Our Team

Norman M. Berk

Norman M. Berk is the founder of Berk Cleveland Rathmell Wealth Strategies LLC, a financial planning and asset management firm that specializes in  offering retirement and college fund planning services  and investment management services to individuals and businesses. Norman is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), a Personal Financial Specialist (a specialty designation in financial planning only available to CPAs) and an attorney, one of the few fee-only financial planners in the state of Alabama to hold all four designations.  

Our business engages in a fee-only approach, which together with our fiduciary responsibility, aligns our interests with our clients without any bias and in their best interest.  We invest  for our clients' futures  only after we develop an investment portfolio statement clearly stating the client's goals in investment terms using modern portfolio theory .  

Norman began his career in the financial services industry more than 30 years ago after completing undergraduate work at the City University of New York, a law degree at Syracuse University and successfully sitting for the CPA and bar exams. His first position was with a Big Eight accounting firm in New York where he worked until being transferred to their Birmingham office. Norman left the accounting firm in 1973 to form his own company, then co-founded  Berk Patterson PC, in 1980. He is also co-founder of the All-Star Financial Group, a nationwide network of  financial planning CPAs. After spending many years working with and managing large firms, Norman realized that a need existed in the marketplace for highly qualified professionals specializing in offering personalized financial planning services to individuals and businesses. Accordingly, he completed a rigorous course of study to obtain the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation.  

A testament to his standing in the financial planning field, Norman has been quoted by several prestigious publications,  including Bloomberg Wealth Manager. He is active in the community having served on the boards of several civic organizations, including the Greater Birmingham Area Girl Scout Council. He is  a founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, Inc., and has been a Big Brother. He also has served both as the President of his Temple and a local private country club.  

Norman and his wife Phyllis have been married for 44  wonderful years, have three children and six grandchildren. When he can find the time, he plays highly handicapped golf.