Larry Zebko

Larry Zebko’s passion for finance is something he learned from his father. “I saw and sort of lived the business through my dad,” he says. “He could relate to all walks of life and cared about being honest and doing the right thing.” So after graduating from Michigan State University, Larry was surprised when his father suggested he work elsewhere instead of joining the business his dad started in the late 1950s.

At his father’s suggestion, Larry set out on his own and went to work for Olde Discount Corporation, starting in the trading room. He soon moved to Olde’s NASDAQ principal desk and helped build a one-person department into a team of more than 35 professionals. Next, he joined the Securities Trading Association and traveled around the country networking with other trading desk personnel, building his knowledge of securities industry operation and laws, listening to earnings calls and constantly questioning analyst opinions.

It was while working at Olde that Larry saw firsthand how the system broke down during the 1987 stock market crash. It was also during that time that he began to observe how Raymond James did business and came to respect its client-first culture and the depth of its equity research.

After spending 15 years with Olde Discount Corporation – and helping build one of the largest trading desks outside of New York – Larry decided to take a break from the business. In 1998, he took some time off to travel, and then moved back to the Detroit area to be close to his father, whose health was failing. After his father passed, Larry took over his business at the request of the elder Zebko’s branch operations manager.

“It took me all of a minute to make the decision,” he says. “I was able to help Dad’s clients navigate the dot-com bubble, and only wish I could have done more. I worked extremely hard at helping clients through the financial crisis tsunami of 2008 and feel blessed to continue to in the future.”

Larry sees himself as a coach to his clients, helping them become more literate about financial issues like retirement planning, estate planning, taxes, insurance and more. “Saving money is one of the hardest things for people to do, and it is important that they have a written plan or risk policy statement,” he says. “The written plan will help clarify the goal of how much to save, or how much to distribute from the portfolio.”

An active member of the local community, Larry currently serves on the board of the Pleasant Lake Improvement Association and volunteers with many community organizations.

He and his wife, Kimberly, have two children, Matthew and Sophia, and live in West Bloomfield, Michigan.