About Max
With over 25 years of experience, Max and his Long Island-based team serve the needs of successful entrepreneurs and their families. He and his team specialize in advising business owners on exit planning by helping prepare owners, their businesses, and their families for success during and after the transition. Through Focus Partners Wealth Family Office, Max and his team deliver a vast array of relevant services including investment management, tax planning, multigenerational gifting and wealth transfers, family wealth education, family governance, philanthropic advice, and business management.
Max founded, grew, and ultimately exited a business, and has experience in business transitions both as an advisor and entrepreneur. He founded Blue Water Advisors in 2000 and merged it with a predecessor of Focus Partners Wealth in early 2018. Previously, he was an equity research analyst at firms including Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, where he learned the inner workings of Wall Street, investment research, capital raising, and mergers and acquisitions.
Max is the co-author of the book Personal Financial Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs: The Path to Financial Peace of Mind (Second Edition) and author of the articles Can I Expect More Than Financial Advice from my Financial Advisor? and What They’re Not Telling You About Qualified Opportunity Funds. He is also an Emeritus Member of the Colgate Alumni Council, past President of the Colgate Alumni Club of Long Island, and Emeritus Board Member of the Fiver Children’s Foundation.
Education and Professional Milestones
-Graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics
-Attended Advest Institute at Harvard and obtained a Wharton Certificate in Retirement Planning