About Us

Our Firm

Wasserman Wealth Management, LLC provides comprehensive investment and financial planning advice so our clients can have greater comfort and security, as well as assistance with organizing and growing their resources.

The firm was founded in 2003, after extensive research to select an investment philosophy that would be in the best interest of our clients.

As the firm’s principals are CPAs, we are able to utilize our strong financial and tax backgrounds to assist our clients in a unique and sophisticated manner.
We have grown through the referrals of our clients, who appreciate the rational and successful advice we provide, as well as the strong relationships we have developed.
As wealth managers and CPAs, we work closely with your current advisors in areas such as estate, charitable, tax and insurance planning.
We provide leadership and creativity to develop and ensure that your goals are properly implemented when these projects are completed.

We are affiliated with Buckingham Strategic Partners, a nationwide network of more than 130 independent advisory firms with similar investment beliefs, which collectively manage over $34 billion, as of June 30, 2019. For more information of this alliance, see below.

Brad Wasserman

Managing Member

Brad’s Background

Brad’s clients benefit from his extensive experience in dealing with all types of financial, investment, tax and estate planning matters. Brad leverages this expertise to coordinate the financial guidance he provides his clients.

During his over 30 year career as financial advisor and CPA, Brad has always been passionate about his clients’ overall financial well-being and their investments. Brad founded this firm to provide wealth management services in a unique and value added manner, with a philosophy that is different from traditional brokerage firms.

Brad earned the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), based on his extensive experience and expertise. Brad has been quoted in the local media, The Wall Street Journal and featured in Investment Advisor Magazine. He was appointed to serve on the BAM Advisor Services Advisor Council as one of 8 member firms of 100+ firms. He is a founding member of the BAM Masters Forum, a study group of top BAM affiliated firms which has met for 13 years to learn and compare best practices multiple times each year.

Brad graduated from The University of Michigan’s School of Business Administration, with Distinction, in 1985. He received a Masters in Taxation from Walsh College in 1991. Brad has been a CPA since 1985 and is a member of the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Division and the MICPA.

Brad is very active in community organizations. These community organizations are as follows:

Tamarack Camps: Executive Committee member, Board member, Audit Committee-chair, Finance, Property and other committees; Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit: Finance Committee, member; Hillel of Metropolitan Detroit: Past President, Finance, Strategic Planning and other committees. Others: Past President and board member of many other organizations.

Brad’s Q&A

Why I Love What I Do

I love what I do because we are able to make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives in so many ways. We provide an investment solution that works, is rational and easy to understand. It is gratifying to assist clients to resolve the complex issues they face. I enjoy the intellectual challenges of the financial markets and tax law changes, as well as the variety of client discussions and interactions.

Regular Reads

Wall Street Journal (which I have read daily since high school), NY Times, blog by Seth Godin

Favorite Blog posts I’ve written

Great Relationships, Advice and Wine, May 14, 2013

Wealth, Sports and One Shining Moment, April 2, 2013

Financial Markets Don’t Come with Traffic Signals, October 26, 2011

A Tribute to Jeff Zaslow, February 11, 2012 (an important post I wish I did not have to write)

Purely Personal: Very Happy after 1,921 Days, June 24, 2001

Five Years: Financial Thoughts, June 8, 2011

My 2017 New Year’s Resolution, January 5, 2017

Emergency Planning, June 30, 2016

Family Matters

I have three children, ages 27, 24 and 21. My oldest son, Daniel, graduated from University of Michigan and now works in Washington DC. My second son, Scott, has his own video production company and is a MSU graduate. My daughter, Rachel, attends Kalamazoo College. My wife, Felicia, is a commercial interior designer, specializing in hotel renovation and design, as well as retail store design.

Brad’s Q&A: click here to read more

Favorite Apps

1Password, which is a great way to manage, save and retrieve passwords and other data securely. Also, Evernote and Due.

Most Important Book Read

The Only Guide to A Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need, by Larry Swedroe. This book was the key to founding our firm and our investment strategy.

Recently Read Books (and reading)

City of Thieves, by David Benioff. Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. The Power of Moments, by Chip and Dan Heath. This is Marketing, by Seth Godin.

