John J. Riley
Chief Investment Strategist
The foundation of Cornerstone lies in the history of her founder, John Riley. As a new broker working for Dean Witter Reynolds in the mid 80’s, John realized the value of conservative investment strategies when he saw investors and brokers, who were not prepared, get surprised by the devastating Crash of 1987. Seeing these events unfold first-hand lead John to focus on conservative and disciplined strategies to grow his clients’ assets.
John established Cornerstone Investment Services in 1999, to offer investors an alternative to Wall Street. Since breaking free of the crowd, John has been able to manage clients’ money in the way that prepares them for the trends he sees and surprises Wall Street misses. Cornerstone is not beholden unto anyone except their clients.
To best serve his clientele, in 2004, John passed the Series 86 and 87 exams to become a registered Research Analyst. These registrations were created by the regulators after the research scandals in the early part of the decade at several of the major wirehouses. “In my experience,” John says, “very few money management firms have a licensed Research Analyst on staff and the number of stockbrokers with this registration is minimal. Many money managers must rely on others for their research. In 2020, John dropped the registration. At Cornerstone I am constantly researching and strategizing, preparing for whatever hand we are dealt.”