Sue Stevens has enjoyed two professional careers: one in personal finance and one as a musician. Math, music and computers have more in common in the brain than you might think.
From 1990 to2023, Sue had the privilege of helping individuals with wealth management. It combined technical analytics in the planning process with a deep appreciation of human psyches and how the two combine.
Highlights from Sue’s wealth management years include authoring a series of award winning books starting with Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is in 2009, being named one of 50 Distinguished Women in Wealth Management (along with Janet Yellen) in 2008, being featured in the Wall Street Journal several times as well as appearing on the front of the Chicago Tribune business section with two of her personal heroes, and winning the inaugural ThinkAdvisor Luminary Thought Leaders award for personal finance in 2021.
Sue learned the financial planning business at Arthur Andersen and sat on their RegisteredInvestment Advisor board. During her years at Morningstar she worked with some of her heroes like Don Phillips and Joe Mansueto as Director, Personal Finance.Highlights included writing a popular column for Morningstar.com, numerous interviews with TV and radio personalities through Morningstar’s onsite media studio, speaking at investor conferences across the country and working with a talented group of smart, fun people.
Sue was lucky enough to work with Jack Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group in her years with that company. She was able to interview Jack several times about his portfolio and write about it in Morningstar Fund Investor and Morningstar Practical Finance which Sue founded as editor. Sue often travelled on the same speaking circuit as Jack and enjoyed the camaraderie of the people who spoke on various investment and personal finance topics.
In 2000, Sue founded her own firm Stevens Wealth Management. She loved helping clients and working closely with her staff until she sold that business to BuckinghamStrategic Wealth in 2018.
Sue’s route to wealth management was anything but typical. She started playing as a substitute/extra with the Chicago Symphony as a cellist right out of college (Northwestern University). She enjoyed many performances as an extra with the CSO, Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony. But the bulk of her career was as a studio cellist and free lance performer in Chicago.
Highlights of Sue’s musical career include performing with Leonard Bernstein as a Tanglewood fellow, playing lots of chamber music at Chicago’s Symphony Center, New York’s Carnegie Hall and DC’s Kennedy Center. She played with AlexanderSchneider and the New York String Orchestra and was part of a PBS TV documentary about “Alexander’s Bachtime Band.”
Sue toured with both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet as part of their backup bands. She loved playing Camelot with David McCallum as King Arthur who later went on to star in NCIS. There was plenty of glamour including playing with Liza Minnelli at the Chicago Theater, George Benson at summer festivals, and a TV special with Dionne Warwick.
She appears briefly in Home Alone II when the orchestra is playing and Kevin is looking down on them with the pigeon woman from the balcony. Sue also made several platinum albums with Mannheim Steamroller along with performing live concerts complete with costumes.
You can read more about Sue’s musical career here »
For more conversations with Sue, listen to these presentations:
Taking Leaps of Faith with Michael Kitces »
