Forty Under 40: Jay Brain

When Jay Brain, 33, isnt managing fixed incomes or tackling complex estate plans, he relaxes at 125 miles per hour.

A licensed pilot since 1998, the Rogers Municipal Airport commissioner said cruising his four-seat, Piper Cherokee aircraft at 7,500 feet is an absolute blast. But it doesnt replace the thrill of problem-solving for high net worth individuals as an adviser on Merrill Lynchs wealth management team in Rogers.

I want to see the people who our team has worked with enjoy the lifestyle they wanted because financial plans we put in place have come to fruition, Brain said.

A Little Rock native, Brain graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1992 with a bachelors degree in finance before joining the Arkansas State Bank Department as a financial examiner. In 1995, he moved to Rogers and joined Merrill Lynch and worked his way up to a financial adviser. He completed a joint program through the Investment Management Consultants Association and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002 to become a certified investment management analyst.

Brain said his father-in-law, Merrill Lynch executive George Westmorland, entrepreneur Bill Schwyhart and Rogers Mayor Steve Womack have influenced his career.