Throughout a distinguished career in the financial services industry that started in 1986, Patrice has established herself as a leader, speaker, thinker and connector, continuously cultivating relationships with clients and colleagues in the financial industry and beyond.
A most rewarding aspect of her work is seeing loyal clients become lifelong friends and having the families she serves refer their grown children and grandchildren to her. “Most of our clients have known me well over half my lifetime and have been with me for more than 25 years,” Patrice says. “You build trust and confidence over a long period of time.”
Her clients’ financial well-being is always top of mind. Patrice carefully listens to her clients and colleagues to provide the guidance, advice or strategy they seek for everything from their retirement to their children’s education.
Patrice helps her clients guard against making irrational decisions that often plague investors who become overly optimistic or pessimistic. “I don’t want them watching the markets and stressing over the daily gyrations. that is what they hire me for,” Patrice says. “I often tell clients that being objective about their money helps to put me in a position to make recommendations that aren’t based on emotions.”
Her integrity and approachability are two attributes that her clients appreciate. “They know that I have their best interest at heart and that they can call me whenever they have a concern and need to talk,” Patrice says.
“Over the years, there has been more and more talk in the industry about segmenting who you serve, but I truly feel that since God put me here, I’m here to serve whoever needs help. I particularly love working with women, so I tend to gravitate to them,” Patrice adds.
Patrice holds several key professional credentials that help her serve the specific and complex needs of her clients. In 2002, she completed the extensive coursework and testing and met the ethical requirements to become a Certified Financial Planner™ professional. This certification is one of the most respected financial planning credentials and the recognized standard of excellence in personal financial planning.
In 2009, Patrice also successfully met the curriculum and examinations required by the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners and Raymond James, earning the designation of Certified Estate PlannerTM. She is also an Investment Management Consultant with Raymond James.
Due to the depth of her knowledge and respect in the industry, her advice and perspective are often sought. She has been quoted in publications, such as U.S. News & World Report, and has been invited to serve on the boards of numerous companies and organizations.
She has been named to the list of Forbes Top Women Advisors Best-In-State* in 2021 and 2022 and the Raymond James President’s Club since 2012.**
The destiny that became her career path
Patrice has been in the financial industry since she fell into a receptionist position with Prudential-Bache Securities in 1986 while living in Newport Beach, California, when she was 20 years old – though it wasn’t her goal to be a financial advisor then.
“God knew that I would be good at this job and eventually put me in my chair after I learned other aspects of the business by working in other positions,” Patrice says.
Patrice quickly rose through the ranks at firms, including E.F. Hutton; Kidder, Peabody & Company; and Smith Barney, to become a wire operator, then a registered service associate and, finally, a financial advisor and partner to her former broker. She moved her practice to Raymond James in 2008, where she has worked ever since.
Why Patrice chose Raymond James
“After working in wire houses my whole career, I knew there had to be a better way, a better place to be able to service my clients’ needs. Since moving to Raymond James in 2008, Patrice has loved the small-firm feel to this ‘premier alternative to Wall Street.‘
“One quick story, I was at the Raymond James home office in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a meeting shortly after coming on board and one of the top executives walked by and said to me, ‘How are you doing, Patrice? I’m going to be up in your area soon.’ All I remembered for years was that he knew my name and where I was from. I’ve valued that relationship with him ever since.”
A notable legacy of community service
Patrice’s commitment to giving back is demonstrated by her support for charitable organizations that help improve the lives of others, such as Faith in Action-Oakland County, the Michigan Animal Rescue League, Grace Centers of Hope, the Neighborhood House, The Sandbox in Charlotte, North Carolina; MDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program and others. She is a member of The Women of Faith and assists with the Welcoming Team at Faith Church-EPC.
Patrice is a graduate of Leadership Rochester and a member of the Rochester Hills Chamber of Commerce, where she has served as a chamber ambassador and parade volunteer. In addition, she is one of the original Power of 100 Women with the Michigan Women’s Foundation, participates in 100 Women Who Care in Oakland County and is one of the initial 100 Businesses Who Care in Oakland County.
Patrice was born and raised in Oakland County, Michigan, and has lived in the state for most of her life. She lived in California for three years in her early 20s and was an exchange student in Australia and Mexico.
Today, she lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan, with her fiance, Paul, a former Army Ranger and combat veteran. They bought a canal house in Caseville, Michigan, after spending so much time there during the pandemic and now split their time between the two homes. Patrice has a married son, Caleb; a daughter-in-law, Katelyn; and a daughter, Alexis; a great Dane named Kaylee, and a cat named Kiki.
In her free time, Patrice enjoys Pilates, yoga, kayaking, hiking and gardening. She is an avid traveler and speaks Spanish, has studied French and German and is learning Italian.
P.S. Personally speaking
Q. What are your must-have travel items? Books, lots of them
Q. What is your favorite kind of trip? Why? I prefer warm weather trips so if there are palm trees at my final destination, I’m happy. And a hammock.
Q. How do you spend your time outside the office? Well, this year I’ve set a goal for myself to read 50 books so that means I have to make a concentrated effort to read every day. Also, I’m learning Italian on Duolingo and through a community program so if I’m not reading, I’m practicing my lessons.
Q. If you weren’t doing what you do today, what other job would you have? My first goal was to either marry Donny Osmond or be one of his backup singers, but some dreams are destined to remain in our hearts. (I did get to meet him this year though!) My path to becoming a financial advisor was more God’s will than mine and since He usually gets his way, here I am. In another life, I’d probably do something in the travel industry.
Q. What’s the one thing that might surprise others about you? I used to be an underwater basket weaver. Truly! When I was learning to scuba dive, basket weaving takes your mind off your buoyancy while under water. I still have the baskets to prove it.
Q. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be? Upcoming bucket list trips include Scotland, Portugal, Costa Rica and almost anywhere in the U.S. I haven’t already been. I’m excited to explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan next summer as there is still so much I haven’t seen up there.
Q. What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without? Well, I guess it goes without saying that my family is the most important thing to me … including my great Dane and my cat, of course. That being said, having gone through some fairly serious health challenges in the past, I’m grateful every day for being healthy and being on a path to being in shape and in as much control of my health as I can be.
Q. How do you define success? Having the flexibility to make my own schedule and set my own hours. I would also say that being in a position where I can mentor others and draw on the experiences that I’ve had is a good definition of being successful.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™, 
The Investment Management Consultant designation is awarded to those who complete the Raymond James Institute of Investment Management Consulting program.
*The Forbes ranking of America’s Top Women Advisors was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: wealth advisors with a minimum of seven years of experience, client impact, industry experience, review of best practices and compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Research summary (As of February 2022): 34,500 nominations were received, based on thresholds (9,850 women) 18,465 advisors were invited to complete the online survey. 13,549 advisors were interviewed by telephone. 2,610 advisors were interviewed in person at an advisor’s location and 1,203 were advisor web-based interviews. SHOOK Research’s findings and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of an advisor’s future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK Research is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or SHOOK Research, LLC. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience.
**Membership is based mainly on assets under management, education, credentials and fiscal year production. Requalification is required annually since prior membership is no assurance of future membership. The ranking may not be representative of any one client’s experience, is not an endorsement and is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance. No fee is paid in exchange for this reward/rating.