My Story

I grew up in Eastchester, NY, the oldest of four.   It seems like I have always had a job, even when I was 9 or 10. I remember selling seeds to make a few bucks or delivering newspapers.  I got my first job on Wall Street at 16 as a summer intern for Bear Stearns.  Right about that time, my dad switched careers at 40 years old, moving from engineering to Merrill Lynch, where he went on to work for another 50 years.  

I was fascinated by Wall Street and how people made money, but I also saw how the operational side of the business was run and how important that was to the end results.

I stayed interested in finance through college, and after graduation, joined the investment banking firm Alex. Brown & Sons as part of the first group of analysts hired at the firm in their 150-year history. Working in the M&A group taught me two things: you can never be overprepared and detail is everything, as even one error in a deal document can call the entire process into question.  It was a grueling job, but very interesting. 

Ultimately, however, I moved to the trading side of the business because I saw that there were so many opportunities in different markets that were being leveraged by traders, known as arbitrageurs. This was eye-opening to me because they were able to make money in all types of markets, not just when the market went up, which was the way most people viewed investments.  Understanding that different assets had different correlations to each other opened up a whole new investment strategy.

My arbitrage group became part of the Bass Family Office as part of their investment team, and when I joined, the first thing I was told by Sid Bass was, “Your goal is not to make us rich, it’s to keep us rich.” This was another illuminating moment in my career, the idea that long-term investment success relies on stability and risk management rather than hopping on the current hot investment trend.  Understanding the importance of this family of downside protection, tax efficiency, and correlation control shaped my investment philosophy permanently.  

The final illuminating moment came when I moved from the institutional hedge fund space to the world of managing individual client portfolios with a registered investment advisor.  This was the first time that I realized the primary focus was not solely investment success, but rather the personal impact that we have on our clients’ lives.  Most of my previous client experience was solely investment-related, but when I began working face-to-face with clients, I realized the broader impact that we had on their lives.  While investments are important, they are just one facet of the relationship.  Understanding who the clients are, what their goals are, their tax situation, risk tolerance, and family dynamics plays a major role in the overall relationship, not just the investment success.  

It’s gratifying to have been successful over the years. My fund was named “Best Credit Fund” by Barclays Hedgeweek in 2010 for our performance during the financial crisis, and for the past six consecutive years, I was recognized as a “5 Star Wealth Professional”, a distinction I believe places me among a select group in the Houston area with that level of consistency and longevity.  However, having strong interpersonal relationships with our clients and seeing the impact that our decisions have had on their lives is the most fulfilling part of my 40-year career.  

I came to The Woodlands because I wanted the opportunity to control the client experience, to dive deeper into client needs, and, frankly, work with fewer clients.  I brought my East Coast family to Texas, and to say it was a change is an understatement.  However, what I found was people who are genuine, people who are honest and people I have built a connection with.  They are the kind of clients where, when I am able to deliver meaningful value in their lives, I get to go home, look in the mirror, and feel that through all this experience, I have really helped a friend.

AC Family Office represents the final stop in my journey.  It’s the place where I can choose the clients I work with and deliver the level of client experience that I believe they deserve, rather than having those decisions made for me, because I am an owner here.  It’s the place where I get to surround myself with a peer group of professionals with over 200 years of collective experience.  Together, we share ideas and collaborate to develop even better solutions for clients.  

Looking back, I can’t say exactly what took me so long to find this, but I do know I feel deeply fortunate to be here. Most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve a group of clients I genuinely consider friends.