Kowal, too, said she’s been navigating international waters in trying to help direct contacts. One friend, a man who has to stay in Ukraine to fight, called her to see if she could get his wife and children to the United States.
“In terms of bringing people here, it’s still quite difficult because it’s not the seamless process the Europeans have set up with free travel,” she said. “But I have a brother in Italy, so they’re going to go there over the next few days.”
The most important way she can help, Kowal said, is through beating the drum of environmental, social and governance investing, which is not just her firm’s focus but also a tactic that could help Ukraine well into the future.
“The Ukrainian government has asked for isolation of Russia. I used to be a Russia analyst, so I never thought those were risks we wanted to expose our clients to. And it’s a good thing because no one can get their money out because the markets are closed,” she said. But it’s the future she’s concerned about. “Do investors have the will to forgo profit? In Russia, assets are soon going to be very cheap, and people are going to go in and scoop them up.”
Instead, financial advisors and their clients should be asking hard questions about how companies in their portfolios might be enabling human atrocities in Ukraine—specifically how they might be financing military and surveillance equipment or extracting natural resources.
Since many Ukrainian-Americans favor some investment in the region, it’s important to be proactive with clients in shifting portfolios to reflect new information, says Stawnychy. The Russian troops massed along the border were a clear enough signal. “No one believed Putin when he said he wasn’t going to invade,” said Stawnychy. “Of course he was going to invade. What else were they going to do there?”
That anticipation was part of her thinking when it came to client money.
“What we did for our clients is we started raising cash in January because we knew the conflict was going to pressure the markets down,” Stawnychy said. Some 40% of her clients are Ukrainian and Ukrainian-American. “So we started to change the portfolios to prepare for the probability of war.”
Even with plenty to keep her busy, it has been a rough four weeks, she said, with many sleepless nights.
“The first week of the war, quite frankly we were all dumbstruck, and it was hard to focus, but after a while you shake yourself and say I’ve got a job to do and I’ve got to do it,” she said. “You still have to get back to the office and do the work you have to do—protect the portfolios, complete the financial plans, make adjustments for inflation.”
Tokmazeysky said he has been heartened by the outpouring of support he’s received from his clients, and even from his own company. Ameriprise has collected about $300,000 from employees wanting to help Ukraine and added another $100,000, all going to the Red Cross’s efforts in the region, he said.
“The way I run my practice, my non-Ukrainian clients know who I am, so I’ve had a lot of non-Ukrainian clients call just to see how I’m doing, how they can help and contribute,” he said. “What we do, it’s not transactional. It’s a relationship. If someone needs a distribution from their IRA right now, I’ll make sure they get what they need. They know that. There’s trust, there’s real friendship. And that’s how I do business.”
Charities Recommended by Tokmazeysky, Stawnychy and Kowal:
Razom — This nonprofit, founded by Ukrainian women, provides medical supplies and humanitarian aid.
Voices of Children — This Ukraine-based aid organization provides psychological support to children who have witnessed war.
Women’s Veterans Movement — This organization of female Ukrainian veterans prepares for action in case of emergencies and defense situations.
Ukraine Take Shelter — This platform connects people willing to host a family with refugees in need. It was built by two Harvard students.
Come Back Alive — This organization takes donations of helmets and body armor for civilians trying to defend their cities and towns, and volunteers to run supplies, etc. (not arms or ammunition). It is organized through the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council.