Welcome back to another Diary of a Financial Advisor segment of “Don’t Retire… Graduate!” Joining Eric today is Akram Ibrahim, who brings a unique perspective to his role as the firm’s lead trader.
His journey at BFG didn’t start from a calculated career plan but rather from a serendipitous encounter at a career fair during his time at Stevenson University. Throughout our conversation, Akram and I discussed his unconventional path into the financial industry, where pure luck and an eagerness to learn fueled his growth.
He shared how his role as Lead Trader involves handling thousands of transactions a year, rebalancing portfolios, and conducting in-depth research to identify the best investment opportunities. We also explored Akram’s educational journey, which includes an Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor designation and a Master’s in Financial Services, which distinguishes him from typical financial advisors.
Akram shared his passion for serving his community and helping others succeed, emphasizing his mission to create efficiencies within the firm and better serve clients. His dedication to both personal growth and professional excellence shines through, as does his aspiration to enhance the lives of those around him.
5 Key Takeaways:
- A Serendipitous Start: Akram’s journey into the financial industry began unexpectedly at a college career fair, leading to a fulfilling 12-year career dedicated to learning and serving at BFG.
- Unique Role as Lead Trader: Akram stands out in his role as the lead trader and research specialist, handling thousands of trades annually and overseeing significant financial responsibilities.
- Commitment to Service: Service is at the heart of Akram’s mission, focusing on bettering the firm, community, and personal circles, emphasizing a servant leadership approach.
- Educational Distinction: Akram holds a Master’s in Financial Services and an accredited portfolio management advisor designation, setting him apart and equipping him with diverse expertise.
- Future Goals: Akram aims to create efficiencies within the firm, ensuring growth and progression. His professional and personal aspirations align closely with his dedication to becoming an expert and serving the broader community effectively.
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Eric Brotman [00:00:00]:
This is Eric Brotman, the host of Don’t Retire, Graduate, the podcast that asks you what you wanna be when you grow up so you can graduate into retirement with purpose and with passion. Welcome to our diary of a financial advisor segment where we interview financial advisors about their professional journey and their passion for helping others succeed. Today, I’m pleased to be joined by Akram Ibrahim. He is an OG with BFG. He has been here twelve. Is it twelve years?
Akram Ibrahim [00:00:27]:
Yep. Going on to twelve.
Eric Brotman [00:00:29]:
Twelve year a dozen years as part of the BFG family. And Akram is a little different than some of the other advisers we’ve introduced you to in that, he, in lieu of being a CFP designee and in lieu of working with clients on their financial planning, he wears a very different hat at the firm. And so, Akron, First and foremost, welcome to the show. Thank you for being here.
Akram Ibrahim [00:00:49]:
Pleasure to be here.
Eric Brotman [00:00:51]:
Let’s talk about how you how you joined BFG first, then we’ll get into what you do. And eventually, we wanna know what you wanna be when you grow up. I might even tell the story about what you said in an advisory board meeting eleven years ago when you said what you wanted to be when you grow up, but I’ll let you change your answer today. Talk about your journey in getting into BFG and specifically into this industry.
Akram Ibrahim [00:01:10]:
Yeah. Yeah. So this journey is quite interesting. It it happened with pure strokes of luck. I just happened to wake up one day at Stevenson, which is the college that I went to. And what happened was I woke up for a career fair that I did not intend to join. And then I happened to meet you guys there, and it’s been it’s been quite the journey. It’s been a a journey of of learning, of humility, of just being able to gather all of the knowledge that I have in order to better serve my community, my the people in my culture, my mother, and those that are in my inner circle.
Akram Ibrahim [00:01:52]:
It was purely luck. It was a stroke of luck that I am so blessed and honored to have stumbled into, and I don’t regret any of it. I I am very happy to be here. I’ve been here twelve years as you have pointed out, Eric. And I I I like I said, I am truly blessed to be here.
Eric Brotman [00:02:11]:
Well, we’re blessed to have you, for you know, this has been you were an intern.
Akram Ibrahim [00:02:16]:
Yes.
Eric Brotman [00:02:16]:
And we’ve got a number of people here who started as interns. You, for the record, were a paid intern
Akram Ibrahim [00:02:22]:
Mhmm.
