ADVISOR SPOTLIGHT WITH Bobby Rosenberg, Sarasota, FL

20 Jan ADVISOR SPOTLIGHT WITH Bobby Rosenberg, Sarasota, FL

We are pleased to bring you the next installment of the Summit Advisor Spotlight. These interviews aim to demonstrate how advisors have dramatically increased their production by leveraging tools and services provided by Cetera Advisor Networks LLC and Summit Financial Networks.

This edition of Advisor Spotlight features Robert “Bobby” Rosenberg of Rosenberg Asset Management, located in Sarasota, FL. Bobby recently sat down with Josh Gomez, Summit’s Sr. Relationship Manager, and Gordon Jahnig, Summit’s Director of Sales Support. We are grateful to Bobby for taking time out of his busy day to share his insights. Let’s get started.

JG: Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to talk to us. One of the first questions we like to ask advisors is, what drew you to this business? Why did you choose to be an advisor?

BR: I love that question. I spent many nights stumbling into my house in my high school and early college years at all hours of the night and I would see my father with the old point and figure Dorsey Wright charts in a big binder filled with probably 500 different stocks that he was charting by hand. At the time, it really didn’t mean a whole lot to me, but then I really figured out what Dad was doing and why. His job was being responsible for other people’s money, and he was putting in ultra long hours to make sure they were taken care of. For him to put in the that much time, I realized he must really care about all these people and his work. So that example kind of sparked something in me, knowing that if my dad is this passionate about his work then this must be a pretty cool thing.

As far as getting into the business, my timing was perfect. Around the time I graduated from college, my brother, who was working with my dad at the time, decided he was ready to exit and pursue a different opportunity. So, I had this kind of a natural progression where I could come in and work with them.

GJ: Can you talk a little bit about how you and your father decided to move your practice to Summit?

BR: Dad and I did the broker dealer shuffle from 2005 – 2012 and I was fed up and something needed to change. We received a very substantial offer from Morgan Stanley who was going to buy the book and Dad was contemplating retirement. A very, very close friend of ours in in the legal field told us, before you sell, you guys must go talk to Marshall Leeds. And I said no. I was belligerently stubborn. Honestly, I told my dad, I’m not going. We’re not going to a small firm; I’ve had enough of this stuff. I didn’t want to go through the ACAT’s, and everything required when you move firms. I told Dad we’re going to Morgan Stanley. Go have fun, retire, go play golf. Dad comes in my office and says, please do me this favor, come visit the Summit with me. I want to point out again, I was belligerently against this trip. Finally, he just said get in the car we’re going. We do the 3-hour drive to the Summit office and walk in the front office and that 70-inch TV says, Welcome to Summit, Eddie, and Bobby. Honestly, I get goosebumps to this day thinking about it. I get goosebumps because within 5 minutes we’re meeting all these different members of the Summit teams and then meeting Marshall and I remember getting that funny feeling that only happens a couple times in life, but I knew that’s where we belonged. It’s still funny how I went from belligerence to falling in love in such a short amount of time because simply how we were treated. We immediately felt like part of a family.

So, we finish our visit and in the car on the way home, Dad who has this grin on his face asks me, so what do you think? I said, I don’t want to talk about it.

Gordon, I’ve shared this with you a thousand times, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, it was not only one of the best business decisions that I’ve ever made, but one of the best overall life decisions I’ve ever made because it’s just kept getting better.

JG:  We certainly glad you decided to partner with Summit. I know we aren’t always perfect but the commitment to our advisors and delivering on what we promise is important. That commitment starts at the top and flows all the way down to everyone on the team.

BR: That’s the great thing about being a leader and getting to learn from a leader like Marshall. Everybody has something to contribute, and my best practice management is watching you guys and following that commitment which is giving us outstanding service. Going back to how this started, we saw enough broker dealers and people often think the grass is greener on the other side. It isn’t greener on the other side.

JG: I want to finish the “serious questions” with this one. What does the future look like for Rosenberg Asset Management? Do you think you’ll try to steer your kids into the business and try to build a multi-generational business?

BR: I get fired up about that question because the sky is the limit for us. Again, I have to give all the credit in the world to our Summit family for getting us fired up and goal oriented. I have a book that I write down my yearly goals in and I get giddy I see what we’re accomplishing. We just made the Platinum Club, and my goal is to grow 30% this year and I’m certain we’ll do it. First, because Summit and Cetera provide us with great support, we have every possible tool we could need to compete with the biggest shops on the street. Secondly, we know clients place a big premium on service, so as long as we are delivering the sky’s the limit.

As far as the next generation, I know my dad would be proud if we have more of the family in the business. I am hoping for my nephew, who is a freshman football player at Texas A&M, will want to join us when he finishes school. As far as my kids, my daughter is so entrepreneurial and so talented, I’d love to have her in the business, but we will probably end up seeing her on TV as a sideline reporter for ESPN. As far as my son, I am convinced he is going to be a hair model. He’ll probably get some big NIL deals when he’s playing college sports just from his amazing hair. Seriously though, I can’t control what my kids will want to do, but I would love it if they wanted to be part of this and that would be really, really special for us if they do.

GJ: Are there certain tools or services that either Cetera or Summit offer that are particularly valuable to your practice and why?

BR: 100%, first big shout out to the team at Summit. When it comes to problem solving, when we need them, I call one phone number and we getting the problem fixed. Not only that, but we’re talking to people we have a relationship with, so it’s that old Summit boutique approach and it’s fabulous.

