Spring 2017
April 18, 2017
Bernstein Private Wealth Management
Darryl’s road to becoming a financial advisor was not a straight line. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in mathematical economics, he served in various assignments as a field artillery officer in the United States Army, both as a Fire Direction Officer and Platoon Leader in the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, NC. After military service, he completed an MBA at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. From there, he realized his dream of becoming an equity trader on Wall Street, working for Merrill Lynch and Bank of America – which later evolved into owning and operating his own commodity trading business. He also developed his commercial skills as head of business development for a merchant bank. And he serves his community as a board member of National Able Network, Inc., and Leave No Veteran Behind. And he is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and a regional selection committee member for the Pat Tillman Foundation Scholarship Award.
What do all of these work experiences and memberships have to do with being a financial advisor? In Darryl’s view, they all point to the importance of serving others, contributing to your community, and constantly working to help others improve the quality of their lives.
What is it that you do on a daily basis?
On a daily basis I help high-net-worth families and small businesses make investment decisions optimized to meet their goals. Additionally, I help them make a meaningful contribution to charitable causes and community initiatives that they care about. I also prevent wealthy individuals and families from making catastrophic decisions when it comes to investing their money.
What do you like most about your job?
There is no greater honor than serving others, whether it’s my wife, daughter, family, clients, or my country. I love helping others reach their full potential, making a positive impact on those who need assistance, and helping others realize future success.
What advice would you give a student considering a similar path?
There are no shortcuts to success. Find a coach, mentor, or sponsor who is a successful professional and cultivate a meaningful relationship with them. Rinse and repeat. Your network will influence your degree of success. Learn as if you are going to live forever and read every book that can you find on investing, not only by those who have been successful but by those who have failed. My parents taught me to be a man from my circumstances, not of my circumstances. Don’t look at the world for what it is, but what it could be. Whatever path you choose, be a student of your craft, and work diligently to master your trade.
As General Douglas MacArthur said during his speech at West Point in 1962, “be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future yet never neglect the past.”