Eric Brotman [00:02:22]:
As opposed to, our partner, Yanni Niebuhr, who was an unpaid intern. And anytime I get the opportunity to throw that out there, this was the opportunity, so I took it. Talk about how your role is different than that of a typical CFP practitioner within the firm, a typical adviser who’s seeing clients all day.
Akram Ibrahim [00:02:38]:
Yeah. Yeah. So I’m, the lead trader of this firm, and I wear also a research hat as well. I do a lot of the annuity research. I help in the investment committee to select the investments that we use, whether it’s mutual funds, ETFs, alternatives, and things of that nature. But like I mentioned, I am the lead trader here, and that’s kinda what separates me from the rest of the advisers.
Eric Brotman [00:03:04]:
So would you say you’re the brains of the operation?
Akram Ibrahim [00:03:07]:
Yes. With as much as humility as I can. Yes.
Eric Brotman [00:03:10]:
Fair fair enough. And being the lead trader in a firm like this is, there’s a lot of pressure. I mean, you’re you’re in one of those positions where a mistake can be extremely costly, and where, you you know, the expectation for you is essentially perfection, which is basically the the standard you rise to on a regular basis, which I’m amazed by. It’s incredibly thorough. But how many how many transactions do you think you you, have to handle in a given year?
Akram Ibrahim [00:03:42]:
When I last looked at my year to date trades for 2024, I did about 3,000, a little over 3,000. So it’s it’s definitely up there.
Eric Brotman [00:03:55]:
And and you’re also handling the rebalancing of portfolios in both IRAs and non IRA accounts? That is correct. And that is I mean, there’s thousands of accounts. So this is a a pretty large responsibility. You know, you’re responsible essentially for moving around three quarters plus a billion dollars
Akram Ibrahim [00:04:12]:
That’s correct.
Eric Brotman [00:04:13]:
In a in a and and that is an amazing thing. And and this is the only job you’ve ever held, you know, out post college. Mhmm. I’m sure you had some other employment experiences that were less glamorous than this one. But, you know, in terms of where you’re headed, I mean, you’ve done some designations that are a little different. Why don’t you talk about the education that you have? Because it’s different than everybody else here at the firm.
Akram Ibrahim [00:04:35]:
Yeah. So I have my accredited portfolio management advisor designation, which I like to consider it as a CFP lite, if you will, where you get to experience the insurance aspect, the the investment aspect, the advisory aspect of what we do on a given day. I also I also have my master’s of financial services, which really helped me deep dive into what we do here. I do remember that I had to write a financial plan, which I thought was going to be 10 pages, but but really, when you start to dove into it, it became more like 20. So it really gave me a taste of what you do, Eric, and what everyone else here does with a CFP designation.
Eric Brotman [00:05:17]:
So you’re I think we have three people here who hold the the masters. I think Lina and I both do. I don’t know if anybody else does, but that’s a significant accomplishment. That takes a fair amount of time to earn, and, and having a master’s degree in this field does separate you from the pack a little bit. Talk about why, what you do is so important to you personally and and how it drives your mission because or how your mission drives your work perhaps.
Akram Ibrahim [00:05:42]:
Yeah. Yeah. So simply put, it allows me to serve. That is something that I’m very passionate about. Starting here, it was very interesting because I came into this field thinking, you know what? I’m gonna serve myself. I’m gonna serve myself. But as I progressed in my career here and even in my personal life, I started to recognize that it’s less about me and more about those around me, those that we serve, those that we advise, those accounts that we trade on on a given day. So that’s kinda why I like doing what I do and why I have pride in what I do.
Eric Brotman [00:06:19]:
Well, this is, how how many employees were here when you joined? Five, six?
Akram Ibrahim [00:06:23]:
I think it was eight when I said it full time.
Eric Brotman [00:06:25]:
Okay. Eight people. And we’re we’re 20 now, which is kind of amazing when you think about it. And the organization has grown. And, you know, a year or so ago, two years ago, I guess, you became a shareholder in the organization.
Akram Ibrahim [00:06:38]:
Mhmm.
Eric Brotman [00:06:39]:
So what was that decision like? And and, I’m sure it’s not something you took lightly, but but what was that decision like to to to get on this bus long term?
Akram Ibrahim [00:06:47]:
It was met with a lot of trials and tribulations, Eric. It was not an easy decision to make. It was a huge financial commitment that I couldn’t do on my own. I had to consult my wife. I had to talk to my family. I even spoke to some friends about it. And it wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a decision that needed to be made in favor of becoming an owner. And I’m happy that I did it.
