Brad Williams
Investment Advisor Respresentative
Brad Williams is an Investment Advisor Representative specializing in Retirement and Estate Planning. A trusted advisor to hundreds of families, Brad has more than 31 years of experience in the financial services industry and is the founding President and CEO of Brad Williams Financial Services—which maintains an A+ rating as a member of the Huntsville Better Business Bureau.
Brad is a husband to a wonderful wife and father of three daughters and one son. Brad’s wife, Robin, and his daughter, Bonnie, work with him in marketing the company and in coordinating his many financial educational seminars and events.
Brad hosts his own radio show, The Ask Brad Show, and is frequently sought out to appear on top financial news radio shows nationwide. Brad is also a regular guest on the Newsmax TV show, The Income Generation, hosted by David J. Scranton.
From Corporate Upstart to Independent Financial Advisor
In 1979, Brad Williams was a part-time clerk and package handler on a conveyor line for a small, start-up, package delivery company. By the mid-1980s, he had worked his way up the corporate ladder into an operations manager position in Birmingham, AL. Having made enough money by age 29 to seek advice from a financial advisor about his long-term financial goals, he found a mentor in his financial planner who believed Brad had a natural instinct for the business.
Today, that “little start-up” is Federal Express, and in spite of being drawn to the strategic aspects of investment and retirement planning, Brad admits he “bled purple and orange” at the time. However, after a couple of years, Fed Ex began maturing into a huge company and Brad began having his own growing pains. Under constant coercion from his financial mentor to join him as a financial advisor, Brad decided a career move might give him more independence.
In 1987, still single at the time, Brad decided that if there was ever a time to do something crazy with his life this was probably the time to do it. He left his salaried corporate job with Fed Ex to embrace a commissioned job as an independent financial services representative, and he never looked back.
It didn’t take long for Brad to realize that the rules and regulations in the financial services industry were constantly changing, and to succeed he was going to have to be willing to change with it.
Advice From A Mentor
“Brad, when you look back over the first 20 years of your career, make sure you are providing 20 years of financial planning experience, and not 1 year of financial planning experience, 20 times.”
Inspired by this advice, Brad made a lifelong commitment to participate in educational opportunities and training as often as possible. This willingness to stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of the financial markets is something that has helped him educate hundreds of clients and is a big reason why he is so passionate about hosting his free financial educational seminars and events.
In addition to owning his own company, Brad is a two-time past president and active member of Huntsville’s oldest and most well-established Business Networking International (BNI) affiliate, Heritage BNI; a member of the Society of Certified Senior Advisors; and a member of the Board of Advisors of Senior Market Advisor magazine.