Meet Miles Rader with Willner & Heller LLC

Composed and wise beyond his years, Miles Rader is undoubtedly making a name for himself in the wealth management world.

As a wealth advisor at Willner Heller LLC, Miles discusses his role within the firm and how he transitioned to get there from his earlier career journey at UBS. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a collaborative approach with his clients, and how he creates customized services for high net worth clients, charities, and small businesses. Outside of the office, Miles loves spending time with his fiancé, their dog, Jax, and trying new restaurants throughout the San Fernando Valley.

How did Miles get into private wealth management? What makes Willner Heller stand out from other wealth management firms? Where are his and his fiance’s favorite places to eat? Steak or sushi?

CLICK HERE for more information about Miles Rader.

CLICK HERE for more information about Willner Heller LLC.

Transcript

Announcer: 0:00

From Los Angeles. This is the Echelon Radio Network.

Jerri Hemsworth: 0:10

Hi there. This is Jerri Hemsworth with the Echelon Radio Network, and today I am so joyed by being able to sit with Miles Rader, he is a wealth advisor with Willner Heller, how you doing today?

Miles Rader: 0:25

Good. How about you Jerri?

Jerri Hemsworth: 0:27

Doing okay, you know, listeners, this is we're recording this when all the crazy fires are going on. Have you got, have you been holding up okay?

Miles Rader: 0:36

Yeah, we've actually, I got an evacuation warning at 4am today. Oh, so that was fun.

Jerri Hemsworth: 0:43

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 0:44

And then got a few yesterday. I'm over in Encino, so the office is in Encino, really close to Sherman Oaks. And I'm, I live right near the border of Encino and Tarzana.

Jerri Hemsworth: 0:58

Gotcha, yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's crazy weather. These winds are noth, I've never seen anything like this.

Miles Rader: 1:06

I haven't either. I've lived in LA my entire life, and, I mean, I lived in Thousand Oaks for a little bit, for about three years, and I've never seen winds like this.

Jerri Hemsworth: 1:15

Yeah, yeah.

Miles Rader: 1:16

I mean, the winds have died down. It's Friday, but,

Jerri Hemsworth: 1:18

Thank God.

Miles Rader: 1:18

Wednesday, Tuesday and Wednesday, it was really bad.

Jerri Hemsworth: 1:22

Yeah, and everybody I've talked to has never seen the winds like this. And in less than 24 hours, the destruction has just been very, very hard, very hard. So tell us, what do you as a wealth advisor? What do you do over at wellner Willner, Heller, sorry.

Miles Rader: 1:40

So we all tend to our clients. So it's not like everybody has their own set of clients really, we all kind of pitch in and do what we can for everybody.

Jerri Hemsworth: 1:53

Oh, that's kind of cool, there's no silos.

Miles Rader: 1:55

Yeah, exactly, because it's not it's really beneficial for the client to have three people instead of one, really, because if, especially if one is out of the office or can't, is on another call, then either me or another person on the team can help out. I do a lot of research for the team. I am also part, I do, or I'm part of client acquisition, and I do a lot of the compliance side as well. So prior to this, I was working at another RA, small, independent company that also does Wealth Management

Jerri Hemsworth: 2:35

Right.

Miles Rader: 2:35

And we also used Schwab as our custodian, which is kind of like the where we house our funds.

Jerri Hemsworth: 2:41

Gotcha.

Miles Rader: 2:42

So I was pretty comfortable with the system already, so bringing me on was easier than if I had not touched the Clearinghouse that we use.

Jerri Hemsworth: 2:54

Right.

Miles Rader: 2:55

So it was really, it was an easy transition, especially because the company was already, was with TD Ameritrade before, and then they got acquired by Schwab in September of '23 so the systems were a little bit new to the to Willner Heller. So me coming on and teaching everybody kind of like how to do, how things work, how Schwab works.

Jerri Hemsworth: 3:20

Brilliant.

Miles Rader: 3:21

Yeah, it's a little it's different from what they were used to. It's been smoother than when I when they first started.