Quotes/philosophy

Success, not perfection. Wealth = discretionary time (from Alan Weiss)

Favorite New Gadgets

Bose Quiet Comfort 35 wireless headphones, noise canceling, for traveling and Airpods, when not on a plane.

Investment Lessons in 140 characters

Diversify globally. Be disciplined. Focus on long term. Have a written plan. Control what you can control. Be positive. Use index-like funds.

Favorite bike ride

The 8 mile bike ride around the exterior of Mackinaw Island. A greater challenge, which is worth the effort, is biking and exploring the elevated middle of the Island.

Fun Fact

I share my birthday with one of my sisters and my wife. We were each born on the same day, in different years.

Keith Rybak

Member

Keith’s Background

As an Investment Advisor, Keith discovers each client’s personal and financial goals and objectives. With the client’s goals identified, Keith creates and implements strategies that will help clients achieve their life goals. The various wealth strategies include investments, tax planning, risk management and education planning. This enables our client’s to achieve a sense of financial comfort and security.

Keith has been with Wasserman Wealth Management, LLC since 2003, the year it was founded. Keith has been in the CPA profession for 20+ years. Keith is a Certified Public Accountant and has been awarded the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation. Keith is a member of the AICPA and MACPA associations. Keith is also a founding member of the BAM Advanced Advisor Forum. This Forum is comprised of BAM Advisors from throughout the country that gets together for advanced learning content. Keith earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University.

Please see below for more information.

Keith’s Q&A

Key Ingredient in Client Relationships:

Trust. Our clients trust that we are working as their advocate. We work hard to first gain that trust and then maintain it.

Family Time:

I have an amazing wife, Ann, and together we have five wonderful children. Yes, five. The first four were boys and we knew “Team Rybak” was not complete until we had our daughter. We also have a lab, Maisy and a golden retriever named Rocky.

How Do You Do It?

I get asked quite often, “how do you do it?,” having five kids. Here is the secret recipe….be happy, have fun, smile, don’t sweat the small stuff and patience. It also helps that I love what I do.

Most Underrated Skill:

Listening. Everybody talks, but not everyone listens. I practice this art every day at the office and at home.

Keith’s Q&A: click here to read more

After Hours:

My after work time consists of coaching youth sports. In the spring and summer it’s baseball. In the summer and fall it’s football. In the winter it’s reflecting on the past season and planning for the upcoming season. Just like at WWM, planning never ends. In addition, I also serve as President for Walled Lake Braves Youth Football Organization.

Morning Ritual:

Wall Street Journal, Diet Coke and baseball box scores.

Best Live Sports Moment:

There is a four way tie.

Getting to coach my son’s football team at the Big House. In 2019, the Walled Lake Braves organization was lucky enough to get to play a regular season game at the University of Michigan Football Field. We had access to the locker rooms and got to come out of the tunnel and run onto the field like so many former and current Michigan Wolverines. It was an awesome experience…..and we won the game!
The 2006 American League Championship series. The Tigers defeated the Oakland A’s when Magglio Ordonez hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth to send the Tigers to the World Series. I was sitting in left field where the home run was hit. The city of Detroit was just electric that night.
2013 Michigan Wolverine Football game vs. Central Michigan University. It wasn’t the best game ever, but it was the first Michigan game for two of my boys. The game day experience that we shared will last for a lifetime.
The 2008 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. This event I got to share with my father. What’s better than a day at the golf course with your Dad?

Best Investment Advice:

Buy low, sell high and rebalance in between.

Perfect Weekend Day:

Up early for 18 holes, come home and have a pool day with the family, grill some steaks for dinner, a family walk and then watch a Tigers game or a movie.

Greatest compliment:

When a client refers a friend or family member to us.

Best Non-Business Class at College:

Theory of Coaching. As I stated before, I truly enjoy spending time with my children and coaching their teams. But my coaching begins each day at work. I coach our clients to make smart decisions about their investments and implement a winning strategy for achieving long term success.

Favorite Golf Courses Played…And Want to Play:

Played: Oakland Hills before the 90th PGA Championship, Torrey Pines, Eagle Eye (just outside of Lansing) and any course in a warm climate in January or February. Courses most looking forward to play some day..…Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Pacific Dunes, Forest Dunes and Arcadia Bluffs.