Eric Brotman [00:07:12]:
Well, we’re glad to have you. I mean, the the the shareholder meetings have grown. We now have seven shareholders within the firm. And as somebody who is trying to, to sell shares and and eventually graduate into my own retirement to stay with the the theme of the show, I mean, you’re one of those people on the bus who’s gonna help me retire. So I’m glad I identified you twelve years ago where we did because it really does take a village. With a with a firm like ours, there’s really only a couple of ways to do succession. Mhmm. One is to sell to a a bigger firm or a private equity entity, which we wanna avoid at all costs because we really like what we’re doing and the way we’re doing it differently.
Eric Brotman [00:07:52]:
And, the other is to do an internal transition, which to your point is really expensive. And so it it’s gonna take a dozen folks or so. And so over the next ten and twenty years as the transition of ownership is fully completed, I I expect that that there’ll be quite a few more folks not only working here, but but owning part of the company and that will be, fully employee owned by not the CEO in a relatively, short period of time, which is exciting for me. So so what’s next for you? What’s the next big, hurdle, challenge, mountain decline?
Akram Ibrahim [00:08:26]:
So the biggest thing that I’m working on right now is creating efficiencies within the firm. As you know, Eric, I created the strategic models that allow us to do global trades for for our smaller accounts because, like I said, I did 3,000 trades last year, which I feel like it’s going to multiply to maybe to four or even 5,000 trades this year. So I need to create efficiencies in that area in order to ease up on the trading so that I can focus on the other areas like the portfolio analysis, the performance reporting, and things of that nature. So right now, it’s creating efficiencies within the firm.
Eric Brotman [00:09:06]:
Well, you’re you’re a unique a unique guy, and and I don’t mean just professionally. We talked about that, but you’re a unique guy personally and and somebody we love having in the clubhouse. I have often joked that Akram is the guy who in high school would have been in the yearbook for Talks Least Says Most. You know, he he’s he’s not the loudest guy in the clubhouse, but when he speaks, everybody listens, and we respectfully appreciate that very, very much. We have to ask what you wanna be when you grow up, and I’m gonna throw you under this bus for a second because we have a a client advisory board that’s been meeting since 02/2008. And at one point in Akron’s First year here, he was at our advisory board meeting, and we were introducing ourselves. And he he he made a comment that that we all absolutely still tease him about, which was, well, someday, I I expect to be, to be running an IT firm. And we all looked at him like, well, when are you resigning? What do we need to know? And I know you didn’t mean it that way, but I will never stop busting your chops because it was one of the funnier things that stopped all the communication in the room, instantly, which was great.
Eric Brotman [00:10:11]:
So what is the plan? What do you wanna be when you grow up?
Akram Ibrahim [00:10:14]:
Yeah. So, what I wanna do is I I wanna help those around me. I just wanna be in a place where I can serve and use my abilities to the best that I can, Not necessarily something that I would just put on my shoulders professionally, but personally to just I want to serve those that I love. I want to serve the community. I want to serve BFG financial advisors as best that I can. What I wanna be when I grow up is just an expert in what I do, an expert in all the areas that I touch. I wanna be able to use the anointing that has been given to me in order to better this firm, to better my family, to better my friends and my community.
Eric Brotman [00:10:54]:
That is a ambitious and heavy lift, and I know you’re gonna get there. Thank you. You’re darn near there already, so I congratulate you. Thank you for for taking the time to be on the show. I know this is not a a place you spend a lot of time in front of a camera or a microphone, but you did great, Akron. Thank you. I’d like to thank all of you for listening and watching today. If you enjoy our show, please subscribe.
Eric Brotman [00:11:16]:
Leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform, and share it with your friends and family so they can join you on your journey to financial freedom. If you’d like to send us a topic or idea for us to discuss in a future episode of Don’t Retire, Graduate, please post it on our Facebook page or tweet us at Brotman Planning. We’ll be back next week with another engaging guest and in two weeks with another entry in the diary of a financial advisor. For now, this is your host, Eric Brotman, reminding you, don’t retire, graduate.
Unnamed Voiceover [00:11:49]:
Securities offered through Kestra investment services LLC, Kestra IS, member FINRA SIPC, investment advisory services offered through Kestra advisory services LLC, Kestra AS, an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS or Kestra AS are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.
