Talk to us Meet Tom
What do you enjoy most about wealth management?
The psychic income from happy clients who are achieving their goals and living life well.
What’s the biggest challenge?
Any year like 2008.
What do you love most about being part of Aspiriant?
The independence and freedom, the people, and working with our many appreciative clients.
What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
Being the first professional employee at our predecessor firm Kochis Fitz. Earning my CFP® and CFA certifications. Teaching at U.C. Extension and other Financial Planning Association involvement. My many and varied contributions to Aspiriant over a long period of time, and my current position in the firm.
What quality of yours makes you best suited to do what you do?
Sincerity. People trust me.
How should people think about their wealth?
For most people, wealth itself is not the destination. It’s just the vehicle. More important is understanding what’s the purpose of your wealth and how you can marshal your financial and other resources to work in service of your goals and life aspirations.
What do you love to do outside of work?
Spending time with my family, reading, hiking, cooking, and going to Maui. I also love chess and playing pool but rarely find the time to pursue those interests.
What’s the most influential book you’ve read?
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s biography of Robert Francis Kennedy. His personal evolution, growth, empathy and compassion were remarkable.
What would you be doing if you weren’t at Aspiriant?
I'd be working somewhere else in the finance and investments industry.
What personal accomplishments are you most proud of?
Running a marathon in 3:03 and a hilly 50k trail race. My great personal relationship with my children.
Bio
Tom is a managing director in Planning Strategy & Research and partner at Aspiriant, leading our client service offering and maintaining the highest level of innovation and expertise possible. Tom was the first, post-founding professional employee of Kochis Fitz, the predecessor firm to Aspiriant, and became a partner of the firm in 1995. He has provided comprehensive personal financial and investment planning services to hundreds of professionals, senior corporate executives, business owners and other high net worth individuals.
Tom began his financial planning career in 1989 as a member of the Executive Financial Counseling group at Deloitte & Touche, where he actively assisted in the development and delivery of comprehensive financial plans for clients. At Deloitte, he also worked in the tax department, acquiring broad experience and expertise with individual income tax issues and planning.
He is an active member of the Financial Planning Association and CFA Society of San Francisco. In past years, he taught investments and other classes in the Personal Financial Planning Program at University of California, Berkeley. Tom successfully participated in the 2015 Schwab Executive Leadership program.
Tom earned a B.S. degree in Economics from Chico State University and an M.B.A. (Distinguished Student Award) in Finance from San Francisco State University. He successfully completed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination in 1993 and received his Chartered Financial Analyst credential in 1995.
