Eighteen years ago, Mike Barancyk traded nine years in the engineering field, six of which he spent in the U.S. Navy, for a career move to the financial services industry at Oak Partners, Inc. Since then, he’s been impacting clients’ lives as a Wealth Manager and Senior Partner, even implementing skills and lessons learned from his previous career along the way.
“I have always been interested in the way that the stock market and the economy interact and evolve together. It makes for a very interesting and continually changing career,” Barancyk said. “I was able to bring a lot of the research and attention to detail that allowed me to be successful in my previous career to my new one here at Oak Partners. The counselor and teaching approach translates very well in the investment advice and services industry.”
Barancyk strives to embrace the power of empathy in both his work and his daily life.
“The best advice I can give people is to be empathetic and don’t judge someone’s struggles because you can’t know where they have been in life,” Barancyk said. “Treat people the way that you expect to be treated and life should sort itself out. Also don’t forget to ‘Work Hard and Play Hard.’ If you put maximum effort into your job you will need a stress reliever at some point.”
For Barancyk, that stress reliever comes in the form of travel and family time.
“When my 3 kids were younger, I coached them through just about every sport that they played, and they were all pretty successful at them. I will tell you that it kills your golf game to do so but it is really worth it,” Barancyk said. “I also love to travel and tend to do it a lot more now that my children are all in or finished with college. Many of my clients ask me about travel advice and to me it’s just part of the job.”
Barancyk draws inspiration from his father, whose example of hard work and resiliency instilled in him values of dedication and quality work ethic that carry over to his career today.
“My dad is quite possibly the hardest working man that I have ever met,” Barancyk said. “He’s a retired union carpenter and really sacrificed to put food on the table for my mother and 6 kids.”
“As the oldest of the 6, I remember a time when the economy collapsed and he did whatever was necessary to ensure that we were never hungry,” Barancyk continued. “That drive helped to make me hungry in a different way.”
The way Barancyk sees it, his role at Oak Partners goes far beyond finance, and he welcomes the opportunity to become not just a source for financial guidance for his clients, but ultimately a friend as well. For him, the best part of working at Oak Partners is engaging with clients, knowing that his efforts help bring their goals into reality.
“Helping my clients achieve their retirement goals is extremely gratifying,” Barancyk said. “Over the years, our clients typically become our friends and it is really nice when you can help your friends succeed.”
“At Oak Partners, personal and small business financial management is more than just stocks and bonds,” Barancyk continued. “It’s about being there for clients when they have questions through good markets and bad. It’s about handholding and taking the emotion out of tough decisions. It’s about being someone’s personal Chief Financial Officer for when there is a problem needing to be solved. In the end, it’s about the relationships.”
Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC.
