Robert Toomey

Robert "Bob" Toomey is a CFA and CFP® charterholder with more than 30 years in the financial-services industry, currently serving as Vice President, Director of Research, and Secretary at S. R. Schill & Associates, a fee-based financial-advisory firm in Mercer Island, Washington (founded 1987, roughly $165 million in regulatory assets under management). He has been affiliated with the firm since July 2011, where his responsibilities include investment research, performance management, asset-allocation studies, and personal financial planning. He is also a regular author of the firm's market and financial-planning commentary.

His earlier career was concentrated in sell-side and wealth-management equity research in Seattle. He was Vice President / Senior Equity Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray (1992–1999), Managing Director / Senior Research Analyst at RBC Wealth Management / RBC Dain Rauscher (1999–2005), Senior Vice President and Chief Equity Strategist at E. K. Riley Investments, LLC (2005–2008), and Senior Vice President / Financial Consultant at D. A. Davidson & Co. in Redmond, WA (2008–2011) before joining S. R. Schill.

On the education side, he earned a Bachelor's degree from Trinity College (1975) and an MBA from Boston University (1982), and subsequently obtained both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designations. Over his career he has published commentary in outlets such as the Seattle Times, the Puget Sound Business Journal, and the Mercer Island Reporter, and has appeared as a market commentator on CNBC and on KCTS's "Serious Money" program.

*(Framed around his actual role as a research director and financial planner — he does not invest in startups.)*

• Focuses on public-market investing and long-term financial planning for individual wealth-management clients, not private/venture deals.
• Advocates a "stay the course," long-term, diversified approach through market volatility; in his commentary he repeatedly counsels clients not to react to short-term drawdowns (e.g., "Rising Market Volatility? Stay the Course"; "Volatility: An essential component to higher returns").
• Emphasizes asset allocation, diversification, and risk management as the core drivers of outcomes, alongside personal financial planning that addresses uncertainty.
• Has expressed skepticism toward speculative assets — questioning whether cryptocurrency is "really an investment" and writing critically about the GameStop short-squeeze episode and robo-advice.