Managing Stress, Risk, and Uncertainty: A Morgan Stanley Wealth Expert’s Advice to High Point University Students

Financial advising for high-income clients requires a certain level of composure. Mark Bradburn, founder and co-managing financial advisor of The Bradburn Group at Morgan Stanley, has built his career on that discipline. In 2026, he will serve as High Point University‘s Wealth Management Expert in Residence in North Carolina, sharing his wealth of knowledge with the next generation of business leaders. Since beginning his residency at HPU’s Access to Innovators program, he has spent a significant time passing that framework on to the next generation of business students, most recently during a packed Sept. 25, 2025, Q&A session at HPU’s Hayworth Fine Arts Center titled “Stress Management and Risk Tolerance in the Financial Sector.”

Although Bradburn is an expert in finance, his message translates to other careers and disciplines. In an economy where volatility has become the default setting due to market swings, AI-driven industry disruption, or public health shocks, the young professionals who can stay level-headed may have a serious advantage over those who can’t. Bradburn’s visit to High Point University offered a practical blueprint for building that capacity while still in college, including some of the following bits of advice.

Composure Is Part of Your Job

Bradburn was direct with HPU students about what high-stakes work can look like from the inside. He stated, “When you’re dealing with billions of dollars, which is what I manage, you can’t panic. People are trusting you to make sound financial decisions, so staying calm and being thoughtful with your responses and their reputations is super critical.” Mark didn’t want to make the point that good advisors don’t feel stress. Instead, he emphasized the importance of developing a set of practiced behaviors for processing difficult emotions without letting them drive impulsive decisions.

Giving himself permission to take space or a few breaths has been important, and Bradburn is unapologetic about his self-care. He recommends taking a few moments to gather your thoughts before responding in a high-pressure moment. To showcase the value of this skill, Mark highlighted how differently a patient reacts when a doctor delivers a diagnosis calmly rather than alarmingly. Although the provider is giving the same information, the emotional outcomes differ widely across patients. He noted that in finance, one’s tone of voice can be the difference between a client making a rational decision and panicking.

Emotional Intelligence Is the Hiring Signal

One of Bradburn’s most quoted moments during his High Point University session was his flat assertion that emotional intelligence is the most sought-after trait from most employers. He noted, “I hear all the time that emotional intelligence is the number one factor employers are looking for today. Whether the job is managing finances or collecting garbage, stress is stress. It’s about how you process it.” This Wall Street veteran encourages undergraduates to remember that the skill that matters most is not financial modeling or a particular certification, but self-regulation, despite pressure.

Alex Muravski, a High Point University sophomore business analytics major from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who asked Bradburn directly about managing stress in a career in financial management, walked away with two takeaways. He first noted how much he learned about emotional steadiness in both directions: not panicking in bad moments and not getting out of control during the positive moments. He reported, “Realize the bad times are going to pass, but the good times are also going to pass, so don’t celebrate every minor victory like it’s the World Cup. He said to keep your emotions at a six to seven level, no matter where you’re at. That way, whatever comes next, you’re prepared and in a good state for it.” The second takeaway was that small habits like following up, preparing meticulously, and showing up reliably can come together to put you at an advantage in your career.

Focus on What You Can Control

Bradburn spoke honestly to an audience of HPU students about a formative moment in his career: the bursting of the dot-com bubble in March 2000. He admitted that staying in the right mindset was a challenge, but the experience became a turning point because he decided to shift his focus to what he could control. For example, his preparation, his client relationships, and his discipline, rather than external factors like the market or the weather, were areas he had some control over in his life, and reminding himself of these factors helped him stay level-headed.

According to Bradborn, focusing on your unique set of tools can help any young professional in any field. Macroeconomic conditions, hiring freezes, industry restructurings, and AI-driven disruption are all outside an individual’s control. However, the important habits of preparation, reliability, and honest communication are within these boundaries. Students who redirect their energy toward the controllable inputs of career success and away from the outputs they can’t influence may build a more reliable track record and demonstrate they can show up for work in any situation or climate.

Manage Your Client’s Emotions, Too

Bradburn’s High Point University session also focused on the fact that managing stress is only half the job. When you work with clients, you are also responsible for supporting them and showing up for them as a business. Tomiwa Bello, a senior HPU finance major from Bowie, Maryland, who completed a summer internship with Morgan Stanley and has been offered a full-time position with the company, captured this expectation in the session.

Bello said, “My biggest takeaway is to understand the situation and know what you’re dealing with. Being able to manage the emotions of clients, to reassure them in hard times when things aren’t going well, and the market is turning red, is the biggest thing. As a student, the way I can implement those things in my life is to take a step back and analyze the situation, leaning on my mentors and my team to ensure I’m bringing forth the best of myself. To ensure I’m taking care of myself as well as getting feedback from others on how I’m doing is a great way to make sure I am taking care of myself in analyzing risk and stress well.”

You Can Use This Framework As Soon As Tomorrow

High Point University students reading this article as they head toward an internship, a first job, or a career pivot may find Bradburn’s advice offers actionable steps for the future. No matter who you are, give yourself permission to pause, focus on what you can control, and treat small, consistent behaviors as the real source of long-term success. Finally, aim for an emotional register of six or seven, one that is not flat but steady enough that others can rely on you. Many employers across the nation now cite emotional intelligence as their top criterion, so relying solely on technical skills may not serve you in the long run.

High Point University’s approach is distinctive in that students don’t just hear this advice once and move on. Through the Access to Innovators program, they are regularly placed in the room with executives like Bradburn, leaders who are applying these lessons at the highest levels of American business and who are willing to coach HPU undergraduates on exactly how to do the same. When you work with HPU mentors, you are setting yourself up for future success for generations to come.