Published: 01/23/2020
The graduation of an ETI client marks the end of the traditional incubator period. While Evident Financial has achieved this status, it will remain on-site with ETI as an affiliate company to provide support and mentoring services to current ETI clients.
The Erie Technology Incubator at Gannon University’s Center for Business Ingenuity, 900 State St., honored the successful graduation of client Evident Financial in October 2019, just one year after joining ETI.
The graduation of an ETI client marks the end of the traditional incubator period. While Evident Financial has achieved this status, it will remain on-site with ETI as an affiliate company to provide support and mentoring services to current ETI clients.
Evident Financial was founded by David Cullen in 2018. Evident Financial is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser.
The company serves a client base of diverse investors. Accredited financial advisers create investment solutions for clients moving through major financial transitions such as retiring, inheriting wealth, going through divorce, and selling a business. Evident Financial also provides endowment asset management services to nonprofit organizations.
Evident Financial is one of the earliest adopters of Charles Schwab’s digital advice platform for registered investment advisory firms. Evident Financial forged a partnership with Schwab to provide its clients with institutional-quality access to a wide array of investment solutions from some of the largest investment firms in the world.
Evident Financial has exceeded all established plans with the help of ETI. A three-year plan to break even was reached in just 18 months.
Cullen earned his Master of Business Administration in Finance from Gannon University and his Bachelor of Science in Finance from John Carroll University. He is a chartered financial analyst with the CFA Institute where he has been a member since 1982. Cullen has also served on the Erie Innovation Fund Advisory Board since 2011.
Cullen has more than 40 years of wealth and investment management experience, including as vice president of Retirement Plan Services with the Bank of Oklahoma and PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. In 1992 he founded Heritage Trust Co., a state-chartered trust bank with more than $325 million in assets. Cullen sold the company to Northwest Savings Bank in 2001, accelerating the bank’s expansion into the investment management and trust business. In 2003 he also founded ParentBroadcast, one of the country’s first school-to-parent notification services.
Cullen gave back to the campus during his time with ETI. He has offered lectures to students about careers in the financial services industry, how to secure internships, and the importance of business ethics. Cullen was invited by the Dahlkemper School of Business and the Office of Career Exploration and Development at Gannon to attend Business Day 2019 as a member of the entrepreneurial panel.
Cullen said it is an honor to have been an ETI client and is excited to remain affiliated post-graduation. “It is a privilege to be in the company of other progressive-thinking businesses bringing transformational changes to the Erie region,” Cullen said.
Amy Doolan, DBA, associate dean of the Dahlkemper School of Business, said ETI is excited to have Evident Financial graduate.
“Dave Cullen has been so wonderful to work with, and ETI is thrilled for the success of Evident Financial. In addition, ETI is grateful for the service Dave has given to ETI and its other resident clients as well as Gannon University. We look forward to a continued relationship and Evident Financial’s ongoing success,” Doolan said.