About Terry O’Grady, CFP®, CKA®
I’m Terence O’Grady. But most folks call me Terry.
I grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, the oldest of three kids in what I’ve concluded was a relatively typical middle-class American family. My parents joined a tennis club so we could all use the pool. Once we found the tennis courts though, we never dipped a toe.
I never imagined that I’d be in financial services, much less a CFP® professional. What kid dreams of being a financial planner? I wanted to be like Jim Reed, the cool cop on Adam-12.
In need of a gig, I took a call center job with T. Rowe Price. Despite how much fun those Discover Card phone reps seem to be having with their doppelgänger, fielding phone calls all day was not my lifelong dream.
Now I’m a Registered Investment Adviser. Technically I’m an Investment Adviser Representative of a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). In this case, it’s one and the same. I’m the firm’s owner, the RIA, O’Grady Financial LLC, and the Investment Adviser Representative.
There’s no longer a manager telling what to do, what to sell, and who I should sell it to. No products to push or quotas to make. As a fiduciary, I’m legally bound to do what is in the best interest of my clients.
A chance encounter at an industry conference in Boston one summer opened my eyes to a new outlook on handling finances. New to me anyway.
I’m Christian and have led Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at my church a few times. But it wasn’t until I met a group of fellow advisors, part of Kingdom Advisors®, that it hit me. It’s all God’s anyway. We’re just trying to be the best managers of the assets He’s entrusted to us while we’re here.
Like most advisors, when it came to investments, I focused on Modern Portfolio Theory, asset allocation, and aligning risk tolerance with appropriate portfolios. I never gave a second thought to what the underlying companies did, promoted, or practiced as long as their returns were comparable to accepted standards.
But maybe what we’re invested in is as much or an even more critical part of the process. That’s what Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) is all about. Do the companies you’re investing in, either directly or through mutual funds, align with your values?
I can filter out the companies that participate in the industries that don’t honor God and screen in those that do. We can match a portfolio to your values, beliefs, and convictions. A portfolio that honors and worships God.
I’m not a theologian or Bible scholar. Never been to seminary. But as a CFP® professional, I’ve been trained in the techniques our culture uses to handle money. I’m digging deeper into the principles God wants us to use to manage his money. Techniques may change. Principles remain. If you’d like a seat on this journey, I’d be honored to be your guide.