Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
A Juilliard-Trained Musician-Turned-Advisor On Navigating Change & Embracing Progress
39 Plays4 months ago
Life transitions can push people into uncharted territory. Whether it’s a career change, moving to a new home, marriage, or retirement, major pivots can make managing finances feel overwhelming.
Ramin Abrams, Private Wealth Advisor at Concurrent Advisors, knows this firsthand. A music prodigy who spent decades mastering his craft, Ramin eventually felt pulled toward a new path that led him into wealth management. Now as an advisor, Ramin is helping clients navigate their own life pivots.
On this episode of the Synergize podcast, Ramin shares his story and emphasizes that while change is inevitable, a financial advisor can help make every pivot feel like progress towards your financial goals.
Copyright 2025. TradePMR, Inc. For a transcript of this episode with sources, visit synergizepodcast.com. Concurrent Advisors and TradePMR are unaffiliated companies. If you want to join the conversation or connect with us, please visit us at synergizepodcast.com. This content is provided for general information purposes only.The views expressed by non-affiliated guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TradePMR Inc. or its affiliates. TradePMR Inc. and its affiliates do not endorse any guest speakers or their companies and therefore give no assurances as to the quality of their products and services. This channel is not monitored by TradePMR Inc. TradePMR Inc. does not provide investment advice, tax advice or legal advice. TradePMR Inc. is a member of FINRA and SIPC. TradePMR, Inc.,is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission {SEC) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). TradePMR provides brokerage and account services to registered investment advisors. Custodial services provided by First Clearing. Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Synergize, unscripted conversations where we explore the evolving role of the financial advisor in an emerging AI-driven world. Join us as we bring together thought leaders across a range of disciplines and industry experts, sharing insights designed to help RIAs thrive in the industry of tomorrow.
00:00:23
Speaker
Welcome back to Synergize. I'm Bill Capell, Director of Client Growth at TradePMR, a Robinhood company. And I'm Ryan Neal, Editorial Manager at Trade PMR Robinhood. You're listening to the Synergize Podcast. And yes, welcome back indeed, Bill. It's been a while since I've seen you. How you been?
Host Introductions and Personal Interests
00:00:40
Speaker
And i guess to kick it off, what have you been listening to lately? i know you're a music guy. What's what's been on your playlist?
00:00:46
Speaker
Great question, Ryan. You know, it's funny, I've got a 19 and a 22 year old, so I'm pretty much listening to the most contemporary stuff that's out there right now. But my taste in music spans way back to the 60s and 70s and the 80s, and I split it between classic rock and roll and jazz. So, you know, i I love music and I'm willing to listen to just about anything.
00:01:10
Speaker
Nice. Well, for me
Guest Introduction: Ramin Abrams
00:01:11
Speaker
lately, I've been on a solid rotation of Bob Dylan. I've been going through his entire discography ah this morning. I'm up to like the late 70s. This morning, it was his Live at Budokan album, which is not my favorite, but I'm kind of committed to listening to all the albums in a row. So it's been a fun adventure. love love Bob and love his like evolution over time.
00:01:31
Speaker
um which is probably a good segue into our episode today, Evolution Over Time. We've got an exciting guest today. He's a 31-year-old private wealth advisor at Concurrent Advisors named Ramin Abrams. He is a classically trained musician who made the pivot in his career towards becoming a financial advisor.
00:01:48
Speaker
It's a fascinating story. He wrote all about it on RA Reflections, which you can check out. We'll put the link in
Ramin's Background and Ironman Experience
00:01:53
Speaker
the story notes. And he's here to talk to us a bit about it. So Ramin, welcome to the Synergize podcast. Thanks so much, Ryan and Bill, for having me today.
00:02:01
Speaker
Well, it's great to have you, Ramin. And you know as I look through ah your background and your your resume, you know I couldn't help but think about um going from a kindergartner, you know performing at Carnegie Hall you know to incredible opportunities you've had as a professional musician over time. you know and had to reflect back on my own childhood.
00:02:23
Speaker
And and you know I think Ryan experienced a similar kind of background because we grew up with music. you know I remember started playing, oddly enough, the cello, but never quite got to where you were.
