Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch
Navy flyer soars with Merrill Lynch
by Warren Duffie

A key part of Richard Wharton’s military and civilian success has been his ability to stay calm under pressure. As a naval flight officer, he served as the tactical coordinator for a P-3 Orion sub-hunting aircraft — leading eleven other crew members in operating the sensors and electronics systems of the multimillion-dollar plane.

Nowadays, as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, Wharton guides investors on profitable ways to manage their financial portfolios. The stress can be ferocious: Clients are demanding — and rightfully so — when their money is at stake, especially when such assets are worth millions of dollars.

“People’s priorities are usually family first, health second, and wealth last,” says the former lieutenant commander. “When you deal with their money, at least two of these elements are affected. That’s why you need to keep a cool head and develop a client’s trust, especially when the market is in a downswing.”

An Investor’s Best Friend
Merrill Lynch is one of the world’s leading financial management and services companies — with 50,600 employees in 36 countries and territories, and approximately $1.6 trillion in client assets.

Wharton, 42, works in the corporation’s Global Private Client Division, geared toward individual investors and owners of small- and mid-sized businesses. His wealth advisory practice is focused on three distinct niches: individual clients who are setting aside money for retirement, buying a home, or establishing a college fund; business owners who are growing their enterprises through mergers or acquisitions, selling a business, or funding employee retirement plans; and nonprofit organizations focused on growing and managing their endowments.

Sometimes the days are exhausting, often stretching 12 hours. Wharton arrives at his Miami office at 7:30 a.m., pores over financial reports for a couple of hours, and spends the day meeting with current customers or soliciting new accounts. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., he’s usually on the phone with clients who are business owners.

“These customers are extremely busy during the day, so late afternoon through late evening is often the best time to reach them,” he says. “You have to be disciplined to succeed as a financial advisor since you’re essentially an entrepreneur in a larger firm. You’re responsible for your bottom line, and if you don’t maintain it, you won’t be in business long.”

Wharton backs up his words, and the veteran’s hard work and mission-oriented approach have paid off. Though he won’t reveal the dollar amount of his clients’ assets, he hopes to manage $500 million within 10 years — a very realistic goal given his current pace.

A Love of the Navy
A native of the Boston area, Wharton learned about discipline at an early age. He spent his junior and senior years of high school at Tabor Academy, a local prep school situated on a pristine half-mile stretch of harbor in Buzzard’s Bay, which has strong ties to the Navy and is a common stop for military recruiters.

“I learned early on about the Naval Academy and the standards of excellence it represents,” Wharton says. “From the get-go, that was where I wanted to be.”

Upon graduating from Tabor, Wharton enlisted in the Navy and spent a year in the Naval Academy Preparatory School, which prepared him for the rigors of four years at Annapolis. He completed his academy training in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in English, attended flight school in Pensacola, Fla., and was assigned to Patrol Squadron 49 in Jacksonville. There, he served as mission commander and tactical coordinator on a P-3 Orion that hunted and tracked Soviet submarines.

In 1991 Wharton returned to Annapolis, serving as director of minority admissions. He led a seven-member team that increased the number of minority applicants by 42 percent, and received a Navy Commendation Medal for superior performance of duty.

From Annapolis to Wall Street
By 1994 Wharton’s tenure at the academy was over, and he was excited about getting back to P-3s. However, with the fall of the Iron Curtain, the aircraft’s reconnaissance mission had changed, killing the cat-and-mouse duels with Russian subs. Also, the military was downsizing. Wharton was offered a sizable separation bonus, which he used to attend grad school.

“I knew a business degree would help me make a successful transition,” he says, “so I enrolled at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management [at Northwestern University in Illinois].”

While pursing degrees in finance, marketing, and international business, Wharton also interned at the Chicago office of Salomon Brothers Incorporated, a prominent investment bank. After graduation in 1996, he took a job at the company’s New York office before making a name for himself at several other Manhattan-based financial firms.

However, Wall Street’s financial pulse moves at ulcer-inducing speed and by 2003 Wharton sought a different pace. So he left the Big Apple for Miami and accepted a position with Merrill Lynch — something he encourages other veterans to do, regardless of their military specialties.

“Veterans are ideal for this company,” he says. “Merrill has a great training program, so you don’t have to be a financial expert at the beginning to succeed. However, you can’t teach the commitment and discipline that veterans bring to the job. That’s priceless.

“For example just in Miami, the managing director was in the Army, the operations manager was also in the Marine Corps, and the administrative manager served in the Air Force. We’ve just hired a new manager at my office, a Naval Academy grad,” he continues. “And a veteran in another Miami location is one of the top producers in my division. The great thing about the corporate world is that — regarding salary and advancement — you can create your own opportunities and excel”.

Preparation is 95 Percent of Success
Prepare before you leave the military. “Preparation is 95 percent of success. Figure out what you want to do, whether you need take classes, and how much money you’ll need to save up to absorb the financial shock of civilian life.”

Take college classes. “Make use of your G.I. Bill benefits while you’re still in the service, that way you can jump right into civilian employment.”

Talk to industry people. “Sometimes the best interviews you’ll have are informational ones. These will provide you with enough information on how to enter your prospective career field and help you decide if you really want to follow that line of work.”

Attend career fairs. “These will help you master the interview process. They’re the best training on how to sell yourself — and you might even land yourself a job.”