Brian Copeland, CPWA^®, CFP^®

Brian Copeland comes from a line of professional carpenters; both his grandfather and father worked in the field. Brian remembers from his earliest days going to job sites, being handed a broom, and sweeping wood shavings when he was still young enough to think it was fun (and not unpaid labor!) It didn’t really occur to him his path would be different until his father sat him down and told him, “You’re not going to be a carpenter.” After a heartfelt discussion, Brian set off on a new path.

With an analytical, numbers-based mind, Brian headed off to college thinking he’d pursue engineering or computer science, but instead found himself in business school. His senior year, he secured an internship at a financial planning firm and was so successful he was offered a job upon graduation; the advisors with whom he worked then went independent, and asked Brian to join them and his path diverged. To this day, Brian is a strong believer in the power of internships, and is an advocate and steward of the program at Hightower Wealth Advisors.

Brian’s heart is with his head, on the analytical side of the business, and that is what led him to Rogers & Company when Carol and Omar were looking for someone to support that need. He enjoys working with clients on financial plans; he also gives back by offering pro-bono financial planning through the United Way, an experience both humbling and sometimes heartbreaking, but also keeps him grounded.

Brian is a sports junkie; in another life, he thinks he’d use that numbers brain as an agent, or a scout, or to negotiate contracts. For now, he contents himself with coaching his kids’ soccer teams — Brie and Miles. He is also an eager if not always perfect do-it-yourselfer; luckily, his dad is always around to back him up when he gets in too deep!

The family are also big fans of the outdoors — hiking the parks and trails of St. Louis as a family, while Brian and his wife Cassie plan for a big National Park hike once a year; they’ve hit the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Acadia, and Pictured Rocks. Brian is terrified of heights, so he greatly prefers the deep forests of Acadia to the sheer cliffs of the Grand Canyon.

Brian’s retirement dream is to travel; as children, he and his wife both saw a lot of the US through camping trips, and he would like to now explore the world. And as he’s exploring, he’d like to be thought of as one who always thought of others before himself.