Draft:Christopher Manske

Christopher Manske (born 1973) is founder and president of Manske Wealth Management, author of two books on investing, “The Prepared Investor” and “Outsmart the Money Magicians”, and speaker on subjects including financial issues, the economy, leadership and integrity.

Biography
Chris Manske was born in Smithville, Missouri, and lived in Kansas, Virginia, Maryland and Florida while he was growing up. His father Robert Manske was an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and his mother Rise Manske worked in and out of the home. Manske attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in computer science engineering and a minor in foreign languages, including Portuguese and Spanish. He served in the U.S. Army for five years in Tennessee, South Carolina, California, Brazil, Germany, and Bosnia, leaving military service as a captain.

Manske began his career in finance as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch from 2000 to 2012. While at Merrill Lynch, Manske was asked to design and execute nationwide training for over 1600 Merrill Lynch financial advisors across the U.S.

In 2012, Manske founded Manske Wealth Management (MWM) in Houston. The firm has been repeatedly recognized by Financial Advisor magazine as one of the nation’s largest investment firms.

In 2023, AdvisorHub magazine listed Manske among the fastest growing financial advisors in the U.S. In 2020, Manske Wealth Management’s team earned the Houston Chronicle’s “Best of the Best” Award. MWM was recognized by Houston Business Journal as one of the “Best Places to Work in Houston” in 2017 and in 2023.

In 2020, Changing Lives Press published Manske’s book, The Prepared Investor: How to Prevent the Next Crisis from Affecting Your Financial Independence, which teaches investors how to invest during a crisis.

In 2023, Manske followed up with Outsmart the Money Magicians: Maximize Your Net Worth by Seeing Through the Most Powerful Illusions Performed by Wall Street and the IRS, published by McGraw Hill. Using the analogy of a magician performing tricks on a stage, the book exposes systemic norms that impede investors’ accumulation of wealth.

Manske has been interviewed and quoted about economic and financial issues in media including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, AARP, Financial Advisor Magazine, Fiduciary News, Business Insider, Yahoo!Finance, and GoBankingRates. He has published articles publications including AARP, CEOWORLD, Home Business Magazine, and InnovationMap.

Personal life
Manske lives in the Houston area, is married to Jessica and has four daughters, including a set of triplets. In 2020, Manske commissioned artist Allan Rodewald to add to the Thomas Cole series The Course of Empire, originally created in the 1830s. Manske also commissioned an award-winning restoration and renovation of The Warrant Building in downtown Houston, built in 1910 to house the Star Bottling Works. The building has multiple tenants and houses Manske’s art collection.