00:02:35
Speaker
um And then I switched over and and and played the saxophone most of my life and guitar. And I got to tell you, you know it's an incredible experience. It's something that stays with you. The other thing i I wanted to bring up for our listeners is that you're also a very accomplished endurance athlete.
00:02:51
Speaker
And, you know, I can share with you that, you know, Ramin, you know, you did Ironman at Lake Placid. Tell me a little bit about that. Yeah, it was an incredible taxi experience. that I've been running marathons, I've done about eight marathons across ah the New York City Marathon and LA Marathon. And I saw the opportunity to enroll for the Lake Placid Ironman.
00:03:15
Speaker
And as an endurance athlete, running was my forte. as, uh, we're, we're talking about music. I'll use the terminology and biking and swimming, never was a focus, but the the discipline, the time, the effort, and the accomplishment of completing Ironman was one of the bucket list items for me. So I enrolled, i had about seven months of training and it was one of the most incredible.
00:03:40
Speaker
And hard experiences of my life, uh, being a financial advisor, being a musician. And living in
Career Transition from Music to Finance
00:03:46
Speaker
one of the flattest cities in the country, New York City, training to bike up essentially 90 degree angle hills in Lake Placid, New York was was definitely a challenge, but one of the best experiences of my life. You know going up that hill was tough, but coming down was amazing.
00:04:02
Speaker
Oh, yeah. The the thing I'd share with you is that... I did that event in 2001, 2002, and 2003. And I gotta tell you, Ramin, that was one of the most challenging Ironman courses I've ever done, so congratulations. And where you excelled in your career at music, I kind of petered out after I finished up in high school, and then I went into endurance athletics and did that for a number of years. I think you guys are both nuts because I was a swimmer my whole life biking. I still bike. I love biking just mainly for transportation. Running to me was always a punishment when I messed up on swim team. I would get out and go run laps. would consider doing a triathlon if I could do the swimming and the biking part and someone else does the running.
00:04:50
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you what, I think we've got a great opportunity for this to build a team right here because Rameen's the runner. And the only reason I ever ran because someone was chasing me. And then, you know, ah Ryan, you're the swimmer and I'm the cyclist. To be honest with that's been my strong suit. So I say once we wrap up this program today, maybe we go out and hit the trail.
00:05:09
Speaker
and But it's great stuff. Well, Mina, I think we'll let you do that for the most part. ah you know You did this article for us on Ari Reflections. um
Skills Transfer: Music to Financial Advisory
00:05:16
Speaker
it It resonated with a lot of our readers, I think because you in some ways like lived a dream that maybe many people have, people that you know grew up working as one thing but playing music in their free time. ah you You kind of realized that dream then pivoted to another career. So why don't you share a bit about your personal story for those that haven't read it on Ari Reflections, and then we can go from there.
00:05:36
Speaker
Sure. Thanks for the opportunity. As a born and raised in New York city, I started the cello at age two and a half through a Japanese, uh, instrumental training program called Suzuki and school for strings. So at a very young age, I started learning year training, the simple next steps of, of what music is from rhythm to, um, other aspects of of music and starting at age two and a half.
00:06:02
Speaker
built my repertoire, had opportunities to perform and around high school age, started to really excel at the instrument. I made a shift from cello to double bass because I wanted to expand my repertoire, not only classical music, but more contemporary music and jazz. So at around 12, 13 years old, I shifted to double bass. And that's really when I took off as a musician. I got into Juilliard pre-college and I was able to study with the principal bass player of the New York Philharmonic and the caliber of musicians that I was surrounded by was just incredible.
00:06:35
Speaker
um The amount of talent and the amount of discipline that I kind of lived and breathed through my days at Juilliard ah really set me up for success as a musician. So once I learned the technical aspects of being a classically trained musician, I was able to go out and explore contemporary music and jazz. And as a very outgoing ah young adult, I was able to reach out to a lot of professional musicians, teachers, organizations, and orchestras to to participate, to perform with. And it was pretty incredible growing up in New York City, finishing school at 3 and having a gig downtown at 7 p.m.