Jerri Hemsworth: 3:28

I can imagine now, do you get introduced to the client fairly early on? If you if it's a client you didn't bring in so that the client knows right away there's a team and not just one person?

Miles Rader: 3:40

Yeah, for sure, yeah, definitely. I'm like the next contact pretty much, it's like, whether it's Matt or myself or Ken,

Jerri Hemsworth: 3:51

Right.

Miles Rader: 3:52

That Ken and Matt are the partners

Jerri Hemsworth: 3:54

Right.

Miles Rader: 3:55

They if they have a client that they bring on, then I'm the second one that they introduce, because I'm usually the one doing either compliance or the research, or I'm the one helping them out with the day to day stuff. And then for my clients, I introduce them to Ken and Matt, because if I'm away, or if I'm on another call, or if I just have something to do that day

Jerri Hemsworth: 4:21

Right.

Miles Rader: 4:22

Then they can talk to them about whatever they need done, or if they need to, if they have a question, or anything like that about the markets, then Matt and Ken are well equipped to do that.

Jerri Hemsworth: 4:35

It's such a brilliant way to run a service business. I run my marketing company pretty much the same way, because it's best, It's what's best for the client. And I think it's a little more enjoyable to be on a team, everybody doing the best thing for a client, than just one person at a time and getting, I've seen companies where people get very territorial, like, that's my client, and don't talk to my client unless I tell you, you know, that kind of stuff. And that's kind of, it's difficult.

Miles Rader: 5:12

Yeah, I've definitely been in situations like that. I started off at UBS, so I was an intern in Westlake Village,

Jerri Hemsworth: 5:21

Sure.

Miles Rader: 5:22

And then after that, after about 10 months of that, I moved over to the downtown office that's no longer there, but I was over in downtown at UBS with a full time job as a client service associate.

Jerri Hemsworth: 5:40

Gotcha.

Miles Rader: 5:41

Which pretty much means I was with, I was doing most, if not all, of the administrative and compliance work for clients. It was about, let's say, I think was 14 people on that team, 7 advisors, just under 2 billion in AUM, which is assets under management.

Jerri Hemsworth: 6:00

Sure.

Miles Rader: 6:02

So it's a big team, but everybody kind of had their own clients. It was pretty cut and dry with that. I mean, as far as

Jerri Hemsworth: 6:10

Don't be peeking over the fence over there.

Miles Rader: 6:11

Exactly, literally. I mean, the associates worked with everybody, but the advisors were kind of like, "No, this is mine. This is my area,"

Jerri Hemsworth: 6:21

Right. Yeah, that that's, that's difficult. I wonder, if you've seen that tends to be the way big companies work versus the smaller boutique firms that really are all about the client.

Miles Rader: 6:37

I would say, I mean by a society, yes, in a way, I definitely, I mean, no, no, nothing against the bigger companies and I, and I definitely, I mean, at UBS, I met some great people and some quality people that I still talk to and keep in touch with today. But I would say it's kind of a little bit more designed for that, in a way, because it's more product driven, which is one of the reasons I kind of went away from the broker dealer corporate area.

Jerri Hemsworth: 7:13

Right.

Miles Rader: 7:14

That space was a little bit too it just wasn't for me. So and when I went moved over to private, really, I felt that niche where I was really able to do better things for the client, and I felt like I was more comfortable there, so therefore I kind of kept that trajectory going.

Jerri Hemsworth: 7:37

And Willner Heller is fee based, correct?

Miles Rader: 7:39

Correct, yeah, we're customized. We are a fee based company that provides customized portfolios for our clients, usually high net worth clients or charities, small businesses, even mid sized companies. But we also cover a few retirement plans, like pension plans and all that stuff, but we don't, we're not the administrators of those retirement plans, but we work with the what's called a third party administrator, which is the person that does all the compliance, the paperwork, the bills and all that stuff, and handles with their deals with the employees plus the employers, but they cannot represent both.

