Get to know my dedicated team
Each of us are committed to providing exceptional service. If you need to schedule an appointment, request service, or have a question about a policy or account, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Robert George Barbash III
Financial Representative Assistant
robert.barbash@nm.com
Robert G Barbash III is a Financial Representative Assistant at Brown & Knapp. He was born and raised in Branford, CT and graduated from Branford High School. He graduated from Albertus Magnus College in December 2022 with a BS in Mathematics and a BA in Corporate Finance. While pursuing his degree, he worked part time for Brown & Knapp as a Financial Assistant as well as a server at a local Italian restaurant. Rob took some time off after graduation and was then rehired in 2024 in a full-time position. Prior to joining Brown & Knapp, he worked for Capital One Bank. During his time there, he gained knowledge of financial literacy and personal/business customer service in money management.
Outside of the office, Rob enjoys playing men’s league baseball and staying active outdoors or in the weight room with his friends and family. He looks forward to a bright future with Brown & Knapp as he continues to grow his career path and financial knowledge.
Affiliated Partners - R. Todd Grandy, CLU®, ChFC® - GBP Wealth Management
We partner with R. Todd Grandy and his team at GBP Wealth Management.
R. Todd Grandy
CLU®, ChFC®
Financial Representative
We partner with R. Todd Grandy and his team at GBP Wealth Management to offer our clients and prospects fiduciary-level comprehensive financial, tax and retirement income planning services. Our goal – remains the same – to make sure our client’s current and future insurance, investment and financially security needs, goals and desires are proactively and prudently addressed.
GBP’s financial planning engagements are conducted in a fiduciary capacity. This means any guidance GBP provides is done on an independent and objective basis—with recommendations that are exclusively in the client’s best interest (not just providing recommendations which may be ‘suitable’).
About Neil
Neil and his two younger brothers grew up in East Lyme, CT and graduated from East Lyme High School in June 1997. He matriculated at Trinity College in Hartford, CT in August 1997, played football for three years and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in May 2001. He was introduced to the financial services industry during two college internships.
The love of the ocean brought him back to the picturesque CT shoreline and he joined Northwestern Mutual in April 2002 as a financial representative. Currently he is a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual and a partner at Brown & Knapp (an independent Northwestern Mutual office) in Branford. Neil has earned his CT Life & Health Insurance license and Series 6 and 63 securities licenses. Additionally, he earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) professional designation from the American College in October 2010.
Brown & Knapp has a significant regional and national practice assisting physicians in training, attending/faculty physicians, physicians’ practices and business owners with their risk management, insurance, and benefit solutions. We have developed an expertise to assist busy and successful physicians, professionals, and executives with their individual disability insurance needs (both as primary coverage and as a supplement to an employer provided Group Long Term Disability Plan), key person disability, disability buy-out and disability overhead expense planning. Most of our clients elect to do all their financial planning with us as well. We continue to enjoy the professional challenge of expanding our areas impact within our client’s busy personal, professional, and financial lives.
Neil lives in Niantic and enjoys spinning daily, weekly rounds of golf, fly fishing, reading, the beach and traveling when work permits. He is die-hard NY Giants and Boston Red Sox fan. He is on the Board of Directors of the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern CT, Inc., and a member of The Amity Club in New Haven.
Professional
During my junior year at college, I had my first of two internships in the financial services industry. About halfway through the second internship, I realized that I wanted a career in the financial services industry. I joined the Northwestern Mutual in April 2002, in our Network Office and moved to our current office in Branford in December 2002. I continue to enjoy the challenge and satisfaction that comes from providing solutions using world-class insurance services and internationally recognized investment products to successful individuals, families and businesses.
I hold the CLU® designation from the American College.
The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) designation has long been recognized as the fundamental and foremost educational credential for life insurance professionals. Since 1927, more than 94,000 individuals have earned their CLU®, helping them build a successful life insurance practice by providing clients with knowledgeable and ethical advice. For financial representatives, field management, home office personnel, and others involved in providing life insurance products to the public, the CLU® designation symbolizes continuing growth and commitment to professionalism.
Associations and Memberships
- National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)
- Member of the Southeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce
- Estate and Tax Planning Council of Eastern Connecticut
- The Lawrence and Memorial Benefactoral Society (LAMBS)
- Amity Club of New Haven
Years of Experience
Representing Northwestern Mutual since 2002.
Education
- Trinity College - Political Science (Bachelor of Arts)
- American College - CLU
Awards and Recognition
- Million Dollar Round Table Qualifying and Life Member 2013-2023
- MDRT is the premier association of financial professionals. MDRT status designation is granted for one year and members must apply every year to continue their affiliation with the MDRT
- National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Quality Award 2011-2017
- Award recognizing commitment to excellence in service to clients and industry
- National Quality Award 2006-2010
- Award recognizing persistency and performance
Lending a hand in my community.
As part of Northwestern Mutual, I'm proud to help accelerate the search for better childhood cancer treatments while supporting families undergoing treatment, and survivors from late effects. Here are some of the organizations we partner with:
Valley Shore YMCA
Brown & Knapp, are major sponsors and supporters of the Valley Shore YMCA in Westbrook, CT. Thier goal is to bring community programs that encourage healthy families, connect people to supportive resources, encourage kids to build confidence and find their voice in our community, and inspire social good.
St. Martin de Porres Academy
Saint Martin de Porres Academy is a faith-based, middle school that provides tuition-free, extended day education for children from low-income families in the New Haven area of Connecticut.
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.
Here are my areas of expertise
Financial Planning
Insurance Protection Strategies
Life Insurance Strategies
Retirement Planning & Income Strategies
Education Planning & Funding
Disability Planning
Multigenerational Planning
Estate Planning
How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.
When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.
Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.
It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.