Beyond that, Cetera’s Advanced Planning Group is a fantastic resource, and they always make us look good when we talk with clients. The compliance team does a great job of helping us stay up to date or ahead of regulatory changes. It certainly feels like the changes have been more frequent in recent years and we appreciate the help navigating potential pitfalls. Lastly, our advisory consultant, Kathy Cathcart, has been a great resource. She was in our office a few weeks ago and she’s helping us with implementing some ETF models in our advisory business. We really feel like we have the best of both worlds as Cetera delivers seemingly infinite resources and we’re still have to have the boutique broker dealer feel as part of the Summit region.

JG: This is going to be a two-part question. First, how would you describe your practice’s value proposition? Second, can you talk about of your approach to investing/managing client’s money?

BR: To answer the first question, I despise calling 800 numbers, hate them. Generally speaking, in the finance world unless you’re very, very wealthy to get a question answered or to obtain service, the client is dialing into a call center. No one wants to wait on hold for an hour to ask a question about their money. Our clients like having a local phone number and a relationship with the person they’re calling. We do everything we can to give our clients the information and the resources they need to make important decisions. Technology is a great tool, but we’re not going to be that automated, impersonal practice. We want to be engaged and speaking with our clients directly.

When it comes to asset management, technology has changed this business. I think the days of being a stockbroker and picking a handful of stocks for a client portfolio are over. I give my dad all the credit in the world. Many years ago, he recognized there are portfolio managers with teams and resources that exceed what we have. It’s not that we can’t read financial statements but by focusing of finding the best, most consistent managers we are able to better focus on our client relationships. Making that shift in 2003 really morphed our business for the better.

 JG: I want to wrap up the business questions with one last topic. I know you guys do I really good job of engaging with clients and relationship building outside of typical advisor client relationship, for example you football and golf contests. Can you talk about how you are engaging with clients outside the office?

BR: We do a number of different fun client events every year that really build relationships with clients. One of the events we do is a spring training baseball event. We invite clients and their families to Oriole Stadium here in Sarasota, enjoy some BBQ and to watch a ball game. Our Christmas party is coming up in two days, so we’ll have 150 people at Marina Jack, and we’ll dance, and sing have a chance to reflect on how blessed and appreciative we are. We also started doing our football picks pool last year which has been great fun and a good opportunity for some friendly but competitive banter. As a result of the time we spend with clients, we don’t spend a lot of money on advertising. We rely on our clients and their referrals to drive our growth. To show our appreciation, we do something really cool for our clients who refer someone to us. We have a luncheon at a restaurant here in Sarasota and we bring in two charities that are really close to our hearts. One is Rob’s Rescue and other is The Peyton Wright Foundation and both have a similar mission. Robbie Haas was a little younger than me, but we were classmates and played football together. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2002 and passed away as a result. Robbie’s parents are special people. They were fortunate enough to have the resources to pay their bills while going back and forth to Children’s Hospital with their son. They recognized not everyone is so fortunate as other people there were dealing with having their electricity turned off because they had to make tough choices. Robbie’s parents decided to form a foundation to help support families with sick children, so they would have a little less to worry about. The Payton Wright Foundation is very similar in helping support families who are dealing with the unthinkable. So, at this luncheon, we present a check to each charity in the names of all these clients. It’s a really moving event. The client gets to hear about the impact these donations have and needless to say there are not a lot of dry eyes by the time the lunch is over. And we think this is a lot more meaningful than, here’s a Starbuck gift card.

GJ: Let’s get into the fun questions. This one is my favorite to ask advisors. What is your all-time favorite movie and why?

BR: I don’t know why but I love the old, Goodfellas and Godfather type movies. My favorite movie is Casino. My wife likes to kid around with me that in my next life I am going to come back and be a casino boss.

JG: Tell us a little bit about what you like to do for fun when you’re not working.

BR: I’m blessed, my children are the apples of my eye. My little girl is 14 and she is an awesome soccer player. She’s on the varsity team as a freshman and she also plays on a travel soccer team. My little guy, he’s 8 years old. He plays soccer as well as plenty of football. I got to coach his Pop Warner team, the Sarasota Sun Devils, and to be honest, there’s no greater pleasure I’ve ever had in my life than watching my kids play sports. No place I’d rather be on the weekends than watching them run around with their friends and have a good time.

If the kids are playing sports and we have a free weekend with good weather, we love going out in the boat, being on the water, fishing, and that’s the thing that our family enjoys doing. For our family, there is nothing like spending a beautiful day being 30-40 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying time together or with friends.

GJ: Have you and your family taken a big trips lately? Is traveling something your family enjoys?

BR: Frankly, we’re homebodies. My in-laws live near the Jersey shore, so we spend time up there in the summer. I did some other little trips, but we really enjoy what Sarasota has to offer. I give my buddy credit for this quote. “If I ever won a billion dollars in the lottery, I still want to live in Sarasota, FL.” I think I live in the greatest, most wonderful place in the world. Just put me near the water with a fishing pole in my hand and I’m happy.

Robert “Bobby” Rosenberg – Registered Representatives offering Securities and advisory services through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker/dealer and a Registered Investment Adviser. Summit Financial Networks is a region of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. 

Branch Address:

1219 South East Avenue, Suite C 306

Sarasota, FL 34239