Keeping It in the Family: How Portland-Based Advisor Bianca Urdes Prioritizes Values-Based Decision-Making

Since joining Stifel, financial advisor Bianca Urdes and her team have embraced opportunities to build lasting client relationships.

Born in the region of Romania known as Transylvania, Stifel advisor Bianca Urdes promises that she doesn’t bite unless provoked.

After earning a law degree in Romania, Bianca moved to the United States 16 years ago to pursue an MBA in finance at Oregon’s Portland State University. While she didn’t enter the program with intentions of becoming a financial advisor, she soon discovered an unexpected passion for working with clients.

“I never thought I would enjoy our business as much as I do,” she says. Yet the field has surpassed her expectations, allowing her to grow professionally and devote herself to work that truly makes a difference.

The Building Blocks of Success

As Bianca worked to get her business off the ground, a friend introduced her to another financial advisor at her firm, Tony, who had also immigrated from Romania. Unbeknownst to Bianca, she’d just met her future husband — and future business partner. Six years after getting married in 2007, they decided to take the leap and merge their practices.

Together with Tony and their partner, Ken Miller, Bianca has spent the past five years building a wealth management team that prioritizes personal client connections. She’s also enjoyed helping her clients — many of whom are women — invest in companies they feel good about supporting.

“Investors in Portland are interested in making money, just like investors everywhere else,” Bianca explains. “But people in Portland have very strong values, and they use those values to guide their decisions when it comes to investments and life in general.”

When the culture began to change at their previous firm, Bianca and Tony decided to look for a new home. “We looked at 10 different companies,” says Bianca. “In the end, we chose Stifel for many reasons, one of which was that they put the client first, and that has always been very important to us.”

Making the Transition to Stifel

Transitioning to a new firm can be an overwhelming process, but Bianca was impressed by the support she and her team received from Stifel. “From local management to people in the home office, Stifel has been very much on board and looking for ways to help us have as smooth a transition as possible,” she says.

Since joining Stifel’s Portland office in April 2018, the Urdes Miller Group has continued to grow and evolve its focus on how to best serve its clients — a commitment that Bianca has found her new colleagues share.

“They are remarkable professionals,” she explains, “people who are very good at what they do, and they genuinely care about the client and are here to serve. That’s amazing, to work with people who are so focused on what’s good for the client.”

Joining the Family

Bianca and Tony’s daughter, Shira, was born in 2016. Since expanding their own family, they’ve gained a deeper perspective on what it means for clients to welcome them into so many aspects of their lives.

“We find our clients discuss with us some of their biggest concerns and share with us some of their biggest accomplishments or happiest moments,” Bianca says. “It’s a privilege to be welcomed into a family. Using everything we are and everything we know to help clients live the life that they want to live — it’s very rewarding to be trusted that way. We feel very honored.”

Fortunately, Stifel’s expansive resources and client-focused culture have allowed her team to grow and strengthen these essential relationships. Bianca explains, “We are big enough to have access to key tools and resources, but small enough not to lose sight of what is important, which is our clients. If something is important to our clients, it becomes important to us.”

Opportunities for Professional Growth

At Stifel, Bianca, Tony, and Ken have enjoyed opportunities to grow their business and develop their brand — including perfecting the team’s website. “We had a certain image in mind, a certain brand that we wanted to portray, and Stifel really took it in,” Bianca says. “Everybody worked toward the same goal, and I think they did a great job.”

She’s also enjoyed new opportunities to further her own professional development and has been especially invested in Stifel’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), which organizes events, forums, and networking opportunities for women throughout the firm.

She explains, “It’s impressive to see so many professionals who happen to be women get together and discuss, ‘What is it that you do for your clients? How long have you been in the business?’ I give a lot of credit to Stifel for putting resources behind the things that they support.”

Interested in learning more? Visit www.ChooseStifel.com.