Jerri Hemsworth: 8:23

Right, right, that makes sense. That is a part of the team that's helping with the client.

Miles Rader: 8:30

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 8:31

That's fantastic. I think that exposure and that environment, kudos to you for knowing what worked for you and what didn't work for you at a fairly young age, you know? Because I think there's probably a fair amount of advisors that stick with one way and are kind of miserable.

Miles Rader: 8:53

Yeah, most definitely.

Jerri Hemsworth: 8:54

And to figure out early on, early-ish that this isn't working, I'm gonna shift. Um, kudos. Yeah, that takes a lot of strength.

Miles Rader: 9:05

Thank you. Yeah, no, I've had always had a very supportive family, so it was pretty it wasn't too hard, they weren't, they weren't hard on me at all. They were very supportive. They were like, do what's best for you, and they trusted me that, I mean, I didn't know exactly, but they're kind of not hands off, but I would say they let me do my thing and just kind of make, either make mistakes or just learn from what my past experiences are. So it's, it's been really, I'm blessed in that way.

Jerri Hemsworth: 9:35

Yeah, sounds like it. And you've landed at a firm where I know the partners, and they're very keen on growth and support, and that's, I'm very thrilled for you that that's where you've landed.

Miles Rader: 9:50

Appreciate that.

Jerri Hemsworth: 9:51

Yeah. So I want to, I want to switch gears a little bit. Where'd you grow up? You said here in LA?

Miles Rader: 9:56

Yeah, so I grew up in Rancho Park area, so just north of Chevy Hills.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:04

Sure.

Miles Rader: 10:05

So West LA, I grew up or I went to school in Westwood.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:12

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 10:13

And then I went to middle school also in Westwood, actually, right behind the Mormon Church.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:20

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 10:21

At Emerson Middle School.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:22

Sure, sure sure.

Miles Rader: 10:23

So I was there. And then for high school, I went over to St Monica's Catholic High School, I'm not Catholic, but a lot of my friends were there, and so we all went there and had a great time.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:37

That's cool.

Miles Rader: 10:38

Great education over there. It was over in Santa Monica on California and Lincoln.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:45

Okay, yeah, sure.

Miles Rader: 10:46

It's at a park right across the street. So it's nice.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:48

Okay.

Miles Rader: 10:49

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:49

Very cool. And then where'd you go to college?

Unknown: 10:52

I went to, I started off at University of San Diego.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:55

Uh huh, great campus.

Miles Rader: 10:57

It's lovely.

Jerri Hemsworth: 10:57

You and I have talked about that.

Miles Rader: 10:59

Yes we have. It's a beautiful place. The area is beautiful. The food's great over there, right next to three different beaches. It's lovely. It's not the it's pretty costly. So we actually that was one of the reasons. So my grandmother is actually turning 99.

Jerri Hemsworth: 11:21

Wow!

Miles Rader: 11:22

This month on the 18th.

Jerri Hemsworth: 11:23

Oh my gosh, that's fantastic!

Miles Rader: 11:25

So when she, she was living in Oceanside alone, and then she, when, I think she was about 90 so about, no, it had to been no, it was 85 around. So kind of like mid like for after my first year of college, she moved from Oceanside to Sherman Oaks here.

Jerri Hemsworth: 11:49

She came north, okay.

Miles Rader: 11:51

Assisted living facility over there, because my uncle and my parents are in this area, so it's easier for them.

Jerri Hemsworth: 11:59

Sure.

Miles Rader: 12:01

But other than that, so when, when she made that move, I came back and I studied at Santa Monica College for about a semester, just taking a few classes before figuring out where I wanted to go.

Jerri Hemsworth: 12:14

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 12:14

Applied to LMU and to Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. I I didn't think that Cal Lutheran was gonna be the one I really was set on LMU, but even then, so I thought that it was just easier to do, not easier, but just more my fit for Cal Lutheran. They had a fine both had a finance program that I liked, but I thought that I actually met with a few of the finance professors at Cal Lutheran and brilliant people.