Bradford Newsome

Associate Wealth Advisor

Bradford’s Background

As an Associate Wealth Advisor, Bradford develops and executes financial plans for our clients. Bradford’s goal is to assist our team in helping our clients achieve their financial objectives.

Bradford joined Wasserman Wealth Management in August, 2019. Bradford has been in the financial services industry for 13 years. Prior to joining Wasserman Wealth Management, Bradford worked with Merrill Lynch for 10 years as an investment analyst. In his prior role, Bradford interacted with clients, discovered their financial goals and reviewed investments for client meetings. Bradford is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and has a Bachelors of Science degree with a major in Information Systems Management from Wayne State University. Bradford is also a member of the Central Macomb Optimists Club.

Bradford’s Q&A

Values/Beliefs:

I believe in doing what is right for our clients at all times. I believe that honesty is the best policy and integrity is of the utmost importance. I believe in hard work, saving, dedication and perseverance. I believe these are also common themes in successful wealth planning.

Family Matters

I have a lovely wife, Nina, and two sons, ages 10 and 12. We are a sports family and love to watch, coach, attend or play almost any sport. We added a dog to our family in 2018, Airedale Terrier named Max.

Brad’s Q&A: click here to read more

Fun Facts

Prior to my investment career, I had aspiration of becoming a professional bowler. I was a member of the number 1 ranked collegiate bowling team in the nation and competed for a NCAA Division 1 National Championship.
Every summer our family holds the Newsome Family games. We compete in different activities and tally the points at the end. The activities include miniature golf, family baseball in the yard, a basketball game called lightning, as well as playing the board games like Trouble, UNO and BLOKUS to name a few. The winner at the end of the summer picks a family dinner.
We try and take a vacation every year up north to East Jordan, MI and have spent quite a few summers at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes on Lake Michigan. We recently went to Chicago and have Pittsburgh and New York on our itinerary for future trips.
One of the highlights of being a father has been participating in the University of Michigan Father/Son basketball camp over the past few years with my sons. Being able to join my sons in the camp has been an unforgettable experience.

Michelle Graham

Director of Operations

Michelle’s Background

Michelle serves as Director of Operations and oversees the daily operations of the firm remotely, through use of technology, from Kentucky. In her role, Michelle assists the advisors and the Client Relationship Manager (Michelle Lobbia) with servicing our client’s needs. She develops and maintains a strong working relationship with our back office and our clients. Michelle has an extensive background in the Financial and Insurance industry along with exceptional administration skills. Michelle uses her experience to deliver outstanding processes and procedures.

Please see below for more information.

Michelle’s Q&A

What activities do you participate in your free time?

I love to spend time with my family, workout and read.

Favorite Sports to watch:

Basketball and CrossFit Games (CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program that involves a high-intensity workout or “workout of the Day”. Athletes train to compete in three stages: Open, Regional competitions and the Games. The very best athletes compete in the Games to find the Fittest on Earth).

Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?

Maldives

Family Matters:

My husband and I live in Ohio and have two children, a son and daughter. We are originally from Indiana and still call ourselves “Hoosiers”.

Michelle Lobbia

Client Relationship Manager

Michelle’s Background

Michelle is the Client Relationship Manager/Executive Assistant who supports the advisors with servicing our client’s needs. She is dedicated to assisting clients in a timely and effective manner. She wants to assure our client’s needs are met and that they know that they are her top priority.

Michelle graduated from Walsh College with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and she received her FINRA Series 65 License in August of 2016.

Goal: As Client Relationship Manager, my goal is to make sure clients have a positive experience when working with our office. I want clients to feel they are my number one priority.

Please see below for more information.

Michelle’s Q&A

What activities do you participate in during your free time?

I am an avid runner, but enjoy an occasional bike ride or “spin” on my stationary bike.

Activity you would like to try?

Snowshoeing

Best Vacation:

Trip I took with my family out west to Yellowstone National Park and visiting the State of Montana. We enjoyed river rafting, horseback riding, and seeing all the beauty and wildlife in Yellowstone.

