Our story began in Chicago in the early 1990s. Our founders, Rich Berg and Phil Nussbaum, recognized the Wall Street model of structural change as inadequate. They saw a need for both buyers and sellers to be educated and for new methods to be created. Taking a financial risk, they put in long hours to learn the bond math that would later educate investors on how to purchase securities. In time, tension arose due to the pressure of “moving product” without taking the risk/reward element into account. There was a disparity between what was said publicly and what was done privately. Our founders left and started their own firm, diverging from the status quo of projected linear growth and staking their future on an in-depth analytical approach to risk/reward.
How We’re Different
Transparency and education formed two central principles of this new firm, as each trader fully disclosed his sector and cross-trained others to avoid dependency on their product alone. The focus shifted from product to customer, from moving product to finding the best investment. In this regard, Rich and Phil refused to show products that were not the best solution for their customers. Having exposed the weak structural integrity of the Wall Street product-centered model, they risked their careers to build a strategic financial advisory firm that put the interests of the customer at its core.
Living the Mission
As a result, we at Performance Trust seek to emulate our founders’ passion, insight, integrity, courage and work ethic, contributing our own unique talents with the same total dedication they have demonstrated. Their personal accessibility is part of their transparency, as they share personal experiences that connect to the methods they espouse. They, in turn, set the example of openness and personal relationships that we exhibit to our customers.
