I live in Boca Raton, Florida with my beautiful wife Jennifer and our three precious children Ava, Luke, and Ella. Energetic and active, our family is always up for new adventures. My wife Jen loves raising our children and is an amazing mom. Can’t you tell? Just look at those little smiles below! Ava (7) spends her time playing soccer (Go Bluefish!), violin, reading, and leading the young Kalisch troop. Luke (4) loves hoops, tee-ball, superheroes, and playing with his cars. Ella (2) loves following her big big brother and sister everywhere they go. We love taking family road trips and enjoy being actively involved in our local community. Our kids are our world and we’re a truly blessed family.
The Kalisch Family
After graduating from Florida State University, I began my career as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley in Gainesville, Fl. Enthusiastic about making new relationships and passionate about the markets, a career as a Financial Advisor proved a perfect fit for me. It enabled me to make a positive impact for others and provided a platform to pursue my passion for valuation and investment analysis. Over the next decade, I learned just how important the role of a “Trusted Advisor” was for clients. After several market meltdowns, I discovered that the inherent flaws in the Wall Street business model often left clients at a disadvantage. That discovery would pave the way for the next chapter of my career.
Where It All Began
Born in Puerto Rico, I moved to Miami, Fl with my family in the early 80’s. I grew up in beautiful Pinecrest, Fl and graduated from Palmetto Senior High School in 1996. I was a competitive junior tennis player and always had hopes of becoming a top pro. I even lived at a tennis academy in northern Florida with a family I’d never met for over a year during junior high school. My biggest fans were my family and it took me several years to truly understand the sacrifice they made to support my dreams. I’m also a passionate Heat, Canes, and Dolphins fan, and have left some of my fondest memories in Miami. I still marvel at how much the city has changed and I frequently travel back to visit family, friends, and clients.
Boldly Breaking Away
After several years operating under the traditional Wall Street Business model, I decided a drastic change was necessary. With several distractions and conflicts of interests, the traditional brokerage firm model made it too difficult to operate independently. Working with industry leaders, executives, and successful business owners, reinforced my view that clients required comprehensive and unbiased solutions based on a deep understanding of their personal and financial lives.The transition to an independent practice model would allow me to align directly with the individuals and families we serve and focus exclusively on our client’s best interests.
Step Up To The Big Leagues
One of the best experiences of my professional career includes my time spent at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. I spent two years at Duke and successfully graduated with my MBA from the Business School in 2009. The program was rigorous, culturally diverse, and extremely rewarding. A concentration in Finance enabled me to reconcile advanced financial theory with real world application. Most importantly, my time at Duke allowed me to create long lasting relationships with friends all over the world. More than a top tier MBA program, The Fuqua School of Business gave me the necessary tools to become a better leader, team member, and individual. Thanks to the curriculum, Duke professors and staff, and my classmates, I’m confident in my ability to lead in a dynamic and ever changing global economy.
Focus Some More, Becoming A CFP®
After graduating from Duke, I still had some unfinished business. Before my MBA at Duke, I spent two years completing the required curriculum to secure my CFP® designation. After graduation, I jumped back in and immediately began my preparation for the brutal CFP® exam. In 2011, I officially became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. The CFP® marks identify those individuals who have met the rigorous experience and ethical requirements of the CFP Board, have successfully completed financial planning coursework and have passed the CFP® Certification Examination covering the following areas: the financial planning process, risk management, investments, tax planning and management, retirement and employee benefits, and estate planning. CFP® certificants also agree to meet ongoing continuing education requirements and to uphold CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Rules of Conduct and Financial Planning Practice Standards.