Richard A. Berry

Richard A. Berry was born and raised in the small, country town of Dillon, SC, where he is affectionately known by his clients and friends as the “Safe Money Man.” He opened his insurance/investment business there in 1987 and spent his first 16 years with New York Life. In 2002, Richard became an independent producer and founded Berry Financial Group, Inc. Over the past 5 five years, his business has grown into a team of seven full-time and seven part-time staff members. 2007 was another banner year with over $26,500,000 mil in sales, and he was a finalist for Senior Market Advisor of the year. In 2008 Richard had yet another record year in individual sales of $28,900,000 and in 2009 Richard wrote a total of 26.4 million.  In 2010, Berry Financial felt the crunch of the economic crisis and also opened a new territory incurring great expenses which resulted in annuity sales totaling 18 million.  Richard is poised to possibly break the record set in 2008 with 16 million in paid annuity production through July 2011!

Richard attributes his amazing success to relationships, staff, focus, and passion and is quick to cite statistics showing that 85 percent of people leave their financial advisors not because of a lack of returns, but because of a lack of relationships. There is a very real bond evident at Berry Financial Group, between staff members and with their clients. Richard’s staff begins each day with group devotions, reading from the Bible, and praying for each other and for their clients. One of Richard’s favorite quotes is, “Help people get what they want, and you will get more of what you want.”

Richard’s business and personal life reflect his core belief that success comes from the five “F’s” – faith, family, finances, fitness, and fun. He married his high school sweetheart, Jan, in 1987. They have three children, Jordan, Jamison, and Jana. Although a typical work day is 8 - 10 hours, including driving time during which he spends his devotional time, he still reserves Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and at least four vacations a year to spend time with his wife and children. Richard exercises daily and enjoys tennis, golf, snowboarding, and water sports.

There are a large number of financial advisors in this country who will tell you that Richard Berry is their mentor.  In addition to a multi-million dollar financial services company, he also provides a mentoring service to agents from all over the country.  As an instructor with RIA Academy, Richard will now be teaching the fundamentals of developing a comprehensive business model to include managed money and FIAs. For a small fee to cover training materials and follow-up support, other advisors can learn Richard’s secrets to successfully prospecting for clients, getting referrals and new business from existing clients, as well as witnessing first hand the secret to closing 43 percent of business during the first appointment.