Unapologetically you? you’re my kinda people
Compassionate guidance for kindred souls
The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
The second-best time is now.
– Old proverb
Musicians aren’t exactly the target audience for financial advisors.
You “don’t fit” into the corporate nine-to-fiver demographic advisors perceive as having the predictable income, accumulative wealth and assets to make it worth their while. This bias is a big reason why, despite your success, a lot of professional musicians have never worked with an advisor.
I believe financial planning is for anyone at any income level feeling the anxiety of “Is my financial house in order?” My mission is to financially empower the professionals who defied the odds of making a living in the cutthroat world of music. If you pop up on Zoom with tattoos, a battle vest or rainbow hair, the only thing you’re gonna get from me is a big smile.
That and my core values – integrity, curiosity, compassion, and continual improvement.
Client Personas
First, let’s figure out where you fit. Which one are you?
Client Personas
First, let’s figure out where you fit. Which one are you?
On a scale of 1-10 – 1 being on a beach with your favorite beverage and 10 being about to pass out from panic – what’s your anxiety level right now?
I’m a laid back, approachable guy, but I go right at client concerns with tenacity. I like to laugh and make others laugh – often with a bit of nerdiness – but I have a way of putting others at ease. I’ve often said that if a client leaves a meeting feeling more anxious than before it started, I have failed as an advisor.
It's that simple.
BRYAN RUIZ, CFP®, MRT
Owner | Advisor | Financial Composer
My personal music journey began when I started playing drums at seven years old, which led to me being the kid with a Modern Drummer magazine subscription in middle school. The first album I fell in love with was Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction – on cassette. It was the 1993 Spoleto Festival USA, with Charles Wadsworth cracking jokes, that led to my love of chamber music. I took up cello as an adult and it’s my main instrument today.
I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum – a pair of punchy, meaty kick drums. Despite the metalhead persona, I’m a lifelong tennis player and lover of all things tennis. I can string a racquet in under 15 minutes, and hold the USRSA Master Racquet Technician certification. Cooking has been another creative outlet of mine since adolescence. I’m way more into tea, craft beer, whisk(e)y, fountain pens and stationery than is rational. I still prefer manual transmissions, nor have I given up my tactile media: books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl. I still read the printed Wall Street Journal – a holdover from college when it was required reading. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve been a bit of an old man most of my life. To give you an idea, my fun weekend night in college was sitting in a recliner, listening to CDs, and drinking a scotch.
I’m also a first-generation American. My parents are from Morelia, Michoacán Mexico – well known for the annual winter migration of monarch butterflies to the Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the endangered oyamel forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I learned via observation about lifelong dedication to a vocation from my father, a neurosurgeon with a penchant for Viennese waltzes and using advanced surgical techniques.
Before I started Harmonized Finance, I worked in tax accounting, back office banking, retail, financial planning, customer service, and more financial planning. In that order. It’s this mix of different, invaluable work experiences that led me to what feels like a calling. My disclosures show my full work history, and you’re something special if you read it.
BRYAN RUIZ, CFP®, MRT
Owner | Advisor | Financial Composer
My personal music journey began when I started playing drums at seven years old, which led to me being the kid with a Modern Drummer magazine subscription in middle school. The first album I fell in love with was Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction – on cassette. It was the 1993 Spoleto Festival USA, with Charles Wadsworth cracking jokes, that led to my love of chamber music. I took up cello as an adult and it’s my main instrument today.
I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum – a pair of punchy, meaty kick drums. Despite the metalhead persona, I’m a lifelong tennis player and lover of all things tennis. I can string a racquet in under 15 minutes, and hold the USRSA Master Racquet Technician certification. Cooking has been another creative outlet of mine since adolescence. I’m way more into tea, craft beer, whisk(e)y, fountain pens and stationery than is rational. I still prefer manual transmissions, nor have I given up my tactile media: books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl. I still read The Wall Street Journal on paper – a holdover from college when it was required reading. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve been a bit of an old man most of my life. To give you an idea, my fun weekend night in college was sitting in a recliner, listening to CDs, and drinking a scotch.
I’m also a first-generation American. My parents are from Morelia, Michoacán Mexico – well known for the annual winter migration of monarch butterflies to the Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the endangered oyamel forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I learned via observation about lifelong dedication to a vocation from my father, a neurosurgeon with an affinity for Viennese waltzes and using advanced surgical techniques.
Before I started Harmonized Finance, I worked in tax accounting, back office banking, retail, financial planning, customer service, and more financial planning. In that order. It’s this mix of different, invaluable work experiences that led me to what feels like a calling. My disclosures show my full work history, and you’re something special if you read it.
Finally, I am part of the Financial Planning Association’s NexGen Career Changer’s Committee, which aims to give resources and networking for those newly involved in the profession. If you are an advisor and get quoted in The Wall Street Journal, get in touch so I can mail you a paper copy.