Kevin McCulley remembers what it felt like to enter the financial industry in 2007 — just before the ground gave way.
“I promptly endured one of the worst recessions we’ve had in a very long time,” he says of the 2008 global financial crisis. “It was a crash course in how to manage market volatility — and frankly, how to manage human emotion.”
That experience shaped the foundation of what would eventually become Ride Wealth Partners, the independent firm he later founded. From the beginning, McCulley was drawn to the markets not just for the numbers, but for the psychology behind them.
“Wealth management and markets are incredibly dynamic,” he says. “They’re influenced by economics, global events, and human emotion. You’re constantly blending the quantitative with the qualitative to help people achieve their life goals.”
After years in traditional firms, he began to feel something was missing.
“I’d been planning to start my own firm for a while,” he says. “I wanted to ensure that I had the experience and knowledge to build a practice that would allow me to take care of my clients in a more comprehensive way.”
In larger firms, growth can mean more clients and less personal connection. McCulley envisioned something different.
“I want to devote more time per client,” he says. “Not juggle more relationships than I should be working with. I want to deepen the connections I have and remove any conflicts between growing revenue and doing what’s best for the client.”
At Ride Wealth Partners, growth is about reinvestment. “As I grow the business, I plan to reinvest in enhanced technology and planning tools that directly help clients achieve their goals,” he says.
One of those goals, he’s found, is often harder than it sounds: actually enjoying the wealth people spend decades building.
“We’ve been taught since we were kids to save money,” McCulley says. “Then you retire or sell your business, and suddenly you’re expected to flip a switch and live off your investments. That can be very challenging.”
He often reminds clients, “A 100 percent success rate in a Monte Carlo analysis means you’re going to have regrets when you die.”
“My job is to help clients understand they’ve done a fantastic job saving,” he says. “Now it’s time to enjoy their assets.”
Balancing long-term security with present-day enjoyment is both art and science.
“If you’re making a decision with a dollar sign around it, give me a call,” he tells clients. “I’m here to be a partner along the journey.”
An avid cyclist and snowboarder, McCulley believes financial freedom should translate into real-life flexibility.
“We love to go skiing,” he says with a grin. “We just don’t love going on the weekends.”
Part of his mission is helping clients structure their finances so they can “take off on a Wednesday to do something they enjoy and know it’s not going to ruin their financial future.”
For McCulley, wealth isn’t about accumulating the highest possible number.
“It’s about knowing what it takes to fund the life you want and building a plan that keeps working for you over time.”
“You don’t need a big Wall Street firm to get institutional-caliber solutions,” he adds. “You can receive that level of expertise and high touch service from a local, homegrown shop — and when you call, you’ll get me.”