Profile

For clients who know him well, Rick’s ability to enhance their wealth and wellbeing reflects his desire to improve the lives of people he doesn’t even know. Rick believes that employing his financial and personal skills is time very well spent – on behalf of clients in the U.S. and deserving individuals around the world.

In 1999, Rick was a young entrepreneur who had created and sold five companies. Intrigued by market dynamics, he joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management that year. Today, he enjoys sharing his insights with a loyal circle of traditional and non-traditional client families for whom a distinct level of attention and acumen are required and appreciated. Not surprisingly, Rick serves fellow entrepreneurs, as well as physicians and other professionals whose visions are as bold as his. Most clients are based in California, Oregon, Washington, and across the nation.

“Clients have become my close friends,” Rick points out. “And helping friends achieve meaningful goals is the greatest reward of all. Some came to me seeking better investment advice. Others didn’t want to be involved in investment decisions, but needed the comfort of a clearly defined strategy. While diverse in passions and purposes, clients can always benefit from a deeper level of real-world financial acumen and attention.”

Characterizing Rick’s approach is his devotion to systematic communications and disciplined investing. Using Merrill due diligence and a select group of managers he’s worked with for years, Rick typically diversifies clients’ investments across asset classes, sectors and borders – in accordance with their preferences. When appropriate, he also calls upon U.S. Trust specialists and coordinates with clients’ CPAs and attorneys. Rick believes that face-to-face meetings with clients carry great importance. Whether making “house calls” or hosting events at racetracks or golf courses, Rick finds value in connecting with clients on many levels and enabling them to connect with others
|“I’m so proactive in talking to clients that they tend not to call very often. In fact, when a client has surgery or a spouse passes, I’m at the hospital long before other family members. Being plugged in to clients’ lives and livelihoods is important to me. And I believe that holds immeasurable value to people who want a level of trust with an advisor that extends beyond dollars and cents.”

PERSONAL PROFILES

“My late father-in-law was a lieutenant colonel. The first time that I met him, I was three minutes late. He told me that in his family, ‘If you’re late, you’d better be dead’. Taking his warning to heart, I’ve been diligent in becoming highly organized, disciplined and communicating in timely fashion. If a client doesn’t know where they stand and what I think, I’m not doing my job.”

Rick sees a world in which one person can certainly make a difference. For years, he participated in efforts to “de-mine” areas ravaged by war. Together with a respected non-profit, he flew back and forth to help arrange an agreement between Israel and The Palestinian Authority to remove land mines in the fields of Bethlehem – something Rick considers one of his greatest accomplishments. In Vietnam, Rick also traveled with a non-profit that removed landmines from farm fields and fitted amputees with prosthetics.

In 2016, Rick traveled to Peru with a U.S. non-profit that supplies medical equipment and medicine to impoverished people. That was one of many trips Rick has made to South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Rick is proud to have 18 nieces and nephews and skis with all of them. Not limited to the slopes, Rick’s energy extends to road biking (50 and 60 miles at a time), hiking, playing golf, and working out three days a week. A former polo player, Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I follow the deep-seated Merrill tradition of participating in the communities we serve. This drives my interest in spending time volunteering with organizations in our community.