Jerri Hemsworth: 12:49

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 12:49

So I was really, that was really a big, yeah, it was a big factor in my decision.

Jerri Hemsworth: 12:55

Nice.

Miles Rader: 12:56

And because of that, I was able to join a business fraternity. And then once they, I mean, they have plenty of like marketing and networking events, so I went to those, met people at UBS. They were, I was able to interview one of the advisors who and then I came back to him, asking if they had any internship availability in the office, and he worked with the branch manager and got me,

Jerri Hemsworth: 13:27

Fantastic, so that just launched your career.

Miles Rader: 13:29

It did.

Jerri Hemsworth: 13:30

Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah, that Cal Lu is, is, is an excellent school. And, I mean, LMU is too, you know, there's a lot of it. I think it's kind of interesting when you find that that one program in school that really sets you up for your future, and you go, wow, I lucked out with this. You know, super cool.

Miles Rader: 13:54

Exactly.

Jerri Hemsworth: 13:55

And when you're not working, what is your favorite thing to do?

Miles Rader: 13:59

Just hang out with my fiance and my dog, jax.

Jerri Hemsworth: 14:03

Jax?,

Miles Rader: 14:04

Yep, Jax, J-A-X.

Jerri Hemsworth: 14:04

Okay. And what kind of dog is Jax?

Miles Rader: 14:08

He is a pit bull mix. We don't know exactly with what we adopted him from a shelter in San Pedro when he was about one one and a half. We don't know exactly, but a bit of a puppy.

Jerri Hemsworth: 14:21

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 14:21

But at the same time, he was fully grown, so he's white, mostly white with brown spots, yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 14:30

I know we have pit mixes too, and we've these are, we have two of them right now, and these are our third and fourth out of, you know, once we we had a golden retriever, which we adored, and then got a pit mix when she was in her Twilight. And boy, it, we were sold, because they, they get a total bum rap.

Miles Rader: 15:00

They do.

Jerri Hemsworth: 15:00

They and they're the most loving, fun, amazing cuddlers and And Tilly our, the one we have right now, she's more of a retriever than than Gracie ever was. She'll bring you the tennis ball. She loves to run tennis ball. What does Jack's love to do?

Miles Rader: 15:18

He loves to chew on things. Not so, so he's what's great about him is, like, he's never touched any furniture, like never ripped up any furniture, walls, nothing he gets, he stays away from all that. He's very good about being inside. He just chews on toys that's about it, like pillows or anything blankets, he's fine with. But he we're kind of good at setting the boundaries of what's chewable and what's not.

Jerri Hemsworth: 15:46

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 15:48

Yeah. He, he's very respectful in that way. And if we want to take something away, he doesn't, it's not like he fights back or anything like that. So he's not, he's very gentle.

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:00

But he gives you the puppy eyes, like "why?"

Miles Rader: 16:02

Yep, that he does!

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:04

They're good at giving stink eye too.

Miles Rader: 16:06

They really are.

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:06

Yeah, it's like they look at you and just go"mmhmm"

Miles Rader: 16:08

The side eye, yep, I love it.

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:11

You're being a jerk now, Dad.

Miles Rader: 16:12

I know, or even when we're doing something, like, if I sneeze or something, he's just like, what was that? He won't turn his head, but he'll just give me the side eye.

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:24

We have Mookie right now is our three year old, and he didn't bark for six months.

Miles Rader: 16:32

Oh, wow.

Jerri Hemsworth: 16:33

We never heard him bark. We thought, okay, he's gonna, he's not gonna be a barker, yeah. But now he has become the front line protector, and he he's like the really tall, skinny dude that has an extremely deep voice, and when he first barked, we were shocked at how deep his voice was, but Mookie was pretty chill. He wasn't chewing on furniture, just like, you know, Jax, until I sat down in my antique chair that I got from my grandmother's and I hadn't sat in it in a long time, and I put my hands on the arms, and I realized he had Cho chew. Choan. Chu what chewed? Chewed the handles.

