Los Angeles, California — Samuel Rad is a leading financial advisor among famous celebrities and founder of the “Affluencer Financial” planning firm. In an exclusive interview, he told his tale of rising from humble beginnings to the place of prominence and respect he enjoys today.
Samuel Rad was born in Iran during the time of the Iranian Revolution. Some people may remember this as the time that US hostages were being held in the Iranian Embassy. Iran was not the best place to raise a family, and Samuel Rad’s parents chose to leave this country and move to a place where the threat of violence was not at their doorstep. This was when they relocated to the US with only a few dollars in their pocket and a couple of words of English in their vocabulary.
Samuel Rad knew that his parents were completely clueless about how to make their way about in this unfamiliar financial system. With all the new concepts like taxes, social security, mutual funds, and investments they were completely clueless and his mission became to help his parents with their financial planning by learning all he could about these topics.
Once he graduated from High School, Samuel Rad continued to help his parents out and still does. But he soon began to notice that the American public as a whole was just as clueless about the 403Bs, UITs, 401ks, IRAs, ETFs, REITS, etc. There were so many acronyms someone had to help these people out of their Alphabet Soup. Most people get the information from the news without realizing this is only entertainment and nothing informational.
So, Samuel threw himself into a career trying to help these people but soon found that the biggest obstacle was his employers. To a big investment firm, the bottom line and quarterly profits were the most significant decision-making factors, not the lives and fortunes of the clients whose money they managed.
The emphasis was selling services rather than cultivating the financial plans of the clients they already had. Then in 2008, it all went south with the market crash, and suddenly many of their clients lost their shirts and fortunes while the big CEO’s of the corporation sat high and dry on a mountain of earnings.
This was when he broke away from the big corporations, and with his ten years of experience on the job, Samuel decided to start his own firm.
Samuel Rad Establishes Affluencer Financial
Affluencer Financial was founded shortly after that. The name was chosen as it was Samuel’s goal to make his clients as affluent as possible. Additionally, the company was created to be a community-conscious business that endeavored to improve the lives and financial portfolios of their valuable clients. Simply put, they wanted to go against the greed and self-interest of the major financial firms. Furthermore, they hoped to apply their skills not only to investments but to provide proper advice for their client’s retirements, estate planning, and taxes.
In addition to his services as a financial advisor, Samuel Rad is an instructor of financial topics at UCLA. This was Samuel’s way of returning to the community and country he was from. Being able to declare independence and begin a life in pursuit of passion is always a romantic notion. Nevertheless, Samuel Rad will tell you that there was plenty of time throughout his career that he was sure he should quit. But deep inside it was a quest for a better way of doing business that urged him on and on.
At one point an irate employer stormed into Mr. Rad’s office to inform Samuel that he was fired without a reference. Samuel was so determined not to quit his job that in his discussion he grappled his boss and pulled him to the floor letting him know he was not going anywhere. In the end, the manager was so impressed with his courage and determination that he allowed him to stay on.
The fact that quitting is not an option for Samuel led to a big promotion within a few months. Samuel has commented that being the child of refugees has caused him to appreciate how good he has it in the US and this has contributed to what makes him the leader he is. He has always favored the push-pull methodology of pushing himself forward and pulling others with him.
It is this attention to detail and perseverance that has made Samuel Rad the success we see today.
The Special Services of Affluencer Financial
The firm Samuel Rad founded is a “High Consciousness” financial planner. They adhere to a high standard of community conscious practices bearing the motto “Do good Things for Good People.” Samuel and his team are much more than financial nerds; they are wise advisors for their client’s financial goals. This is why they only accept experienced, articulate advisors who can make a meaningful connection with their clients.
It is easy and profitable for a Wall Street financial service to make their profits grow by any means necessary”, but these practices can end up hurting their clients. Samuel Rad informs all of his clients that he will care for their finances as if it were his parents’ cash. It is the focus of the Affluencer Financial firm to connect with clients and make them feels as comfortable and confident with the financial services they provide.
The other thing that makes this firm one of a kind is the unique approach they take to payment policies. This is the only Fee-Based financial firm, which means they are not focused on the promotion or sales of certain services or products. The big idea is that we give advice that our clients need to expand their financial portfolios toward their goals.
“We provide specialized training that allows our experts to explain financial concepts in terms that are easy to understand,” says Samuel Rad.
To read the feature article from VoyageLA, click here.