Tom Bradley, B'85
For the past 30 years, Tom Bradley, B’85, president of retail distribution at TD Ameritrade, has built a strong career in the finance industry. In May, he was named to Investment Advisor’s 35 for 35, recognizing the 35 most influential people in the independent financial advisory business in celebration of the magazine’s 35th anniversary.
He shared, “I’ve spent most of my career at TD Ameritrade, which was originally called Waterhouse Securities prior to mergers and acquisitions activity. I started as a broker and began an institutional business for them in the 1990s that focused on independent investment advisors. Over the years it has turned into an over $300 billion asset under our management business. Currently, I am running the retail investor business, our larger revenue-generating operation, which covers our retail investor base and our marketing department. We have nearly six million investors, 120 branch offices nationwide and over $700 billion of investors’ assets.”
Bradley reflected on the changes that have occurred in the industry. “The brokerage and advisory business has evolved from product distribution only to a model that also includes fiduciary fee-based advice. The former enables us to raise capital, so companies can invest and grow. This also enables investors like us to participate in that growth. The latter enables investors to receive a service that is unbiased and free of critical conflicts of interest that can occur in a product sales environment. The fiduciary business has expanded a lot, and it has been exciting to be part of that.”
He explained that during his time running the advisor business in the early 2000s, “I was able to build out and groom a very strong team, creating a solid foundation to support our advisor clients even in my absence. Building out strong succession is an obligation I have to my clients, associates and shareholders, and it also benefited the team members individually as we all grew substantially during the process and developed a deep trust amongst each other. As a result, when I received the call to run the larger retail business, I was able to transition seamlessly. I’ve done many jobs for the company over the years, starting from the ground up, and my time here has been invaluable.”
The New Jersey native looked back on his days in the classroom, and how they influenced his career. “I earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. To this day I use much of what I learned in courses such as Dr. Earl’s finance class in my work; as TD Ameritrade is a publicly traded company, I have an obligation to create shareholder value, and the education I received in his class has helped me greatly to advance my career and our business.”
Bradley gave a few words of advice for students looking to pursue careers in finance. “I worked hard, but I also tried to balance a social life with my course load. School comes first, but I would counsel students to spend some quality time outside of the library. Most jobs require interpersonal skills, and any student would do well to invest their energy in developing these qualities.”
He concluded with what he defines as critical attributes to success. “Integrity first. Without that, nothing else matters. Second, treat all your fellow associates with dignity and respect, which is the right thing to do and will also increase your chances of sustainable influence on others. Third, recognize that teamwork will be critical to your success, so focus on being a great teammate. Fourth, put the client first; in services, if there are no clients, there is no business. Fifth, strive to win by always pushing yourself and your team to achieve continuous improvement beyond the competition; the game never ends in the real world. Lastly, be coachable, and never stop learning. You might be surprised by how much you can accomplish."