About

In 1980, I graduated business school and went to work as a credit analyst for a large international bank. A smug kid in a pin-striped suit, I was certain that my analytical skills and my Texas Instruments calculator would earn me such a fortune in the stock market that I’d be able to retire rich in a year, maybe two. Well, I’ve since learned that the markets can be a wonderful source of income, but great wealth doesn’t generally come that fast and easy.

Here are some other things that I’ve learned in almost three decades as a successful investor:
It is very, very hard to pick winning stocks, or to time the market. Most people who try (as I did in 1980) eventually crash and burn. This includes professionals as well as amateurs. Study after study show that buying the market (indexing) is the best investment strategy.
Costs matter, and matter enormously. If you invest in, say, a mutual fund that charges you 1.5 percent a year, or if you pay a money manager that much, you are very unlikely to wind up ahead. If you pay a commission (load) of, say, 5 percent to get into a mutual fund, you are tossing money to the wind.
Diversification is all-important. By investing in a broad array of “asset classes” that include growth stocks, value stocks, large and small company stocks, Asian stocks, European stocks, bonds, and commodities, you have your best shot at a fair return with minimal risk.
Every investor is different, and successful investing means tailoring a portfolio to the individual’s needs. A 30-year-old with an income of $70,000 a year should not invest anything like a 70-year-old with an income of $30,000 a year.

I work closely with each client to develop the best individualized investment strategy. I use primarily exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build a portfolio. What are ETFs? They are baskets of securities that offer investors instant diversification for a very small price. They track an index, sector, or country and trade like a stock. Plain and simple, they are a godsend to the individual, small investor.

If you’re a smart person (and I strongly prefer working with smart people), you’ll probably want to know the answers to the following questions:

Russell, what’s your education?
I hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in international management and finance with honors from Arizona State’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Glendale, Arizona; a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in business/economics magna cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C.; and a graduate certificate in personal financial planning from the CFP Board-registered program at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As part of my MBA program, I also completed a semester of study in macroeconomics and finance at the Saïd Business School of England’s Oxford University.

What kind of licenses or certifications do you have?
I hold a Series 65 Securities License, I am a Registered Investment Advisor licensed by the Pennsylvania Securities Commission (but I can work with people in other states), and I have been a member of NAPFA for nearly two decades.