Miles Rader: 17:19

Oh, wow.

Jerri Hemsworth: 17:20

He must have, like, curled up like a donut in the chair and just sort of gummed and chewed away the nubs. They were down to nubs. And I thought, you son of a gun, you know, I thought, Oh my gosh. And it's a really, it was a really beautiful chair, but that was the only thing. And we got him when he was little.

Miles Rader: 17:43

Gotcha.

Jerri Hemsworth: 17:44

Um, like three, four months old and but that was the only thing he really chewed on. Now he he likes the tuggy toys.

Miles Rader: 17:51

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 17:52

Whereas Tilly, she's okay with tuggy toys, but she likes the tennis balls.

Miles Rader: 17:56

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 17:56

That's her thing. So if you're not playing with Jax, what else do you like to do?

Miles Rader: 18:03

I like to try new restaurants. Probably we try once a week to try a new restaurant, usually that, I mean, recently that hasn't happened with everything going on, yeah, like the holidays and just the weather in general, and then also the fires. So that's been fun,

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:21

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 18:22

But other than that, yeah, we try to spice it up with food, we like to cook.

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:28

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 18:28

She's more of a baker. I'm more of a cook.

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:30

Yeah? What do you love cooking the most?

Miles Rader: 18:33

Probably steak.

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:34

Steak, carnivore.

Miles Rader: 18:36

Yeah, pretty much. I like steak potatoes, kind of just, like, just hearty.

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:43

Sure. Have you experienced the outdoor griddles?

Miles Rader: 18:47

I have not.

Jerri Hemsworth: 18:48

Oh my god, yeah, yes. I got one for my husband. And if you like steak, I highly recommend trying the griddle.

Miles Rader: 18:58

Yeah, no, I've seen great stuff

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:01

Mercy.

Miles Rader: 19:02

I know.

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:02

Yeah, yeah. So and your fiance likes to bake?

Miles Rader: 19:06

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:06

What did they like to,

Miles Rader: 19:08

She likes to bake cookies, brownies, everything, cakes, lemon bars,

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:14

You're screwed.

Miles Rader: 19:15

Yeah, my gut is at least.

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:17

Yeah. But that's very cool. So your foodies and you like to go out and try different restaurants. Is there a particular area that you like to go to and experience, or do you take it zone by zone?

Miles Rader: 19:32

Zone by zone, really. I feel like I didn't really know, before moving into the valley, I didn't really know of the food opportunities here and there are plenty.

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:42

Yes.

Miles Rader: 19:42

So Northridge has plenty. Van Nuys, Tarzana, Encino, everywhere you go really has great food opportunities. Studio cities, huge for food, but pretty much, I mean, we were in Woodland Hills, plenty too.

Jerri Hemsworth: 19:58

Yeah, tons we have an associate that we know. Actually, he's an attorney, and he and his wife are huge foodies, where they have gone from the very west end of Victory in the valley here, and tried every single restaurant around Victory all the way down.

Miles Rader: 20:21

That's impressive.

Jerri Hemsworth: 20:21

Yes, the ultimate foodies, and they go on foodie vacations and things like that. And it's fascinating to hear, you know, his take on all the different types of restaurants. And who the heck knew? I mean, on Ventura Boulevard, I know there's over 4000 restaurants there.

Miles Rader: 20:43

Yeah, I'm not surprised.

Jerri Hemsworth: 20:44

So I can only imagine it's got to be similar up at at Victory.

Miles Rader: 20:48

Oh, definitely.

Jerri Hemsworth: 20:49

But yeah, big eats.

Miles Rader: 20:52

We love it.

Jerri Hemsworth: 20:53

And, and our daughter now lives in Los Feliz, and before that Silver Lake. And, yeah, I'd always, we had heard that they're really good eateries, and, and, but now we're starting to experience them. For Brian and I, it's a whole new world, because we've been Valley people,

Miles Rader: 21:12

Yep.

