Firm History
The genesis of Ivy League Financial Advisors started back in 1993. As a new graduate from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Christopher Brown, Ivy League’s founder, had just gotten married and decided that it would be wise to buy life insurance. As Mr. Brown met with the insurance representative, he got a distinct impression that the agent wasn’t listening to his needs and was only trying to sell him a product to generate a commission.
Mr. Brown then set out on a mission—to become more educated about personal finance. Business school had taught him much about corporate finance, but very little about personal finance. Mr. Brown’s curiosity led him from reading personal finance publications to enrolling in the College for Financial Planning’s Certified Financial Planning CFP® program in 1995. While working full-time as a management consultant in the New York Metropolitan area, Chris finished the CFP® coursework and passed the comprehensive exam in 1997 obtaining his CFP® license. In 1997, Chris attended his first NAPFA Conference and decided that he wanted to set up the business to be “Fee-Only” from the beginning. Since its inception, Ivy League Financial Advisors has never taken $1 in commissions from sales or referral fees.
Chris and his wife Denise wanted to start a family but didn’t want to “put down roots” in the New York Metropolitan area. So in 1999, they relocated closer to Chris’s parents (in Richmond, VA) and Denise’s sister (in Bethesda, MD), and Chris set up Ivy League Financial Advisors LLC (formerly known as CommonWealth Advisory Group LLC) from his home in Gaithersburg, MD.
He ran the business as a solo practitioner until 2006, slowly building up the firm’s client base. In 2006, he hired Lisa Crivella to be Director of Operations from the Virginia Tech Financial Planning program and moved the “headquarters” of Ivy League Financial Advisors from his home office to our current location at 11. North Washington Street, Suite 250, in the Rockville, MD Town Center. Kristin Bostic Bushong was added as Director of Marketing and Public Relations in 2012.
The client base has been built slowly, with careful attention being paid to the unique needs of each and every client.
Today, over 14 years later, Ivy League serves over 100 clients and families and manages over $125 million for its wonderful clients.
We hope you will take time to learn more about us and contact us for a complimentary initial consultation.