Brent is the Chief Executive Officer, is a financial advisor, and has a membership interest in Savant. He is on Savant's Board of Managers, Executive Team, Ideal Futures Platform Committee, and Investment Committee. Brent has been involved in the financial services industry since 1988 and has previously taught investment and finance courses at Rock Valley College, Rockford University, and Northern Illinois University.
Brent earned a bachelor of science degree in finance and economics and an MBA with an emphasis in accounting from Northern Illinois University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®), and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® (AIFA®).
Brent is a co-founder and past president of Zero Alpha Group (ZAG), an industry association. He is also a co-founder of the Alliance for RIAs (aRIA), a prestigious industry group that together manages nearly $50 billion. He was a long-term participant in Vistage (previously known as TEC) and The Strategic Coach™. He is currently a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and serves on the boards of the Northern Illinois University Foundation and the Rock Valley College Foundation. Brent was formerly the president of the Illinois CPA Society, a board member of the Northern Illinois Estate Planning Council, and an officer of Stateline Angels, an angel investment group.
Brent was named by Chicago magazine as the #1 independent financial advisor for the Chicagoland area in 2009 and one of the nation's top professional advisors by J.K. Lasser. He represented Savant for the seventh year on Barron's list of the "Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors" in the country and in 2017 was ranked by Forbes as #40 on their top 250 wealth advisors list. From 1997 until the survey ended in 2008, Brent appeared on Robb Report Worth magazine's "The Nation's 100 Most Exclusive Wealth Advisors" list. In 2011, Brent was named the nation's 10th "Most Experienced Independent Financial Advisor" by Bloomberg Businessweek. Brent was named "one of the 17 people advisors should watch in 2017" by Financial Planning magazine. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events and is frequently featured in local, industry, and national media including the Wall Street Journal and Barron's.
Brent received the Distinguished Finance Alumnus Award from Northern Illinois University in 2010. He likewise received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Rock Valley College in 2014. He received the Alumni Excellence Award from Boylan Catholic High School in 2015. In 2017 he was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.
Brent is married to Sharon and has four children and three grandchildren. In their free time they enjoy traveling, wine, collecting art, boating, fine dining, and spending time with family and friends at their lake house in Lake Geneva, Wis.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
See Important Disclosures at www.savantcapital.com for industry recognition and rankings.