Rachel McCracken, CFA®, MBA

Rachel grew up in a single parent household where there was zero career guidance and no financial education. After she became a mother, Rachel got serious about her career and learned about personal financial management for the first time. Once she sat in her first finance class for her MBA, she fell in love with investments and never looked back. Rachel has dedicated her career to helping clients understand their personal financial goals and how to achieve them. She likes working with every generation of the family and is thrilled when she can provide people with practical financial knowledge so they are empowered by, and not afraid of, their money.

Rachel has two roles at Coldstream Wealth Management. As a Wealth Manager, she helps families with their financial planning, investments, taxes, insurance, and estate plans. As a Team Lead, she manages a group of nine professionals, focusing on growth, career development, and excellent client service.

Rachel obtained an MBA in Finance from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). She also graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish from the State University of New York. Rachel holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Seattle.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

THE MOST TREASURED THING I OWN:

When I was 18, I was living in France without my family and going through a standard teenage angst phase, just in a foreign language! One day I was skulking through an open-air market and met a man who was selling antiques and celebrating his 75^th birthday. He was so friendly, and his authentic happiness really caught my attention. After our conversation, he let me pick any of his goods for free. I still have that 150-year-old ruler and keep it on my office shelf. It reminds me of my freedom of choice—in my mind he chose to be happy every day of his life, even in the face of an aloof foreign teenager that he presumably had nothing in common with and who had no money to buy his goods. I remember that happiness is really a choice whenever I see that ruler; it also reminds me of a very special time in my life.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE:

Don’t get caught up in investment jargon. Ask clarifying questions, especially when you’re discussing your own finances.

HOBBIES

My hobbies include running, watching my daughter play volleyball, reading the news, and listening to audio books while walking my dog. Some of my emerging hobbies are golfing with my husband and completing a sprint triathlon.