photo by steed media service

One hundred years ago, freed slave Alonzo Franklin Herndon founded what is today known as Atlanta Life, one of the top black-owned insurance and investment firms in the country. For the past five years, Atlanta Life has offered investment education and support through their investment advisors, who are led by Marc Sydnor.

A University of Delaware graduate and former captain of his college football team, Sydnor first made a name for himself working as a senior economist and equity portfolio manager at MDL Capital Management, where he was the brainpower behind creating the MDL Economic Matrix, an economic forecast product. At Atlanta Life, Sydnor is the go-between for investment managers and their clients. Though he takes pride in offering his clientele thorough insight into their future investments, Sydnor admits the going can always get tough when you’re dealing with money.

“That’s the toughest part about this business — juggling the extreme levels of success, where on good days you’re up a couple hundred million, or tough days when you’re down a couple of hundred million,” he explains.

Sydnor says his company proves African American financial firms compete on the level with corporate juggernauts Merrill Lynch and Oppenheimer. He says there will be more and more success stories when young African Americans learn the power of financial literacy. “I’d say it’s one of the most exciting industries in the world to be a part of,” he reveals. “With the invention of the Internet and how we’ve become so global, [conducting] financial transactions allows you to communicate in any language.” - gavin philip godfrey



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