Key decisions at pivotal moments in his life led Jay Brain to his role today as senior vice president with Stephens Inc. First, he decided to major in finance and banking at the University of Arkansas.

Then, he took Dr. John Dominick’s commercial banking class where Dominick recommended he take a job as an examiner with the Arkansas State Bank Department in Little Rock after graduation in 1992. That job “was a great experience professionally, but also personally,” Brain said. “I got to see nearly all of Arkansas — being in these state-chartered banks over the next three years. I got a lot of training there. I learned how to read balance sheets backwards and forwards, and I got to interact with senior executives in the banking institutions and their board of directors at a relatively young age.”

Another key decision was moving to Northwest Arkansas in July 1995 to work for Merrill Lynch, transitioning from commercial banking to wealth management.

“Frankly the timing could not have been better,” he said. “You think about 1995 in Northwest Arkansas and the changes we’ve seen. So, I consider myself lucky, fortunate to have experienced and benefited from the tremendous growth in this region.”

While in that role, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recognized him as part of the 2003 Forty Under 40 class.

Another pivotal decision was Brain’s move in 2009 to Stephens Inc., one of the nation’s largest family-owned financial service firms, privately held by the Stephens family in Little Rock.

“I grew up in Little Rock, so I knew the Stephens’ name and brand and family and had a great deal of respect for them.”

Brain accepted a position in the company’s new office in Rogers as vice president.

“It was the height of the global crisis in 2009, and I felt the firm’s value perfectly aligned with my own and those of our clients,” he said. “Stephens is an organization built on close long-term, multigenerational relationships, and the wealth management group I work with, in particular, takes a very collaborative, client-centered approach to providing solutions to what, for our clients, are often complex wealth management needs.”

A Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) since 2002, Brain’s clients are working and retired business executives and families.

“Our job is to grow, protect and preserve the wealth they’ve created through a lifetime of hard work. Whether that’s helping to solve an immediate need for income, replace an income stream for a person newly retired, or for future needs, like efficiently transferring wealth to their heirs.”

Brain ascribes to what Kevin Scanlon, head of Stephens’ private wealth management, often says, “‘Every day you get better, or you get worse. You don’t stay the same,’” he said. “I’m trying to get better every day.”

There’s always something new to learn, he said. “I’m a naturally curious person. It’s something my father instilled in me. He was a lifelong learner. You can’t ever be satisfied with the knowledge you need in this profession, because there’s something new to learn every day.”

Brain credits his success to his consistency and his support staff. “Stephens provides a world-class support organization to help us in the process. It’s that support organization that partners with our clients, whether it’s through research, trading, wealth planning or operations. They’re a tremendous support.”

Off work Brain enjoys time with family, riding bikes and flying airplanes. A member of Fly Oz, Brain owns a 1968 Piper Cherokee that he bought in 2003, and he’s been flying for 25 years. He served on the Rogers Airport Commission for eight years. Appointed to the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics in 2014, he’s been elected chairman twice.

“I meet mayors and managers of airports across all corners of the state. I think there are 90 airports that we help through that commission with their airport improvement projects, building hangars and replacing fueling facilities.”

Brain is impressed by the “amazing economic impact our airports have,” and quotes a popular aviation adage, “‘A mile of highway will get you a mile down the road. A mile of runway will take you anywhere in the world.’”

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