Thomas Harper is an investment advisor representative of Gradient Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered independent investment advisor, serving customers in Clearwater, FL and surrounding communities. Thomas Harper’s mission is to help provide local families and businesses with innovative financial strategies and planning that can lead to financial clarity and security.
Thomas Harper
Managing Director
I was born in 1978 and raised in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, which was well known back then for manufacturing steel. My parents played a big part in my upbringing, instilling their strong moral values in me. Both of my parents are very conservative, growing up my father was a middle school principal and my mother was a reading specialist so you can be assured that education was very important in our family.
After graduating in the top 10% of my high school class, I was granted early acceptance to Lehigh University which is considered one of the twenty-four “Hidden Ivies” in the Northeastern United States. Graduating from Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics helped me obtain a position at JP Morgan Chase one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States. The knowledge and experiences learned at JP Morgan Chase, helped catapult my career to being one of the youngest Directors at Safeguard Financial and ultimately allowing me to become the Managing Director of Heritage Financial Wealth Management.
I contribute my success to the strong values that were instilled in me by my parents. From a very young age I was always told that the most important thing is education, and that success will follow.
Strategic Alliances
Michael Binger, CFA®
President of Gradient Investments, LLC
As President, Michael is the leader of Gradient Investments and has been with the firm since 2012. He brings more than 35 years of industry experience, including prior roles managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios for an institutional asset manager. Michael is a CFA® charter holder and is a frequent contributor on CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and the Wall Street Journal.
Keith Gangl, CFA®
Senior Portfolio Manager at Gradient Investments, LLC
Keith joined Gradient Investments in 2018 and has more than 30 years of industry experience. Prior roles include senior portfolio manager for a large institutional asset management firm, managing a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. Keith is a CFA® charter holder, managed a Lipper Award-winning mutual fund, and has been featured in media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg, Investor’s Business Daily, Nasdaq and Reuters.
Kyle Bergacker, CFA®
Portfolio Manager at Gradient Investments, LLC
Kyle joined Gradient Investments in 2025 and has more than 15 years of financial services experience. Prior roles include portfolio manager with a couple of large international institutional asset management firms, also was an advisor with a retail wealth advisory firm. Kyle has developed experience with financial advice, asset allocation, and investment analysis across the asset spectrum. He is a CFA® charter holder and has appeared on the Schwab network.
*Third Party Money Management is offered through our Strategic Alliances with Gradient Investments, LLC
*This endorsement of Gradient Investments, LLC is provided by an investment advisor who refers clients to Gradient Investments, LLC. A conflict of interest exists because this investment advisor receives a portion of the annual management fee charged by Gradient Investments, LLC, based on the assets under management of this investment advisor’s clients. This endorsement could assist in the investment advisor increasing the assets placed with Gradient Investments, LLC, and therefore their compensation. These investment advisors are not affiliated with or supervised by Gradient Investments, LLC. Endorsing investment advisor is also a client of Gradient Investments, LLC.