Ellis: Val, back to you on your transition from management to being an advisor. You trained a lot of people who are still in practice. Why did you go into practice after many years in management?
Scaramuzzo: A couple of things occurred. I had moved an hour and a half from New York to Dutchess County for personal reasons, and then I got married for the first time. There were also changes within the firm that made becoming a franchise owner appealing compared to my field VP position. In April of 2009, I teamed up with a colleague here in Dutchess County and have been in practice since then.
It’s been a bigger lifestyle change than I originally anticipated, but a rewarding one as well. My wife and I have an adopted four year-old daughter, and I have still managed to earn the Five Star Wealth Manager Award two years (2014 and 2016). I use Doug Lennick’s “behavioral advice” concepts in managing my practice and these also supported my transition from management to the client advisory role.
Ellis: Phil, we left off with you becoming an American Express advisor. What happened next?
Andriola: I joined a small team practice that I was a member of from 2003 until early 2008. I came into the business with no clients and was responsible for developing everything in my practice. Again, I called on my background in team sports to learn from the other advisors. I also embraced the firm’s culture of financial planning because it was working for me personally, and I wanted to share it with my clients.
Peter Goldberg, financial advisor and my current colleague, was a member of that team as well. In 2008 Peter and I organized our own team practice with dedicated roles for team members based on their talents, life experience, education and workplace training, all of which we saw as being important to the future of this industry.
For example, Peter was the “inside guy”, managing client portfolios and service. I was the “outside person” and general strategist, managing the relationships and making sure I understood the clients on the micro-personal level. Peter and I launched the practice with a third financial advisor, a team member dedicated to doing financial planning, and a client-service coordinator to keep us all on schedule. Since that time, other advisors like Val have added their experience and perspective, which we can offer to all of our clients.
Ellis: Val, you have been incorporating sustainable and impact investment strategies into portfolios for clients who are interested in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) analysis. How do you stay current on that part of the investment industry to make sure you are meeting your responsibilities to clients?
Scaramuzzo: Good question and the short answer is that we use a consultant. ESG strategies are not my forte, but I am able to keep current in that field by working with someone who has expertise in those types of investment products.
Ellis: Phil, is this something that you and Peter encourage advisors and staff within your team practice to do, use specialist support and consulting services?