NEVADAN AT WORK: With conservative approach, bank boss promises progress

Reed Radosevich, who runs one of Las Vegas' most prestigious private banks, will do a lot of things to keep wealthy clients happy -- even beyond the grave.

He recalled a case in which Northern Trust temporarily managed a business for a deceased client, rather than dispose of it at a fire-sale price.

The bank often charters private jets for clients to use for family vacations or business trips. It will pay bills for clients, manage their investments, plan estates, perform trust services and enable clients to create private foundations and other vehicles for philanthropy.

Radosevich enjoys the good life himself. The single man owns two Ferraris, a Corvette, a Porsche and a Mercedes.

"I look at Ferraris as a piece of art that you can actually drive," he said.

The Ferraris, he said, are 27 and 17 years old.

"I think the older cars have a little more character and they're more in my price range."

The lanky 6-foot-4 former college tennis player solves his height problem the same way that 6-foot-3½ Tom Selleck did when playing detective Thomas Magnum on the "Magnum, P.I." television series. He drives the Ferraris with the top down.

At the Summerlin bank office, however, Radosevich and his staff focus on the financial comforts and needs of their clients.

Question: Where did you grow up?

Answer: Albuquerque (N.M.)

Question: What did your father do?

Answer: He was dean of the business school at the University of New Mexico.

Question: You earned an undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in biochemistry, but you dropped plans to become a research scientist. Why?

Answer: There just weren't any good jobs at that time. I decided to go back for an MBA in finance.

Question: What did you do after getting the second degree?

Answer: Albuquerque is not really known as a financial mecca. So I went to work for Security Pacific Bank in California. I started out as a consumer lender for homes and boats but later joined Bank of America and became a senior vice president in the commercial banking group and moved to Las Vegas.

Question: But you left Bank of America and joined Northern Trust as president of Nevada in 2000. Why?

Answer: (It) certainly sounded like a great opportunity to be on the ground floor to develop a new bank. Las Vegas certainly was doing extremely well in the late 1990s and early 2000 and certainly was a prime target for Northern Trust to open an office base.

Question: How did Northern Trust start?

Answer: Northern Trust was actually founded in the 1880s by a family that owned Illinois Tool Works. They decided to establish a bank to serve the needs of wealthy individuals. We've never been involved in any merger. So that allowed us to maintain our culture and heritage.

Our Midwestern heritage and culture and somewhat conservative stewardship has attracted a lot of older wealthy clients, but we are certainly in a position to help individuals who are both in wealth creation and self-made and created new money. Most wealthy Las Vegans made their own wealth (rather than inheriting it).

Question: How did Northern Trust deal with the national economic bust that followed the boom?

Answer: Northern Trust, being a conservative institution, stayed clear of (risky investments in) subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations. Even through the worst of the crisis, Northern had record earnings in 2008. Their money, deposits and investments were with a financially strong institution.

Question: How do you make sure that Northern Trust's investment management strategies suit clients?

Answer: We typically meet with investment clients six or eight times. You really want to take the time, because you want to understand what they want to accomplish. We truly find out what keeps them up at night and what their goals are.
We provide financial planning for our clients. We'll take a 100,000-foot viewpoint of their financial situation.

We actually serve them with a client team, a banker-lender, investment manager, trust administrator, philanthropic services.

Question: How did you view investing during the darkest days of the Great Recession?

Answer: It was actually a buying opportunity for a couple of years. If you're diversified and you're invested in solid companies, when everybody is running for the sidelines, that's usually an opportunity to invest more.

Question: What is your outlook on the local economy?

Answer: It just comes down to healing the housing market and the job market.
... For Las Vegas to pull out of the recession, we need to absorb a lot of housing inventory. One way we can do that is by attracting retirees.

I'm bullish long term on Las Vegas. There are signs that we maybe (have) found the bottom and that we may be moving toward recovery.

Question: You credit your staff for a big role in Northern Trust's success in Nevada. Why?

Answer: The success of any business or any office has depended on finding the right people.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at
jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.