Ben Birken, CFP®
ben@piscesfinancial.com
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a financial advisor. In fact, I didn’t know that such a job existed until my late 20s.
In college, I studied exercise physiology and history. I loved the precision required by science, while at the same time embracing the idea that we can’t possibly understand how things are today without knowing how we got here. The combination of the statistical analysis of science, the storytelling power of history, and the academic rigor required by both prepared me well for the world of financial advice, even if I didn’t know it yet.
I didn’t grow up reading the Wall Street Journal, and while I knew that the stock market was a thing, I had no clue how it worked. So when I had to pick the investments for my 401k at my first job out of college, I had to ask my roommate what a mutual fund was.
Luckily, I came across a book at a used book sale that opened my eyes to the world of intelligent investing and the power of personal financial planning. That started me on a path that included brazenly asking for (and getting) a financial planning internship while in the middle of my own planning engagement!
That internship led to a full-time job and a 14-year run as an advisor at an independent wealth management firm. It was a great experience, but I needed a change. I started Pisces Financial Advisors to create a different kind of client experience. I wanted to offer a select group of clients the opportunity to work with a firm that had the resources and flexibility to spend as much time as needed on deeper, more personal levels of planning.
In my spare time, I love reading, stand-up comedy, playing guitar, classic movies, singing poorly at karaoke (but always performing like a superstar), and, most importantly, spending time with my two children.