Christopher F. Poch

Christopher F. Poch, Founder and CEO, Promethium Advisors, LLC.
Some financial advisors had family members who were brokers, while others had “financial mentors” who provided examples of hard work, customer service, and faith in the free enterprise system.
For Christopher Poch it was the latter. His interest in the markets and all things financial was gleaned from his father, a small businessman who unknowingly set in motion what would become an extraordinary career in wealth management.
From the time he was eight years old he held jobs from bagging nails to loading cars, selling door-to-door. He learned that serving the customer well was central to success. While still in college and holding down two part time jobs, he passed the examination to sell life insurance. Just out of college he worked for Merrill Lynch and then joined E.F. Hutton as an Account Executive in 1984, a firm that was later acquired by Citigroup Smith Barney.
By 2001, he had moved to New York, founded Private Wealth Management at Citigroup Smith Barney, and carried the title of Managing Director. Under his leadership his unit was recognized as the global leader in advising ultra-high net worth families.
It was 2010, when he decided to return to his hometown of Washington DC, to run the mid-Atlantic region for Bessemer Trust. In 2016 he wrote his first book, "Managing Your Wealth: A Must Read for Affluent Families", and in 2017 returned to managing private portfolios and publishing wealth management and market commentary.
Yet even after growing the business to more $1B in assets under management, Chris found that he kept coming up against rules that were designed for businesses unlike his own. For complex taxable clients, he felt at a competitive disadvantage because they weren’t able to recommend the investment options he felt his clients really needed.
So, in 2024 he forged his own path, launching the independent firm Promethium Advisors, LLC.
The Bethesda, MD firm serves family offices and high net worth individuals in a conflict-free environment—a firm he designed “as the next generation of advice,” serving clients as true fiduciaries.
In this [book/episode], he discusses a journey that spans over 4 decades with a level of experience few can offer, including:
• Life in the big brokerages like Smith Barney—and what changes he saw at the firm and in the industry at-large in the time leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
• Forgoing multiple life changing financial offers from brokerage and private equity firms and what motivated him to optimize for freedom through independence.
• The key drivers behind leaving Morgan Stanley to build his own firm—and what he sees as the real differences between being a business owner or joining another firm.
• The advantages of independence for advisors and their clients—and how having his own firm and offering co-investment vehicles allowed him to create a business model that aligned with his vision and values.
• Choosing to “shrink to grow”—and how impacting his bottom-line in the short-term provided a clearer path to profitability.
Chris is an industry visionary with numerous accolades including founding the industry leading UHNW Platform, Vice Chair of The Private Bank, Global Head Citibank's International Private Bank., past president and first recipient of the Association of Professional Investment Consultants lifetime achievement award.
He lived through and embraced the evolution of the industry landscape and can provide a perspective that takes a rare view from a bulge bracket Managing Director to independent advisor’s approach. There’s much to learn from his story, with key takeaways for clients, employee advisors and business owners alike.