A lifetime in finance taught V Raymond Ferrara that stewardship is both craft and calling. As founder and executive chair of ProVise Management Group LLC, he centers that belief in daily practice by building a fiduciary firm grounded in education, clarity and continuity.
For years, ProVise Management Group was based in Clearwater, Florida, but it is now a Tampa Bay firm. With clients across the U.S., ProVise Management Group is recognized nationally for its size, but even more for its service. Growth pairs recruiting with selective acquisitions to bring in advisors aligned to purpose. A formal transition plan develops rising leaders, broadens ownership and protects culture so families experience stability through change. Technology upgrades streamline workflow and sharpen insight, improving the experience for clients and team members alike.
The future of work at ProVise Management Group rests on continuous learning. Ferrara and the partners invest in ongoing education, professional designations and mentoring that translate complex topics into plain language. An internship pipeline with universities introduces high-potential students to fiduciary standards, planning discipline and client service with the objective that they may one day join the firm. The aim is simple to say and demanding to deliver: Build a bench ready to serve for decades with judgment shaped by ethics and care.
Ferrara’s passion remains vivid after 54 years in the business. He credits curiosity, service and community engagement for keeping the spark alive. He reads widely, supports the arts and sports, volunteers and surrounds himself with colleagues who are young and hungry. Enthusiasm is shared in meetings that celebrate wins, in client conversations that teach without jargon and in coaching that turns experience into opportunity. Retirement is not in his vocabulary.
If he could master a skill instantly, Ferrara would learn Spanish and Italian. A lifelong learner by choice and habit, he continues to pursue growth in every season. That same impulse shows up in the classroom. He has taken courses in book writing to capture insights for a wider audience and to enhance the client and team experience even more.
The entrepreneurial story began with a conviction to act solely in a client’s best interest. Ferrara built a fiduciary planning and investment platform, then added a personalized white label service that supports accountants and financial planners who require customized solutions without building internal teams. Today the enterprise is in a deliberate handoff to the next generation through recruiting, development and well-fitted mergers. That cadence earned recognition as a Titan 100 Honoree and affirmed the impact of principled growth.
The vision remains personal and institutional. Ferrara wants ProVise Management Group to stay steady through transition while continuing to simplify work, enhance meetings and focus on what families value most. He measures leadership by the confidence clients gain and the capability teammates build. A lesson learned early guides the way forward: If you learn something useful, pass it on. When emerging advisors find voice, when clients move with clarity and when the firm’s legacy feels secure, the work is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
