TEAM

Meet your financial specialists.

Tom Buhrmann, CIMA®

Principal & Wealth Advisor

Tom joined SWP in 2012 after earning his MBA, with concentrations in Investment Management and Finance, from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. He spent the first six-plus years of his career in client service – providing marketing and consulting advice to well-known pharmaceutical companies. Ultimately, Tom’s interest in the financial markets and passion for helping people led him to become a Wealth Advisor.

Tom welcomes the challenge of simplifying the complexities of investing with the goal of guiding clients to develop a long-term plan and feel confident about their future. He prides himself on building relationships with clients based on accessibility, accountability, and his fiduciary responsibility to always act in each client’s best interest.

Motivated by an appreciation for education, Tom seeks to provide his clients evolved thinking in an ever-changing investment world. He earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) certification through the Investments & Wealth Institute and the education program at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Away from the office, Tom enjoys spending time with his family (wife, three daughters, and son) and trying to improve his game as a scratch golfer.

Education

MBA in Investment Management and Finance, DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
BA in Business and Marketing, Carthage College

Professional Designations

Certified Investment Management Analyst®

Leadership & Community

Board of Directors and Treasurer, The Sommer Foundation
CIMA® Professional Member, Investments & Wealth Institute
Midwest Chapter Executive Committee, Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors®

Office Location

Deerfield, IL

Related

Investments
The “So What?” of Higher Interest Rates
Background: How We Got Here In late 2008, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) cut the Fed funds rate – the target interest rate at which commercial banks borrow and lend their excess reserves to each other overnight – to 0% for the first time in history in response to the Global Financial Crisis. Since cutting the Fed funds rate to 0% didn’t cause inflation to surpass the Fed’s 2% target (one of their dual mandates is price stability), the Fed maintained this accommodative policy (along with quantitative easing) for the next decade-plus as shown in the chart below. Ultra-low interest rates from 2009 to 2021 paved the way for one of the longest economic recoveries in history; during this period, borrowing was cheap and therefore prevalent, and because credit investments offered meager returns, investors were encouraged to pursue higher-return (and higher-risk) investments such as stocks.
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Financial Planning
Cloudy Crystal Ball
As we start the new year, especially after a challenging 2022, the most frequent question we are asked is: What is your prediction for 2023? Admittedly, our crystal ball is cloudy. It always has been and always will be when it comes to short-term predictions. Still, there is no shortage of “experts” – supported by research, sophisticated models, and persuasive reasoning – that routinely broadcast what’s in store for the next twelve months. The harsh reality: it’s fool’s gold – entertaining but rarely actionable.
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Financial Planning
How We Serve: Corporate Executives
Over the years, we have had the privilege to serve a wide range of corporate executives: CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CMOs, Founders, Directors, and VPs, to name a few. These clients...
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