In 1986, V. Raymond Ferrara was a senior officer with a leading financial services company. He recognized ethical concerns and knew his future was not bright with his current company. He had a mercurial relationship with the chairman which led to his firing on April Fools’ Day. It was no joke, he said.
Ferrara was prepared, as he incorporated ProVise Management Group LLC a year earlier, knowing that one day he would find himself in this unfortunate situation. Almost from its beginning, the firm acted as a fiduciary, placing the clients’ interests ahead of its own.
ProVise Management Group LLC, is a financial planning and investment management firm registered with the SEC serving approximately 1,200 clients in over 30 states with offices in Clearwater and Tampa. As the firm grew, it acquired two other financial planning firms, operating with a staff of 16 while managing approximately $1.9 billion of assets under management.
Ferrara has served on both the local and national board of directors for the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and on the board of directors for the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards. He received the lifetime achievement award from Tampa Bay FPA and the P. Kemp Fain award from the national FPA. Ferrara has also hosted radio’s “Talking Money” for 12 years and was featured in the book “Secrets of the Wealthmakers.”
In addition, Ferrara serves on boards of several nonprofit agencies and advisory councils, including the Boy Scouts, BayCare Health Services, and the Muma College of Business, has been recognized as one of the top financial planners in the country, and has been among the 500 Florida most influential business leaders recognized by Florida Trend magazine for the past several years. Ferrara has also served as a mentor for other entrepreneurs.
According to Ferrara, successful leaders embrace integrity, empathy, confidence, creativity and humility. “I don’t like thinking outside the box, because most of the time it simply means building a bigger box,” he said. “I prefer to think like an ameba. An ameba is willing to push in any direction, and if it is too hot or cold or it can’t find food, it simply retracts and pushes in another direction, constantly in motion and always willing to explore and expand its horizon in seeking out answers.”