00:07:15
Speaker
That sounds rad.
00:07:18
Speaker
So um talk a little bit more about that that journey. you know you In the article, ah you you hit some real significant milestones with your brother, as I as i recall.
00:07:32
Speaker
And at what point did you kind of realize that, you know what, I've really been very, very successful, but you know perhaps I need to begin to think about how I might want to change the motif or you redirect my talent in other ways.
00:07:52
Speaker
Share with us a little bit about that transition you went through and how you actually found financial services as a platform to continue to build on your skills and and talent that you know that you honed as a musician.
00:08:09
Speaker
Yeah, sure. Yeah, as a musician, especially training at a conservatory level, you learn to listen deeply, interpret emotion, um and guide my audiences you know through ah a transformative experience.
00:08:24
Speaker
So as a financial advisor, you do the same, but with financial planning. I would say that music is a language in itself, and there are a lot of paths that you can cross and make dramatic pivots in your life, but they don't seem so dramatic because that language can interpret um and ah communicate with other aspects of life or other careers. So as a financial advisor, i graduated UCLA with a bachelor's in music. I went on tour in Italy with the chamber ensemble and I came back and I was looking for what the next step looks like. And I made this
00:09:04
Speaker
pivot to the financial services industry, but because I learned so much about discipline and listening and emotions and guiding people through my performances, I felt that I could really take any step out of music and find a way to translate my experience, my training, and my discipline as a musician to another career. And financial services was one that I was really passionate about. At a young age, I benefited from the fruits of my mom being a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch at the World Trade Center. Upon having my bar mitzvah, all those checks went straight straight into the stock market.
00:09:42
Speaker
So I was always fascinated um with financial services and equities and and investing. So I made that shift and working with people and service was the model that I wanted to abide by, that I wanted to live by. where my musical experiences, understanding the inconsistencies of being a gig musician, um understanding that there's going to be ups and downs in terms of how busy you are, how many performances you're getting, understand the different verticals and monetization strategies of being a musician.
00:10:19
Speaker
That can be
Emotional Aspects of Financial Advisory
00:10:20
Speaker
translated to business owners, to real estate developers, to investors. um And my role as a financial advisor is providing my clients a transformative experience to help them identify and what we wrote about in RA Inflections, what their motif is, what their theme of life is and helping people find harmony in their lives.
00:10:42
Speaker
That's great. and One thing we think a lot about here on the podcast is that next generation, right? Helping advisors, you know, connect with new investors, expand their business, or even connect with new advisors, bringing in new talent, stuff like that. And and something that I love about your story is that I think we all, everyone in life goes through some sort of pivot, right? at least most of us, where we're kind of going along maybe through our our teens and to college and our 20s. And at some point we we have to make a shift, something, whether it's we have kids or we have a career change or i don't know, stock market crash, whatever may be, lot of times just pushes us towards a certain move. um
00:11:20
Speaker
And and i what I love is this you know this next generation of investors out there. A lot of people have been doing very, very well on their own ah investing and now maybe reaching a point where they are considering making a change, going towards an advisor, looking for for something different. So was wondering if you could talk about that at all. I mean, have you found that in your own practice? Have you brought in clients that maybe have done well investing on their own and are just looking for something different? And how have you sort of navigated their own pivots in life?
00:11:47
Speaker
Sure. um I'd say especially the past. eight to 10 years, retail investing, um there's been a lot of success in it, you know, from the the COVID era and meme stocks and just being long the 500 or, you know, individual stock picking. And we've just kind of seen as the tide comes in, all the boats rise. and That is something that has driven a lot of retail investors to say, hey, I think I could do this on my own.
00:12:17
Speaker
The reason I think my pivot And why my story matters in terms of clients and investors potentially making a shift to working with financial advisor is finances are an extremely emotional aspect to how people look at money.
