Year-end Tax Insights!
Gary Brooks
Learn About Gary Brooks
Professional Background
Prior to becoming a partner at Mission Wealth, Gary owned an independent financial advisory firm from 2008 to 2023. He previously worked at Russell Investments (creators of the Russell indexes and investment funds) from 2000-2008. Before entering the investment world, primarily as a writer of investment content, Gary was the Major League Baseball editor at CBSSports.com and a sportswriter at the Tacoma News Tribune. Upon changing his career focus, he decided to educate himself by completing the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ curriculum. This led him to realize how common it is that even well-educated, successful people have difficulty with the basic tenets of financial literacy and investing. To help address this challenge, he decided he would prefer to act in an advisory role, working directly with individual clients.
From 2008 through August 2024, Gary wrote a monthly personal finance column in the Tacoma News Tribune. He also wrote a book with financial advisor coach Steve Moore titled Ineffective Habits of Financial Advisors (and the Disciplines to Break Them). The book was published by Wiley & Sons in 2010.
Gary graduated with his Bachelors in Communications from the University of Puget Sound. He furthered his education by earning the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation focused on sustainable and socially responsible investing.
Personal Pursuits
Outside the world of personal finance, Gary has been a professional baseball official scorer since 2006. He is also an active volunteer and committee member for the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Museum and the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. He enjoys kayaking in Puget Sound, throwing the frisbee for his labrador retrievers, and spending time with his wife and daughters.
Community Impact
Gary is the chairperson of the Investment Committee for the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, where he was a Board of Directors member from 2012-2018. Through a variety of charitable funds, the GTCF Investment Committee steers the investment of over $200 million.
Tacoma News Tribune and Previous Articles
From 2008-2024, Gary contributed to a monthly personal finance column for The News Tribune. Below are a few of his previous articles.
- Ensuring your portfolio matches your risk v. return needs is crucial to smart investing
- Here are strategies for investing your required IRA withdrawals if you don't need cash
- Savings bonds are tried and true, but there are other ways to help grandkids financially
- Need a loan? You might consider borrowing money from the Bank of Mom and Dad
- Take full advantage of employer retirement plans but also look at options like IRAs
- Here are some ways to be strategic about income when federal tax time rolls around
- Money market accounts or CDs might be a good way to earn short-term income on savings
- Investments take a beating in 2022? Review your long-term strategy before making changes
Gary has also written articles on various finance topics since the founding of BHJ Wealth Advisors, his previous firm.
- What baseball can teach us about investing
- Overview: "Responsible" investing: Expressing personal values in your portfolio
- Part 1: What is SRI/ESG investing?
- Part 2: Investment characteristics of SRI/ESG Funds - risk, return, diversification, expenses
- Part 3: How are SRI/ESG strategies implemented?
- Part 4: SRI/ESG investments in company retirement plans
- Part 5: Conflicts and failures of investment managers and corporate executives to advance SRI/ESG interests
- Part 6: Take action on SRI/ESG funds in your investment accounts
About Mission Wealth
Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized Registered Investment Advisory firm (RIA) founded in 2000 known for its service model, driven by a world-class technology stack that offers financial planning, investment counsel, tax strategies, estate planning coordination, philanthropic advice, and asset protection solutions tailored to each client’s needs.Mission Wealth’s vision is to provide caring advice that empowers families to achieve their life dreams. Our founders were pioneers in the industry when they embraced the client-first principles of objective advice, comprehensive financial planning, coordination with other professional advisors, and proactive service. Mission Wealth is a fiduciary, and our holistic planning process provides clarity and confidence.
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