Mark's Journey to Benjamin F Edwards:
My journey to Benjamin F Edwards started in 2018 when my wife asked me about our investment assets. I had been managing our investment portfolio since we got married and she was curious how much we had, how it was invested and where it was invested. After I showed her my tracking spreadsheet, she said "If you (me) die, I (Tammy) will not figure this out and will lose all the money. I want us to get a guy (financial advisor) so that if something happens to me (Mark), she will have someone she can get help from to have money for the rest of her life."
That conversation started us on a search for financial advisors in Peoria. After several months of interviewing advisors, we chose Benjamin F Edwards as our financial advisor firm. On the day we signed the paperwork, the branch manager said "if you really do retire at the age you target, and you want a second career, I'd love for you to become a financial advisor for us. You have a done a great job managing your own portfolio and you do a great job with clients." I really didn't think much of at the time.
Fast forward to 2021 and I have retired from Microsoft. I was looking for my second career and was not finding my calling. My wife reminded me of this conversation and recommended I call the Benjamin F Edwards branch manager to see if he was serious. He was. After meeting with him, the other advisors in the office, and the executive team at Benjamin F Edwards, I was convinced this was the right next career for me. I started in early 2022.
It has been the best career move. I love it here. I get to help people achieve their lifelong dreams of financial independence. It is incredibly rewarding. In addition, I get to meet new and exciting people every day. All while exercising my passion for investing and helping create a resilient portfolio that meets the clients goals.
Mark's Background:
Mark is a seasoned account management professional with a career spanning over three decades. He is known for exceeding customer expectations and delivering world-class results, driven by his core values of client satisfaction, continuous improvement, and inclusiveness.
Mark grew up in Pekin and graduated from Pekin High School in 1984. Mark met his wife (Tammy) at Millikin University and they married in July 1988. They have two sons, Matt and Jake, both of whom live in Chicago. For 13 years (1999 to 2012), Mark coached youth football, baseball, and basketball in Pekin. In summer of 2022, Tammy retired from teaching after 34 years.
When Mark is not in the office, he and Tammy often travel around the country. Mark’s other hobby is he is a dedicated bass fisherman. He has a YouTube channel that you can find at www.fishthemark.org. Mark has also fished in Bass Tournaments for 25 years. Some of his recent successes with various partners includes winning the 2021 NBAA National Championship, winning the 2022 Fishers of Men District Championship, and winning the 2022 Dupo Marine Invitational Championship on Lake of the Ozarks.
Mark has held various roles in different industries, starting his career at Advanced Technology Services where he started as an account representative. He was promoted several times to positions such as Regional Manager and National Account Manager. From there he worked for companies such as Kronos, IBM and Salesforce.
Before joining Benjamin F Edwards, Mark served as Microsoft's Global Account Manager for Caterpillar. In this position, he was responsible for every component of the Caterpillar - Microsoft relationship. He lead a team of over 20 people that supported the clients globally.
Mark's passion for delivering exceptional results and his ability to build lasting relationships with clients make him an excellent financial advisor.