00:12:34
Speaker
Um, and I'd say that letting go, letting go of old patterns, you know, just as I left behind kind of a familiar identity in music, sometimes people, um, need to make that next step in terms of releasing outdated financial habits or fears. Some people may, uh, you know, have investments, but not, um, make subsequent or dollar cost averaging strategies. They haven't put a financial plan together. They haven't considered tax optimization strategies. So the wealth and breadth that a financial advisor in a firm can provide someone allows younger investors or people that have been doing it on their own kind of get out of those old patterns um and outdated financial habits. um Also, it's learning a new language. ah We live and breathe financial services. We are the personal CFOs ah to investors. We guard, protect, preserve, and grow their assets. and Over the past nine years of my career, I've been able to master the language of finance. um
00:13:37
Speaker
And clients are trying to do that. Working with a financial advisor, I'm essentially that translator and that executor. um And then lastly, I'd say a lot of investors that have been doing on their own, sometimes they haven't experienced a full correction to understand the impacts of that and how to protect. So when we're talking about facing uncertainty,
00:14:00
Speaker
As advisors, we face that with courage. um We are bold. We don't let emotions get in the way of making prudent investments. um So when clients are vulnerable in these uncertain or volatile situations, working with an advisor, making that shift, taking that next step forward, making that pivot puts them in a really great place for the long term.
00:14:26
Speaker
i want I want to
Influence of Music Teachers on Life Transitions
00:14:27
Speaker
drill down on it little bit. um Ramin, because what's interesting to me is, and and I noted this in your um in your story in RIA Reflections, ah you know i have this feeling I have this theory that we all transition and pivot you know every five to seven years.
00:14:45
Speaker
And we feel it. We know something's coming, but we really fail often to reposition ourselves. And I think you're a great example of someone who recognized that there was a pivot on the horizon, there was a transition on the horizon, and you and you jumped on it. I want to bring it back to your experience as a musician, and particularly under some of the folks you studied with.
00:15:06
Speaker
you know You mentioned the fact that you know when you're You were taking lessons from some of the most talented people in the world, and as you were learning music, right you never really stopped learning. As you're learning music, share with us an example of when one of your teachers was guiding you through a transition from a musical perspective. and perhaps not necessarily telling you you're wrong, but offering you a path that perhaps would turn out better in the piece you were working on and how that may parallel the way in which you approach havingpping people helping people transition or deal with those transitions in their personal lives.
00:15:55
Speaker
That's a big question, Bill. um I'll do my best to respond. um I would say, as I mentioned, I played cello from ages two and a half, age two and a half to age 12 or 13. And then I shifted to double bass. And just from a sound perspective, the cello is a beautiful, warm sound. Uh, and the double bass can be beautiful and warm, but it's a much deeper sound just from the physical aspects of the, of the instrument. A cello is smaller. The strings are thinner. a base is much bigger and the strings are much thicker. Um, one of the challenges I faced, uh, after making that switch from cello to bass was I loved the sound of a cello and I couldn't make the bass sound like a cello immediately.
00:16:39
Speaker
And I love the performance aspect of music. I wanted to be a solo double bass player and there are very few of those out there. um I wanted to solo concertos with major orchestras. And my teacher really helped me build the tenacity, the physical tenacity of mastering the instrument on a physical level so that I can explore the instrument more emotionally and more musically. Um, and with that were etudes and practice techniques to really build my craft where I'm not fighting against the instrument itself. It's working with me and I can explore the world of music, the world of expression, the world of emotion. Um, so over a period of four years, there was an intense,
00:17:25
Speaker
um level of practice and discipline in mastering this craft. I'm talking about finishing school at 3 p.m. and being in the Juilliard practice room until 10 p.m., constantly practicing the instrument so that essentially I wasn't fighting against it. The instrument was working for me. I wasn't working for the instrument. um And I think that translates to to clients making pivots and ah going through transitions as well.
00:17:55
Speaker
It's never about trying to find perfection. It's always about progress. And you, you you said that in your initial comments, Bill, uh, we're always looking to make progress on ourselves. And when you're making a change of managing things on your own to, you know, working with others, you are becoming a delegator. You're being a business owner. You are putting the best people in front of you to help you achieve your goals at the best level, uh, you can.
