Arriving in Springfield
How does a 16-year-old kid who hails from the suburbs of Boston wanting to play ice hockey land in Springfield, Illinois? Bob Gordon says he came to Springfield for a three-day visit with a friend who played for the Springfield Kings. Thirty-eight years later, the now 54-year-old Gordon is a successful businessman, content with life in the Capital City. “When I first arrived and began playing for the Kings, within a year’s time, I broke my wrist, my nose three times, got my front teeth knocked out, broke a few ribs and my ankle,” he said. As he trekked back through his memory, he grinned slightly, and said, “I thought there had to be an easier way to make a living, a little safer.”

I’m not sure it was easier, but he spoke of no major physical injuries as he told of the journey into Robert Gordon & Associates, Inc. He started at Boston State College, which is now the University of Massachusetts, but graduated with a degree in economics from Framingham State College in Massachusetts. He also has a master’s in financial planning. He knew he wanted to do something in the field of financial services, but had really thought it would be more in line with real estate. “I got involved in the real estate business at probably the worst time in the world to get involved in the real estate business,” he said. “That was 1979, ’80, ’81. Interest rates were 18 percent, and Springfield was going through some major changes – from a blue-collar town to a service sector town. There were a lot of unemployed people then, and manufacturing people (from Fiat Allis, for example) that were looking for opportunities. People had to sell their houses, but there were no buyers.” He said he was fairly successful at the endeavor and worked hard at it, even ended up buying some real estate himself. Today, though, he says, “I am doing what I want to be doing.” He is a Certified Financial Planner and president of Robert Gordon & Associates, Inc.

Fee-Based Financial Services
“We are different than most brokers. We are a fee-based financial planner and money management firm,” he said. “The biggest difference between us and them is that we don’t represent a bank, insurance company or brokerage firm. We represent our clients. We don’t accept trips or incentives and don’t do any transaction-based business. It’s worked out well for us.” He did start the same way as most financial brokers, though, and says in the beginning the transition to fee-based was hard and is why most people don’t do it.

“We became totally fee-based in 1986, and I think it’s a better way to represent clients.” The services that are offered are three-pronged, Gordon says. “We offer financial education – people hire us to talk to their employees or for pension plans. We do financial planning, and we manage money,” he said. The firm represents commercial and individual accounts and has been doing so for 30 years. “We began as a transaction business and have evolved over the years to doing what I want to be doing right now.”

And what is his favorite part about his financial practice? “I like that we have stayed small. I’ve been bigger before. I’ve been by myself before,” he said. For the last 20 years he has had one other Certified Financial Planner working with him, Rik Stone, and a couple of support people. The offices are located at the northwest corner of Veteran’s Parkway and Old Jacksonville Road.

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