Morgan Stanley advisor and managing director Adam Carlin is part of a 13-person practice in Coral Gables, Florida, with about $2 billion in assets — the Bermont/Carlin Group. He’s been with Morgan Stanley (and Smith Barney) for over 20 years.
While Carlin isn’t exactly sure about his retirement timetable as an advisor, he plans to continue his philanthropic focus for many years to come. He and his wife Chanin sponsor a prom for kids receiving care at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and a week of holiday activities at NewYork Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Also, he and his business partner Richard Bermont fund a week of interviews at financial institutions in New York for a group of students attending the University of Miami School of Business, his alma mater.
When he began his career in the mid-1990s and was renting a room in an apartment, Carlin says he knew that if he “was lucky enough to have success in my professional life I had to also commit to making a difference in others’ lives.” And over the years, his definition of success has remained constant.
“I firmly believe that if one wants to attempt to truly be a successful human being, charity must play a large role in their life. I realize that I’ve been incredibly blessed in so many ways in my life,” the advisor said, adding that he has “an amazing wife” and twin five-year-old boys.
The couple decided to host an annual dance for kids at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, for instance, since many of the children are not healthy enough to attend such events at their schools. “It’s an amazing evening [for about 100 patients and 100 other guests]. When you enter the room it absolutely looks like a prom at any school around the country,” he explained.