MarketCounsel Pulled Into Political Fray Over Kirk
MarketCounsel Consulting, a well-known legal consulting firm in the independent financial advisor space, is defending itself against a conservative activist who accused it of having hired a former CNBC editor who made disparaging comments on social media in the wake of Wednesday’s murder of conservative champion Charlie Kirk.
The former CNBC senior editor, Jim Pavia, had a job offer with MarketCounsel, but never actually joined the company, which has since moved on from hiring him, according to a spokesperson for the law firm.
Pavia appears to have posted commentary on Facebook—since removed—after Kirk’s murder, asking how “Charlie Kirk feels about guns now,” and then, in a response below the initial post, insinuated that President Donald Trump is next. Pavia did not respond to a request for comment.
In April, industry publication Talking Biz News reported that Pavia had left his position as a senior editor at CNBC to become the managing director of communications at MarketCounsel. Subsequent LinkedIn posts after the announcement seemed to confirm the move.
On Thursday evening, Ryan Fournier, national chairman of Students for Trump and, more recently, chief marketing officer for Uncensored AI, posted screenshots of Pavia’s post on Facebook and tagged MarketCounsel as his employer. In the post, Fournier called on people to make public MarketCounsel’s client list so that he could target them on social media. His post received more than 3,000 comments and shares, respectively.
On Friday, MarketCounsel issued a statement saying that Pavia had never officially joined the firm.
“For more than 25 years, MarketCounsel has built community and fueled the entrepreneurial dreams of financial advisors,” the firm said in a statement posted on X. “We condemn all forms of political violence. We are aware of social media posts authored by Jim Pavia, an industry journalist who has never been employed by or affiliated with MarketCounsel. His posts do not reflect the views or values of our company or its employees.”
The firm, run by President and CEO Brian Hamburger, is well respected in the independent financial advisor space. Others took to social media to defend the firm and its staffing.
Max Schatzow, co-founder and partner at competitor RIA Lawyers LLC, posted on X that he “can’t believe the cyber bullying that a boutique RIA law firm and consultancy [MarketCounsel] and [Hamburger] are being subjected to. Why would anyone (especially conservatives) feel the need to harass a private company over their employment-related matters? This is cancel culture.”
Other media personalities have lost their jobs for commentary made in the wake of the murder. MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired for suggesting Kirk had been killed by an errant bullet from one of the rally attendees; he later apologized. An Arizona-based PHNX Sports also fired Phoenix Suns reporter Gerald Bourguet after he posted tweets critical of Kirk.
Pavia has been a longtime editor and voice in financial journalism. He held, among other roles, the editor-in-chief position at Investment News for over eight years.
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