Family Matters:

I have two children, a daughter and son. Both currently attend the University of Michigan. My husband, John, and I are enjoying being empty nesters.

Core Values

We adhere to these core values which guides how we provide services to our clients.

Do the right thing. Act in the best interest of the client. Always.

The advice and recommendations that we make are only in the client’s best interest. We believe this because it is proper and ethical.

Provide timely, individualized advice and service.

Provide a high level of personal attention to our clients. Listen and learn what is important to them and their family. Provide responsive service, such as timely returned phone calls and emails. Grow our firm selectively, with clients who value the comprehensive services and value we provide.

Each client should be serviced by a team of advisors.

Clients benefit from a team of professionals, not just a relationship with one person. This depth provides better advice, creativity and an understanding of the clients’ needs. If needed, we consult with outside resources to provide advice on complex matters.

Focus on advice not on products. Serve as fee-only advisors.

We are fee-based advisors. We do not charge commissions. Our fees are based on a percentage of the assets that we manage. This aligns our financial interest with our clients. We provide advice. We do not sell financial products.

Provide full disclosure, clarity and transparency.

We believe in providing clarity to our clients, so they understand our investment strategy. We believe in full transparency of our fees and the investments we recommend. We answer questions in plain English.

Continue to learn, be curious and think independently.

We are continuous learners, so we can provide our clients with the best possible advice. We attend national conferences throughout the year focusing on investment concepts and financial, tax and estate planning. We participate in peer groups bi-weekly to share best practices. We are avid readers of financial and news publications. It is a priority to always be investing in ourselves.

Practice what we preach.

We invest our personal assets in the same or comparable investments that we recommend to our clients, based on the same investment principles.

National Alliance

We are affiliated with Buckingham Strategic Partners (BSP), a national network of over 130 independent advisor firms with combined assets under management exceeding $34 billion, as of June 30,2019. Most of these firms are affiliated with a CPA firm or have CPA backgrounds.

This relationship provides significant benefits to our clients and us. Some of the benefits are:

BSP and their St. Louis advisory firm has 260 professionals, which provides us with intellectual resources and expertise.
We participate in peer study groups throughout the year, on a bi-weekly basis, as well as national conferences to share best practices and learn from our fellow colleagues.
We have tremendous access to top academic and industry thought leaders.
BSP provides us with timely updates and thinking on current market, financial planning and tax developments.
BSP provides us with a back office fixed income trading desk, in addition to our own capabilities through Fidelity Investments. The BSP fixed income group has significant expertise and experience. They purchase in excess of $2 Billion of securities annually.
BSP’s fixed income group also provides us with continuous monitoring of all fixed income securities which our clients hold, so we are aware of any changes in credit situations.
BSP’s leverage enables us to provide our clients with special pricing and services from major mutual funds and custodians like Fidelity Investments.
Through our relationship with BSP, we can outsource many responsibilities, which enable us to focus on our client relationships and still have the capabilities and depth of a much larger firm.

About Us

Our Firm

Brad Wasserman

Brad’s Background

Brad’s Q&A

Why I Love What I Do

Regular Reads

Favorite Blog posts I’ve written

Family Matters

Favorite Apps

Most Important Book Read

Recently Read Books (and reading)

Favorite New Gadgets

Investment Lessons in 140 characters

Favorite bike ride

Fun Fact

Keith Rybak

Keith’s Background

Keith’s Q&A

Key Ingredient in Client Relationships:

Family Time:

How Do You Do It?

Most Underrated Skill:

After Hours:

Morning Ritual:

Best Live Sports Moment:

Best Investment Advice:

Perfect Weekend Day:

Greatest compliment:

Best Non-Business Class at College:

Favorite Golf Courses Played…And Want to Play:

Bradford Newsome

Bradford’s Background

Bradford’s Q&A

Values/Beliefs:

Family Matters

Fun Facts

Michelle Graham

Michelle’s Background

Michelle’s Q&A

What activities do you participate in your free time?

Favorite Sports to watch:

Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?

Family Matters:

Michelle Lobbia

Michelle’s Background

Michelle’s Q&A

What activities do you participate in during your free time?

Activity you would like to try?

Best Vacation:

Family Matters:

Core Values

National Alliance

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