Growing up in a hardworking, two-parent household was a blessing, says Marcus Rather, who remembers that his parents didn’t talk much about money — except maybe when it was tight — but they did encourage savings. “I liked seeing my bank account grow and I developed a sense of living under my means, which I enjoyed,” said the native of Hampton, Virginia. Participation in a summer program during high school, at which, one of the volunteer counselors was a financial planner, set him on the path to becoming an adviser. After majoring in finance at Virginia Commonwealth University, he landed a job in the Richmond, Virginia, suburbs with Foresters Financial, part of a Canadian fraternal benefit society. In 2019, Foresters sold its broker-dealer to Cetera Financial.
Perhaps because of his early love of finance, Rather continues to mentor students at VCU and educates them about careers in financial services. He also acts as a mentor to the firm’s interns from other schools. At his Cetera office, Rather serves as chair of the culture, diversity and inclusion committee, challenging everyone to understand their biases and particular viewpoints. “My greatest satisfaction comes from helping people like my parents, who sacrificed a lot for my brother and me, not once focusing on themselves,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there with a lot of burdens; they’re swamped with day-to-day responsibilities. I’m happy that I can show them how to handle those responsibilities and still reach their goals.”
[More: Watch “How I Made it” video with Marcus here]
— Evan Cooper