That father would be Barry Freedman, who in 1968 started Freedman Financial Associates, a successful financial planning and investment advisory firm in Peabody, Mass. Over the years, the elder Freedman has emerged as one of the profession's true thinkers. Both present and past associations have turned to him to develop conference agendas.
Marc Freedman knew that entering his father's business wouldn't be just a matter of picking up the phone and reserving a parking space. First of all, Marc had never planned on working there. While he did attend Babson College, a business school in Wellesley, Mass., his major was marketing. His big dream was to be the head of national marketing for Pepsi Cola or Frito Lay.
As for his father's business, he says, "I didn't really know what my father did. I knew it had something to do with money, but that's about it."
So, it was probably a surprise to both Marc and Barry when the younger Freedman, a talented musician who once played at the Super Bowl, picked up the phone and asked for a job at his dad's business. "He was floored," Marc recalls.
The elder Freedman says he was indeed surprised by the call, but that didn't dissuade him from thinking that his son was cut out for the job. Barry Freedman, in fact, always thought Marc was suited for the profession.
"I knew he would do well because I knew he had the personality for it," he says. "He's a social and outgoing guy, and this business is more about relationships than it is knowledge. Knowledge and research are commodities."
Barry did accept Marc into the practice, but with some ground rules. The first was that he would immediately start studying for his Series 7 exam, which he eventually took and passed in June 1991. Also part of the plan was that he would start out at the firm by watching and listening.
"I told him the first thing you need to do is sit down and do nothing for a while," he says. "Just sit there for a few months, listen in on client calls and meetings and not say a damned thing."
That's the way it went until one day later that year, when Barry turned to his son as they were getting ready for a client meeting and said, "Why don't you take this one."
Marc recalls that he talked so much in that first meeting, that it lasted two-and-a-half hours. As time went on, he brushed up on his listening skills, as well as other aspects of the business. He received his CFP certification in 1994 and became a partner in 1997. They will become equal partners next year.