything more competitive than co-ed. Regrettably, I am now at an age that I can pretty much expect a strained muscle or two at least once a year. I am a far worse golfer than you would expect from someone who has been playing as long as I have. I used to do a lot of community theater, too, before the time commitment and lack of pay made it harder to justify.

All told, I would appear to be a pretty average guy. I embrace that. I consider myself to be on the same side of the table as a lot of my clients; sharing similar concerns about the direction of the economy, the stability of my paycheck, the opportunities available for my family, and the quality of life I can enjoy. I consider myself to be one of the “good guys”. I think there is a spot for “niceness” in today’s ultra-impersonal society. You might like to know that I still hold the door open for people. I am also fundamentally an optimist, which you may find refreshing given that I am in an industry that likes to focus on doom and gloom. I guess that’s enough about me for now.