McBride ’91 Manages Money Portfolios For Clients Big and Small

When Bill McBride first went to work as a financial planner, a boss asked him what he wanted from the job. “I said first to help people but then, of course, to make money,” he says, laughing. “That boss said, ‘that’s a good answer because if you are not helping people, you won’t make money.’”

After nearly three decades in the field, McBride has earned a reputation as someone clients can trust. Based in Los Angeles, most of his clients are in Hollywood or the recording industry, as well as iconic venues such as Whisky a Go-Go and the Rainbow, which would have wowed his 14-year-old self, who had dreams of being a rocker.

“I was a hack guitarist but I knew I wanted to be part of the business,” he says. “Thirty years later, the rubber has hit the road with music and finance and I get to do business with these places that I used to dream about when I was a student at St. Joe’s Prep.” 

The Prep wasn’t McBride’s first choice for high school; young Bill wanted to attend Lincoln High School with his friends, but “my mom wasn’t having any of that,” he remembers. “Thank God for her.”

After having earned all As at St. Jerome’s School, McBride found the work to be much more challenging at the Prep, but he believes that the well-rounded education he found there has served him well. 

“As I get older, I really have learned to value my Prep education,” he says. “The learning was beyond rote memorization. I really bought into the philosophy of being a ‘Man for Others’; that teaching that being kind and doing things for others would bring more fulfillment than doing things for myself. That is why I really enjoy what I am doing.”

McBride left the East Coast for California for college, and he has been there ever since. After working for companies such as PaineWebber and JP Morgan, he now has his own independent brokerage firm, McBride Wealth Management, with a portfolio of close to $100 million.

As part of his desire to serve others, he now co-hosts a podcast, “Dollars and Sensibilities,” in which he and another adviser offer advice on how to invest sensibly. McBride, who is pursuing his master’s degree in Finance at Harvard, also earned associate degrees in Behavioral Science and Philosophy, focusing on the behavioral aspects of finance and investing.

“Those degrees helped differentiate me from other financial advisors on Sunset Blvd., because they taught me how to understand people and how they behave,” he says. “Of course, we can put together a portfolio and take care of clients, but I feel it is just as important to understand how to help people feel good about their financial situation.” 

Tomorrow, the duo will release another episode, which McBride describes as one of his favorites: “We will debunk some economic proverbs, taking a closer look at some of the maxims of investing. Buy low, sell high. What goes up must come down. What do they mean and should we really be following them?”

And though he is 3,000 miles and 30 years away from St. Joseph’s Prep, McBride is still connected. “I am from the Class of 1991 and I am so proud of every single person in my class,” he says. “That network of friends has been a real source of fulfillment to me and a sense of belonging. That metaphorical brotherhood is something that you can’t buy or sell.”

While he serves his community where he can, there is a sense that helping the Prep makes a bigger impact. “A gift to the Prep makes a difference for hundreds of students as they develop into becoming Men For Others of their own. This way, you are exponentially helping to change the world.”
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