00:18:22
Speaker
So I definitely see a relationship to some of those transitions and focuses and progressions that I experienced with music and helping clients achieve the same.
00:18:34
Speaker
You know, it's not about saying no, right? It's about offering this idea and getting that individual to perhaps discover themselves a better path. And I'm sure i'm sure that while your instructor could certainly help you through the mechanics of that transition from cello to double bass, at the end of the day, for a client,
00:18:59
Speaker
Saying no is not always a good response. It's about helping them self-discover a path that will help them achieve this elusive goal of becoming better.
00:19:13
Speaker
Sure.
Life Progress and Resilience Through Music
00:19:14
Speaker
Exactly. Well, I thought that was a great answer. And i think I think Bill was trying to throw you a bit of a curveball there with that with that question. and And I think Ramin nailed it. I think that was a good good great answer.
00:19:25
Speaker
Thank you. You know, he's an endurance athlete. I got to give him a little bit of a challenge here. We can we just can't keep doing the same thing over again. That's true. Well, I'm going to, I think I'm going to move to wrap us up, but given what we opened the conversation with, I'm going to throw it to Ramin. What are you listening to these days? What's on the playlist? Yeah.
00:19:42
Speaker
ah Well, ah similar to Bill, I was just at the gym this morning and one of my goals is ah I was listening to Crosby, Stills and g Nash, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, which is about a six minute and 50 second song. And my goal this morning was to get a mile in on the treadmill before the song ended. so I was pumped up for this call today. So you guys helped me get the push with that. um So i'm I'm a big fan of rock and roll, but ah classical music always kind of stays um A big part of my life and in my everyday, I have records playing at the office, you know, as as the team is doing work um and was giving last night a listen to Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, one of the largest orchestras, one of the most vibrant um changes for movement, an amazing piece of music.
00:20:31
Speaker
right, we're going to ask you to create a playlist for us. Will do. you Help us get through our our daily routine. that's That was great. That was great. I'm a huge CSNY fan, and you know I can hear the music playing right now.
00:20:45
Speaker
Yeah. Just as kind of you know closing comments, given the pivot I made as from a musician to a financial advisor, I understand what it's like to start over.
00:20:57
Speaker
In anyone's life, there's a change. If that is a business change, a career change, a life change, having kids, getting divorced, starting a new business, a business failing and having the courage to start a new one. Um, life is a rollercoaster. And when you make these pivots again, it's all about progress. And I love the music background because when you dedicate yourself to learning an instrument at a high caliber and conservatory level, uh,
00:21:27
Speaker
your motivation and persistence continues on. um So I really love the feeling of being able to progress and taking your past and using that to um grow your future.
00:21:41
Speaker
Great. Well, that's fantastic closing words. ah So Ramin, thank you so much for being on the podcast. We appreciate having
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:21:47
Speaker
you. Thanks so much for having me. Great to be here. And for everybody listening, thank you for tuning in. ah We hope you, wherever you get in this podcast, take the time to like, subscribe. ahsh If you like what you heard, share it with others. ah And we'll see you on the next podcast.
00:22:03
Speaker
I too want to thank you for listening. And I want to thank our guest, Ramin Abrams, today for joining us with a great story of transition and success. And I want to remind you to tune into our next episode where we'll share even more insights and strategies to help you grow your business. And remember the challenge is yours to take advantage, to take action with what the future holds.
00:22:33
Speaker
If you want to join the conversation or connect with us, please visit us at synergizepodcast.com. This content is provided for general information purposes only. The views expressed by non-affiliated guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Trade PMR or its affiliates. Trade PMR and its affiliates do not endorse any guest speakers or their companies and therefore give no assurances as to the quality of their products and services.
00:23:00
Speaker
This channel is not monitored by Trade PMR. Trade PMR does not provide investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice. Trade PMR is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Trade PMR Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission s se and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. ms rb Trade PMR provides brokerage and account services to registered investment advisors. Custodial services provided by First Clearing. First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. Member SIPC, a registered broker dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo and Company.
00:23:36
Speaker
Copyright 2025, Trade PMR Inc. For a transcript of this episode with sources, visit synergizedpodcast.com.