Edward Durkin
Wealth Advisor
As a wealth advisor at Glassner Carlton, my job is to help our clients meet their life goals by providing financial planning and investment solutions in a way that is customized to their specific situation. I uphold the firm’s values of hard work, honesty, and perseverance in all my interactions.
Prior to joining the firm, I worked in a similar role at Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade.
I have a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from Caldwell University.
From a young age, I was drawn to the world of investments, but I didn’t come from a family with financial connections. My path wasn’t laid out for me—I had to create it. Fortunately, one of my father’s customers took notice of my ambition and offered to arrange an interview with Merrill Lynch. At 25, I walked into that interview with nothing but determination and a genuine passion for learning.
I soon found myself immersed in Merrill Lynch’s training program, which equipped me with the technical foundation necessary to serve high-net-worth clients. But it wasn’t just the knowledge I gained that proved invaluable; it was the understanding that my role went beyond managing investments. The real value I provided was in empathizing with clients, understanding their unique goals, and offering them strategic guidance that aligned with their broader financial vision.
Just a few months after joining the firm, the financial world was rocked by the Great Recession. The markets collapsed, and everything I’d learned in theory was put to the test in a crisis that threatened the stability of global markets. In those moments, my role as a financial advisor took on a new level of significance. It wasn’t simply about managing portfolios; it was about helping high-net-worth clients navigate through the storm with clarity, resilience, and a focus on long-term stability.
These challenges forced me to reassess my approach and sharpen my skills under pressure. It taught me something invaluable: resilience isn’t about avoiding hardship, but about how you respond to it. For high-net-worth clients, this insight became essential. Their wealth wasn’t just a means to an end—it was something they had worked hard for, often spanning generations, and they needed a steady hand to protect and grow it.
Through those early years, I learned that the true value I offered to high-net-worth clients wasn’t just in financial acumen; it was in providing them with peace of mind during uncertain times, offering strategic foresight in a constantly changing market, all with empathy and insight.
As I moved on from Merrill to my current role as a Wealth Advisor at Glassner Carlton, I embraced the view that wealth management is about more than numbers—it’s about relationships, trust, and providing guidance that helps clients achieve their personal and financial goals. That’s the value I bring to my clients every day in my work here at Glassner Carlton: a combination of expertise, emotional intelligence, and a deep commitment to helping them not just survive but thrive in an ever-changing financial landscape.