Jerri Hemsworth: 21:13

And for years. And to go over the mountain and experience those those restaurants is pretty fun.

Miles Rader: 21:20

It is, LA has so many food opportunities. It's so diverse, and you get it everywhere. So you get anything anywhere, really.

Jerri Hemsworth: 21:27

So if you're a steak person, what about your fiance?

Miles Rader: 21:33

I would say the same thing. Or actually, she loves when I when I cook steaks, she cooks more, I'd say she cooks a lot of chicken, yeah, she cooks a lot of like, rice meals.

Jerri Hemsworth: 21:48

Oh, yeah.

Miles Rader: 21:49

So she's big into that

Jerri Hemsworth: 21:51

Easy.

Miles Rader: 21:52

Like, stir fries and all that stuff.

Jerri Hemsworth: 21:54

Yeah, I do the same thing. Now, when you go out to eat, is there a certain type of ethnicity or food that you guys tend to favor?

Miles Rader: 22:04

She loves sushi.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:06

Yes.

Miles Rader: 22:06

So she loves sushi. We just went to Korean barbecue the other weekend, I think weekend before last, but it was great.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:18

So wait, she loves sushi. What about you?

Miles Rader: 22:20

I love sushi.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:20

Okay.

Miles Rader: 22:21

I love sushi, but she, I mean, I always loved sushi ever since I was little.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:27

Yeah.

Miles Rader: 22:27

She wasn't into it until a few years after we started dating. And then she tried it and kept trying new things. And then now,

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:35

Look out.

Miles Rader: 22:35

Exactly now, my wallet is hurting, but, she's loving everything. She loves it more than I do.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:42

Yes, so I'm a sushi Fana. I could eat sushi every day.

Miles Rader: 22:47

Where's your favorite? Well, it's around here, at least.

Jerri Hemsworth: 22:50

Gosh, you know there's, there's a couple. In Woodland Hills, we had Brother Sushi, but it now it's only open. Little Brother Sushi is only open on for dinner and but we've been liking SO sushi with this, which is Tarzana.

Miles Rader: 23:05

We just went over there.

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:06

Yeah, they have a new location.

Miles Rader: 23:08

Yep, I think was Tuesday we were there.

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:10

Was that the first time you'd been there? Or?

Miles Rader: 23:11

No, I, I've been there plenty of times, but that's probably our go to, as well.

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:16

Yes, yes, our daughter found it. And so that, that's probably our go to over here in the West. And then, you know, Taro Sushi over in Studio City area, there's some really good ones, but, yeah, it's, West LA, there was a place that we used to go to, but it was really hard because it was cash only and you had to wait behind the chair you wanted to sit in.

Miles Rader: 23:42

Oh interesting.

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:43

And wait for, yeah, that was, it was a waiting. There was a line, but it was behind every chair

Miles Rader: 23:49

that seems,

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:51

It was highly inefficient, yeah, yeah, it was kind of strange.

Miles Rader: 23:55

I'd feel very uncomfortable if I was eating with like, a line of five people behind me.

Jerri Hemsworth: 23:59

Yeah, right, nothing like pressure.

Miles Rader: 24:01

Exactly.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:02

They're like, breathing down your neck.

Miles Rader: 24:03

Literally.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:04

I want your chair. Yeah, hurry.

Miles Rader: 24:08

You're in the middle of a roll, and they just slip you five bucks or something, trying to get you out of there.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:14

Vacate, vacate now. I'll pay for your meal. Just get the heck out.

Miles Rader: 24:19

I'm sure that that's happened there before.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:21

Seriously, right?

Miles Rader: 24:22

Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:22

It's terrible. Oh, Miles, thank you so much for sitting with me today. I love getting to know you better, and we'll have to go have sushi.

Miles Rader: 24:30

Sounds good to me.

Jerri Hemsworth: 24:31

Okay. Take care.

Miles Rader: 24:31

Thank you for having me. Jerri, you got it. Thanks. You too. Bye

Announcer: 24:43

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