Kevin Bell comes to the Catholic Community Foundation as the organization’s Professional Advisor and Complex Gifts Program Manager. His background as a Financial Advisor and Real Estate Investment Advisor gives him unique insight for the position. He previously worked for Cetera Financial Group and TD Ameritrade. “My interest in stocks and real estate investments and my passion for helping people achieve their financial goals is one of my greatest assets,” says Kevin.
He is excited to get to know the Professional Advisor community of CPAs, estate planning attorneys and wealth managers in Silicon Valley and help them learn more about how the Foundation can assist their clients.
Here is a little bit about Kevin in his own words:
I grew up in Sonoma CA, which was a wonderful, slow moving, small town. Around Y2K my family moved to Boise, ID which was a real culture shock from the Bay Area. I became somewhat of a mountain man and learned how to live off the land, scale mountains on foot, or strap into a board and fly down them. I spent the summers with family and friends camping and white-water rafting. During the winters, it’s all about freezing your toes off and hitting the slopes.
While studying at Boise State, I developed an interest in Wall Street and the stock market. In 2008 I became a morning person by default in order to trade high leveraged derivatives and focused on pre-opening bell futures markets.
When people look at my resume, one of the first questions is always, “How did you end up a with a degree from Poland?” The quick and easy answer: I became friends with a group of Polish soccer players studying in SF. I told them I recently attained my dual citizenship in Ireland to fulfill my bucket list items of living in County Kerry, Ireland and traveling Europe. One of my Polish friends suggested continuing my education at the school of business near Warsaw. Considering I knew absolutely nothing about Poland and didn’t speak a lick of Polish, it seemed like a good idea to enroll in their business program and move to Poland. So, I slightly missed my bucket list goal but it’s close enough.
I’m new to the South Bay and I’ve been living here the past few years working in real estate. I spend a lot of my spare time with my significant other, hitting the slopes or golfing anywhere in the Bay. When possible, I like to pick up jobs doing construction renovation projects and remodeling kitchens or building new decks. It’s a great side hustle and it fits my DIY personality.