MARKETCOUNSEL - Key Persons
Brian is the Founder, President and CEO of MarketCounsel, the leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firm to the country's preeminent entrepreneurial independent investment advisers. He is also the founder and managing member of the Hamburger Law Firm, a boutique law firm with its practice in virtually all areas related to the investment and securities industry, entrepreneurial and employment matters. MarketCounsel and the Hamburger Law Firm are the result of an incessant entrepreneurial spirit and genuine desire to provide an unexpected level of value and service. Together, the consulting and law firms represent an unparalleled combination of preeminent counsel and uncompromising service to participants in the retail securities industry.
Brian is an entrepreneur, attorney, columnist and outspoken industry advocate for independent investment advisers. For the past 19 years, he has served at the helm of MarketCounsel and the Hamburger Law Firm. In 2015, Wealth Management named Brian as one of the top thought leaders in wealth management saying, "Over the past decade, Hamburger has been the architect behind almost all of the highest-profile breakaway deals in the industry, helping advisors navigate the legal thicket of transitioning away from brokerages and into independent business models. As such he's been a central, but often unheralded, force in the evolution of the RIA industry." In 2014, REP. Magazine featured Brian on its cover as "The Engineer" of the RIA evolution.
Brian is often called upon to speak at regional and national conferences, not to mention his own annual gathering of the industry's top advisers and thought leaders. While he has delivered the keynote address to the country's state securities regulators and met with members of Congress on proposed legislation, he is more comfortable addressing school-age children. He is currently a regular contributor for CNBC and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Dow Jones, and Reuters as well as every investment industry publication.
Brian lives with his daughter, Ella, and sons, Jacob and Sidney, in northern New Jersey.
Job Titles:
- Chief Regulatory Counsel at the Hamburger Law Firm
Daniel Bernstein is Chief Regulatory Counsel at the Hamburger Law Firm and MarketCounsel, an affiliated business, regulatory, and compliance consulting firm for entrepreneurial investment advisory firms nationwide. At MarketCounsel, he is responsible for the ongoing development of the firm's content while serving as a subject matter expert and resource for the firm's other professionals. At the Hamburger Law Firm, Dan's work concentrates in the areas of the regulation and compliance of investment advisers and broker-dealers as well as the formation and ongoing responsibilities of private investment funds. Dan is often called upon to serve as a senior officer and qualifying principal on an interim basis for emerging organizations and firms in transaction.
Dan has significant experience in providing a broad range of legal services to individuals and institutions in the securities industry. After his clerkship with Judge Joseph C. Small of the New Jersey Tax Court, he joined a large New Jersey law firm where he worked directly with Brian Hamburger. Upon Mr. Hamburger's departure, Dan continued to develop his securities law practice, becoming associated with two larger national law firms where he further honed his skills and gained experience representing regional and national firms in the financial services industry. His practice included the preparation of offering documents, regulatory filings and other legal documents for numerous investment advisers, domestic and offshore hedge funds, broker-dealers and other regional and national financial institutions, as well acting as a liaison for their service providers. After gaining such rich experience, he joined MarketCounsel and the Hamburger Law Firm in 2003 and began working with Brian Hamburger in pursuit of the firms' goals.
Dan is admitted to the bars of New Jersey and New York, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He has successfully passed the FINRA General Securities Representative Exam (Series 7), NASAA Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam (Series 65) and held New Jersey Property and Casualty and Health Insurance Producer licenses. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Connecticut. He earned his Juris Doctor from the Rutgers School of Law where he was Chairman of the Moot Court Board. Prior to attending law school, Daniel researched market information for clients while at Waterhouse Securities. Dan then became a project analyst at Nortel.
Dan lives with his wife, Stacey, and their children, Max and Amelia, in northern New Jersey.
Ryan re-joins MarketCounsel as Director of Engagement, where he is responsible for relationship management and business development, ensuring a cohesive client experience across all channels. Ryan understands the MarketCounsel culture and the exceptional sales and service models our clients and partners expect from us. Previously, Ryan was managing director of a large dually-registered firm, overseeing their advisor acquisition efforts while working with the firm's owner to build out the offering. Prior to that, he has held positions at United Capital, RBC Advisor Services, MarketCounsel and RIA in a Box. Ryan started his career in financial services as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley and then Oppenheimer & Co. Ryan is an industry subject matter expert within the wealth management space and has been featured in Investmentnews, Investment Advisor Magazine, Financial Advisor Magazine, RIABiz, and AdvisorHub.