About Us
From a very young age, I became connected with my late Grandfather, Irving Braun, who was the President and founder of First Federal Savings and Loan Bank of Proviso Township in Maywood Illinois. Irving was well known within his community and amongst friends and family for his success and friendliness, and his stock market prowess. From the moment I began saving the money I had made shoveling neighbors driveways, my Grandfather and I were talking about the market and stocks. At the age of sixteen, my Grandfather brought me downtown Chicago to LaSalle Street. There, he introduced me to his "stock broker" and I subsequently opened my first account at Rodman and Renshaw.
After working as an intern at Rodman for two summers, my career was officially launched when offered a full-time position at the Investment Banking firm in 1994. Two years later, along with management, I moved my practice to the nationally recognized firm of Prudential Securities. During my tenure, I was promoted to Vice-President, and was even asked by the Branch Manager, to manage his and his personal family's assets.
In April of 2000, I made the decision to abandon the proprietary products, quotas and sales pressures typical at "big brokerage firms". Along with an associate at Prudential, we started Cohen Gorenstein LLC an independent firm clearing through Raymond James Financial Services. Timing could not have been better with the financial crisis emerging and the collapse of Lehman and the almost failing of behemoths like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
Passing up a significant upfront bonus check offered from other firms in order to begin my own firm was a difficult decision. However, I always believed that serving my clients needs on an independent basis was the only prudent way to provide financial guidance and manage money.
Every day, I am truly thankful and grateful to be able to do what I love.
About Raymond James
Raymond James is one of the largest independent financial services firms in the United States. Since its beginning in 1962, it has always been a different kind of company – embracing long-term planning and methodical decision-making while staying uncompromisingly client focused. When other firms were simply buying and selling stocks or mutual funds, Raymond James focused on financial planning to help individuals reach their goals. It was the first firm to pioneer that concept – and today it supports its advisors with access to a full range of comprehensive resources, helping them to do the same.
- More than 5,400 financial advisors
- 2 million client accounts
- 2,400 locations (United States, Canada and abroad)
- $268 billion in client assets
- $35 billion managed by its subsidiary asset managers
Raymond James Financial was recently named the best full-service broker in the 2011 SmartMoney annual broker survey for the third time in four years – ranking above Edward Jones, Wells Fargo, UBS, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
For more information, visit raymondjames.com.
SmartMoney does not endorse any product or service of Raymond James. The survey criteria included performance of recommended stocks, customer satisfaction, and user-friendliness of account statements and websites. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Please note that fees and charges will reduce an investor’s return.
Raymond James financial advisors may only conduct business with residents of the states and/or jurisdictions for which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Please note that not all of the investments and services mentioned are available in every state. Investors outside of the United States are subject to securities and tax regulations within their applicable jurisdictions that are not addressed on this site. Contact your local Raymond James office for information and availability.
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