A conversation with Gary Hirschberg, CEO & Founding Member, Aaron Wealth Advisors
After 12 years at Goldman Sachs and building his business to over $1B in assets under management, Gary Hirschberg began to question whether he was able to act as a true fiduciary to his clients. Plus, he had the nagging desire to build a brand of his own. So in 2018, he left to launch Aaron Wealth Advisors with Dynasty Financial Partners.
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About this episode…
Advocating on behalf of his clients is something near and dear to ex-Goldman advisor Gary Hirschberg’s heart.
In fact, before landing at Goldman in 2006, Gary was in the world of nonprofits, serving as Director of Development at Vanderbilt University Hillel and Assistant Director of Developmental Activities at Georgetown University.
So it’s a bit of a paradox that he would transition from working in fundraising to guiding people to make selfless decisions with their money to ones that he describes as more “selfish”—but in a necessary way.
It was a serendipitous meeting with a friend that led him to Goldman Sachs in 2006, where he built a business managing $1.4B in assets for high net worth clients.
Yet it was this whole sense of advocacy that made Gary question whether he was being limited at Goldman to really act as a fiduciary to his clients. That is, to truly serve on their behalf, without restrictions on what he could or could not do for them.
Plus, Gary had the nagging desire to build a brand of his own—one that would be associated with him and not the firm he worked for.
So in 2018, Gary left Goldman to build Aaron Wealth Advisors with Dynasty Financial Partners.
In this episode, Gary shares the backstory of his journey to independence with Mindy Diamond (who actually helped facilitate his move), including:
• His start in institutional development—and how that informed his path in wealth management.
• The decision to leave Goldman—and what he was trying to solve for in doing so.
• The choice to go independent—and why autonomy was important in how he served his clients and grew his business.
• The value of brand—and how his clients reacted to leaving the Goldman imprimatur behind.
• The option to use a partner like Dynasty to launch Aaron Wealth—and what value they bring to the table.
Gary credits his background and the culture he grew up with at Goldman as the basis for his growth—a heritage that serves to frame how he sees Aaron evolving in the years to come. It’s an important lesson shared in this episode: That is, the experiences we have are a powerful reference to help us define our way forward.
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Gary Hirschberg
Founder & CEO
Gary Hirschberg is the founder of Aaron Wealth Advisors . He currently serves as the CEO of Aaron Wealth and is its lead advisor. Aaron Wealth is a registered independent advisory firm, dedicated to helping sophisticated individuals, multi-generational families, and family offices manage the complex business of their wealth. The firm represents the evolution of a successful practice Gary launched in 2006 within Goldman Sachs that counted among its clients influential and affluent families around the nation.
Prior to Aaron Wealth, Gary worked for Goldman Sachs as a Private Wealth Advisor and was a member of the Private Wealth Management Advisor’s Council, an internal group of top leaders within the division. He managed a team overseeing approximately $1.4 billion in assets.
Prior to Goldman Sachs, Gary worked in nonprofit development. He was the Director of Development for Vanderbilt University Hillel and Assistant Director of Developmental Activities at Georgetown University. He received his BA with Honors from Georgetown University and his MBA and JD from Vanderbilt University and holds the distinction of being a C
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