Meet Devin Faddoul, CFP®

I help young people make great financial decisions

My story

  • Growing up lower middle-class in Pittsburgh, money was always an issue. But I had two things going for me: my immigrant father instilled in me the hustler mentality and my mother always stressed academics. So in middle school I started mini-businesses to make extra cash, trying my best to stay out of trouble, while making straight A’s. In high school I realized I was too soft to make it in the trades, but knew I had a knack for numbers and people. So I decided to focus on my education. Hello, college.

  • After graduating from Penn State with a finance degree, I went right back to school and studied accounting at Notre Dame. Master’s degree in hand, I kicked off my career at Ernst & Young (auditing), moved over to KPMG (consulting), and eventually jumped to PNC (banking). Over the course of 15 years, I worked with some of the most recognizable names in finance (and logged over 700 Marriott nights).

  • Now, I’m a full-time husband, father, and CFP® with an eclectic (read: weird) set of interests ranging from football, photography, and Frank Lloyd Wright to languages, Latin music and Leonardo da Vinci. I love traveling overseas, reading five books at once, and creating Spotify playlists.

How I invest my own money

TL;DR: I keep it simple, pay attention to fees, and focus on the long-term.

The majority of my net worth is held in tax-advantaged retirement accounts. I have some money in bond funds, but the portfolio is almost entirely allocated to low-cost equity index funds. This might not work for most people, but I’ve educated and trained myself to not worry when the market takes a dive. In fact, I welcome it. I won’t need the money for another 30-40 years anyway.

While I believe that it’s damn near impossible to outperform a buy-and-hold strategy over the long-term, I still love to follow the markets. So I have a brokerage account for trading stocks and crypto, with enough money at stake to keep me engaged, but not enough to change my life.

I also have cash in different accounts for emergencies and other things. The interest these accounts generate is nice, but the optionality and security they provide is invaluable. Cash is the lifeblood of financial freedom and arguably the most important part of any balance sheet, including mine.

Outside of liquid assets, we have our home, two cars, and a bunch of Apple products. The rest of my capital is invested into Adda, a small company with a big heart that is helping to revolutionize the financial advice industry.

More about me

  • Favorite TV Show

    This is like picking your favorite kid, but I gotta go with Game of Thrones here. I know, I know, the ending was bad. Like, depressingly bad. Still, the show had it all, from character development to battle scenes. Fingers crossed that the spinoffs can live up to the legacy.

  • Life Goal

    Before I die, I have to become fluent in Spanish. I’ve studied this lovely language off-and-on since the 90s (soy viejo). I’ve taken college courses, hired private tutors, and even lived in Costa Rica for month. My accent is excellent, but I can barely get by in a real conversation. This needs to change.

  • Favorite Podcast

    Tim Ferriss, Lex Fridman, Russ Roberts, and Patrick O'Shaughnessy are all masters of the craft. But when I sit back and think about it, there’s only one possible choice: Dan Carlin. If you’ve listened before, you know that Hardcore History is the Mona Lisa of podcasts. It’s a work of art.

  • Worst Money Mistake

    I’ve always been savvy with money, but that doesn’t mean mistakes haven’t been made. The worst was probably buying a (bright yellow) Mazda RX-8 in my early 20s. Beautiful machine, but the worst possible everyday car in my city. I sold it nine months later at about a $10,000 loss. Whoops.

  • Favorite Book

    There’s no question about this one. It’s Steven Pressfield’s masterpiece, Gates of Fire. I’ve read it at least 15 times, but there are parts that still give me chills. Both the real-life history and fictionalized characters have inspired me in so many ways. If you don’t believe me, check out the Adda logo.

  • Unpopular Opinion

    Kanye is the greatest artist of our generation, a Bowie-style revolutionary that can do it all: rapper, producer, lyricist, designer. And he’s still evolving after two decades since The College Dropout (probably the best hip-hop album ever).

  • Favorite Board Game

    You want something that’s easy to learn, but hard to master. Great for beginners, but also old pros. And you want to be able to play a full game in less than an hour. Ticket to Ride checks all those boxes, and then some. If you like board games, it should be on your shelf.