Ricardo A Leonardo Jr
Financial Advisor|CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®
Risk Management | Wealth Management | Business Planning
About Me
As a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic, husband, and father, Ricardo understands the importance of building financial independence and closing the generational wealth gap through education and strategy implementation. Through both professional and personal experience, Ricardo has built his almost decade long practice at Northwestern Mutual on four key values: family, growth, building lifelong relationships, and dependability.
Family
In 1993, Ricardo and his sister immigrated to the U.S. for the first time with their father. After only six months, Ricardo returned to the Dominican Republic to be with his mother because of their deep ties his desire to take care of her. However, his mother wanted him to have all the opportunities that she was not afforded, so in 1997, Ricardo came back to the U.S.
As Ricardo acclimated to life in Dana Point, CA, he watched his father tirelessly and ambitiously work three jobs, every day to provide for the family. This instilled a great work ethic in Ricardo and showed him that hard work will translate into providing for your family. But this also meant that anything Ricardo asked for from his father, he had to work for. This in combination with his learned work ethic, has made Ricardo extremely resourceful throughout his career.
Ricardo’s upbringing with both his mother and father not only shaped his character and ethic, but it was also a model for how he wanted to form his own family. With family as his true north, he acts as provider and supporter for his wife, Cristina, and his daughter, Vanellope.
Building Lifelong Relationships
After five years with State Farm, and a business degree in his arsenal, Ricardo went on to work in admissions for a private college in Los Angeles. There, he saw his worth and value being brought to life at a corporation. He was working with prospective students from across the country and even the globe to give them the college experience and education that he values.
While in admissions, Ricardo discovered his third value: building deep, meaningful, lifelong relationships. Not only was he helping students, but he was also finding great success in the role which created substantial revenue for the college. However, when he requested to be compensated for his tenure, he was met with resistance, just like his father had once given him back in high school. Ricardo put in his resignation and set out for his next advancement.
Growth
In high school, Ricardo got the first taste of making his own money. He started working at a restaurant and then at a golf course. If he wasn’t in school, he was working. But while seeing each paycheck was a sense of achievement, he was now a contributing member to his household. He was paying for rent, his car, insurance, and other bills. In turn, he couldn’t develop the right money habits or traits, because as soon as money came in, it went out. It became a vicious cycle.
As Ricardo approached high school graduation, he began discussions with his father about college and financial aid. Met with resistance and lack of support from his father, Ricardo became discouraged, and it derailed his collegiate plans. He dropped out of community college and became a workaholic because it was the most familiar to fall back on. At 20, Ricardo began working at a State Farm office where he met his mentor, Tracy. She instilled the value and best practices of both planning and customer service into him and she became like a second mother. This is where Ricardo fell in love with being of service to others.
Feeling reinvigorated, Ricardo reinvested his interest and time into college. While completing his online degree at University of Phoenix, Ricardo continued to work at State Farm and at a restaurant which solidified his appreciation for education, knowledge, and, most importantly, that growth comes from hard work and self-belief.
Dependability
In his job search, Ricardo wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do next. But fate intervened, and he crossed paths with Northwestern Mutual. Their mission, values, and core strengths aligned with his next steps and in this position, he could grow his own business and put all his life experiences into play. All of this, while changing the trajectory of his life and his family’s life.
Now, 7 years later, Ricardo continues to build on and implement his core values and life lessons. He is continuously seeking new designations or certifications, has impactful conversations to build lasting relationships with his clients, and is growing along the way. And he couldn’t do any of it without the support of his wife, daughter, and mother in his corner.
But what about his last value - dependability? While his experience, acumen, and family values speak volumes of Ricardo, he makes one promise above anything else to his clients: “I’m not going anywhere”. With that promise you know Ricardo will be serving his clients until he retires. It pushes him through the ups and downs and should instill confidence in you that he’ll always be there with your best interests at heart.
An Advocate for My Community
With Northwestern Mutual at my side, I bring education, resources, and impact to the organizations I serve.
Being in this position, I am proud to arm my community with the tools and key knowledge to improve the historical generational wealth gap. As a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic, I hope to make this improvement one of the legacy’s I leave my daughter, Vanellope.
From childhood cancer to financial literacy, I am honored to be involved in the following organizations:
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.
Legacy LA
Legacy LA's mission is to make positive interventions in the lives of young people by offering alternatives to gangs and violence. Legacy LA builds the capacity of youth to reach their full potential and equips them with tools to transform their lives and community.
Northwestern Mutual Latino Council
Ricardo Leonardo, Jr. has been the Northwestern Mutual Latino Council chair for three years, supporting the nationwide effort to narrow the wealth gap. Northwestern Mutual aligns with Ricardo in his motivations to drive Hispanic advancement across the country. The Council is partnered with organizations like Legacy LA, TEF-TELACU, and the YMCA to provide underprivileged members of our community with resources to enrich their financial knowledge.
TEF - TELACU
TELACU was established in 1968 as a pioneering institution committed to service, empowerment, advancement, and the creation of self-sufficiency. Chartered as a Community Development Corporation (CDC), TELACU was initially funded through federal legislation authored by Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Jacob K. Javits to revitalize urban, underserved communities throughout the United States.
Professional Designations
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)
Bringing all the pieces of your financial life together is a challenging task. Today, more than ever, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals are an essential resource. From budgeting, to planning for retirement, to saving for education, to managing your insurance coverage. “Finances” doesn’t mean just one thing for most Americans — and “financial planning” means much more than just investing.
CFP® professionals have completed extensive training and experience requirements and are held to rigorous ethical standards. They understand the complexities of the changing financial climate and will make recommendations in your best interest.
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®)
The CLU® is the premier designation for insurance professionals. Launched in 1927, the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) is the insurance profession's oldest standard of excellence. Today, it continues to be the credential for practitioners who desire to provide their clients with the security of life insurance and risk management. Since its inception, tens of thousands of financial services professionals have obtained this prestigious designation. With particular emphasis placed on ethics and commitment to clients, the CLU® has earned a distinguished reputation backed by security and stewardship.
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®)
The ChFC® program provides the most current and comprehensive financial planning education by combining the key financial planning fundamentals, with practical applications to put those theories to work. With content in the curriculum that addresses topics such as: behavioral finance, special needs planning, small business planning, financial planning for clients in the LGBT community, financial planning for divorce complexities and more, ChFC® designees are trained to masterfully handle a wide variety of modern financial topics.
Areas Of Expertise
Financial Planning
Business Planning & Succession
Life Insurance Strategies
Insurance Protection Strategies
Retirement Planning & Income Strategies
Education Planning & Funding
Disability Planning
Investment Planning & Strategies
How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.
When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.
Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.
It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.
