Darrach Bourke provides guidance for retirement planning and managing investment portfolios through his position as a financial advisor at Emerson Equity in San Mateo, California. Throughout more than 20 years in the industry, Darrach Bourke has given back to the community by serving on the board of directors of organizations such as the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, now known as Safe & Sound.A nonprofit child advocacy agency, Safe & Sound empowers communities to care for children by supporting individuals, families, and other organizations. Safe & Sound also provides a variety of programs that rely on the generosity and commitment of volunteers from the local area.Those interested in volunteering must first submit an application and go through an interview process. Upon acceptance, they receive training and choose a particular commitment, which can vary from just six weeks to as long as a year.One volunteer position involves two and a half hours of service a week as a workshop assistant at Kids' Turn. Workshop assistants serve for six weeks through the course of a series of workshops designed to give children support in dealing with the divorce and separation of their parents.Other volunteer opportunities include working as a counselor in the Children's Playroom, assisting at community dinners, and staffing the 24/7 TALK Line to give support to parents seeking aid in caring for their children.
Before becoming a professional in the field of wealth management, Darrach Bourke attended Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California. Darrach Bourke also attended UC Santa Barbara, where he earned a bachelor of arts in business economics with an accounting emphasis.The Department of Economics at the University of California at Santa Barbara offers several undergraduate and graduate programs. Undergraduate courses range from the Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics to the History of Economics, Public Finance, Income Taxation, and more. The department also features a bachelor of arts program in business economics with a minor in accounting. This program gives students the ability to pursue a wide variety of careers, such as international finance and development as well as management consulting, operations research, and business administration. Graduates from the B.A. program in Business Economics have also found jobs in local, state, and federal government agencies.For those interested in further study, UCSB offers a certificate program in Technology Management through the Department of Economics. This program is open to undergraduates, master’s, and PhD candidates from any major.
The recipient of a bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Darrach Bourke leverages over 17 years of experience to serve as a financial advisor with Emerson Equity. Prior to joining Emerson, Darrach Bourke was affiliated with Summit Brokerage Services, where she assisted family clients with education funding plans, among other services.According to the College Board, the average United States postsecondary educational institution charges $45,370 annually in tuition, room, and board, which represents a 12 percent increase over the past five years. Consequently, it's never too early to begin putting aside money for your child's college fund. However, picking the right type of savings account is crucial as students with a large sum of savings in their name could be taxed heavily when applying for financial aid. One of the most efficient ways to invest in your child's future is to establish a 529 savings plan, which works in a similar fashion to an individual retirement account and 401(k) plan. Investment gains on those accounts are tax-deferred and completely tax-free once the funds are used to cover tuition expenses. However, if the money isn't used on qualified education expenses, it is subject to income tax as well as a 10 percent earnings penalty. Another option is a prepaid tuition plan, which allows parents to pay for tuition in advance at an already-established price without incurring future increases, as long as their child attends an in-state school. Other options include UGMA, UTMA, and Roth IRA accounts.
As a financial advisor with Emerson Equity, Darrach Bourke draws on more than 17 years of experience in finance. He comes to his role as a former executive vice president of Stella Capital, where he oversaw management of a fund of hedge funds.Known for their exclusivity and complex nature, hedge funds function as pooled investments from experienced and well-resourced investors. The individual investors, often knowna s limited partners, provide the capital that a fund manager then distributes among a carefully selected portfolio of products. The fund manager, known as the general partner, seeks to distribute assets in a way that minimizes risk and maximize returns. This aim parallels that of more traditional vehicles, such as the mutual fund, though the hedge fund general partner has more opportunities for doing so.Since a hedge fund is more limited in size and investor characteristics than other funds, it does not fall subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This means that fund managers may invest in almost any market instrument, including stocks and derivatives as well as real estate and currencies.Hedge funds are also flexible in the techniques that they use to promote high returns and minimal risk. As their name indicates, such funds originally depended on hedging techniques, in which managers would invest long to benefit from rising prices, while also going short on some investments in case prices fell. Since then, managers have diversified their strategies. Some choose to invest in a way that takes advantage of pricing inaccuracies, while others will borrow money to increase investor returns.Regardless of the strategy, however, investors must pay for these expanded opportunities with higher fees. The traditional fee structure has been 2 and 20, which translates to 2 percent of invested capital and 20 percent of profits. Some experts believe that this may change as the market shifts.
