Bruce was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He grew up with three loves: reading, sports, and everything related to the water. Whether he was swimming in the ocean or fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, he was right at home. Bruce embraced the Orioles and crabs in the summer, as well as football and oysters in the winter. Bruce matriculated at the University of Maryland, and then proceeded to do additional post-graduate work at the University of Baltimore. From there, he went on to a string of successes in sales and management positions. Bruce relocated to South Florida in the Spring of 2000 to take over as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Original Big Tomato Franchise Co., Inc, a multiple award-winning franchise that he helped create offering gourmet tomato pies, salads and wraps. After selling and opening several franchises in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, Bruce turned his attentions to working with the franchisees to market and build their businesses. His success became their success, as they followed his example and grew their businesses. It was during this time that Bruce decided to earn some additional income during evenings and weekends, and so signed on as an agent of The Hartford. After winning The Hartford's prestigious Launch Award, he went on to become one of their top agents nationwide, with his production consistently putting him in the Top 5 in his division. Bruce says: "It was here that everything changed...I was getting paid to really help people in a significant way. The gratification and emotional satisfaction level was off the chart. I truly fell in love with this business." The next step was more difficult; leaving a business (and the equity) that he had helped build at The Original Big Tomato. He also decided to open his advisory, SecuRetirement, Inc. "Though The Hartford was a good company, my clients had many needs that they could not serve" says Bruce, "so I decided to open an independent agency to have access to other carriers with a full range of products. This way I could find the optimum solution at the best price point for my clients". In the Spring of 2007 Bruce received the news that no one wants to hear: he was diagnosed with cancer. He endured numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation, often quoting the old adage: "that which does not kill us, only serves to make us stronger", and “If they can’t kill you with kindness, they’ll try to do it with radiation.” After treatment ended, Bruce returned to the career he loved, and was recruited by SeemanHoltz, a Boca Raton based advisory providing comprehensive services to the post retirement community. “It was an outstanding experience”, says Bruce, “they have a great team there, and I was able to advance my professional skills to the next level. Frankly, it was five of the best years of my life”. Bruce was recruited as a Managing Associate with MassMutual. “I had grown as much as I could at my previous firm, and MassMutual represented an opportunity to grow with a great company in our industry…how could I say no?” quipped Bruce. Finally, Bruce was selected as a Financial Educator for AFEA (American Financial Education Alliance, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit). “Now is the time for me to really give back as an educator” says Bruce. “In order for me to devote as much time to this as possible, I re-opened the doors to SecuRetirement to allow for additional scheduling flexibility…it’s truly a dream come true for me.” Today, Bruce is considered one of Florida's pre-eminent tax, income and retirement planners. He has penned reports and studies on retirement and income planning, as well as being a contributor to the Wall Street Journal. His fellow advisors refer to him as "The Professor" for his encyclopedic knowledge of retirement and Medicaid planning, advanced income strategies and product intricacies. Bruce currently resides in Hollywood, FL with his beautiful wife Maria, their lovely daughter Karol, and gorgeous granddaughters Sofia and Lucia.
