Financial Planning From the Heart

Rockland Journal News / How To Guide 2004

Pop quiz. Pick the phrase that doesn’t belong: warm and caring people, cappuccino bar, stress-free environment, 400 gallon aquarium, financial planning. Give up? Well, if you are a client of Chestnut Investment Group in Suffern, New York, all of the above belong!

It’s apparent as soon as you walk through the mahogany and beveled glass doors at Chestnut that this is a different kind of financial planning firm. When you are first greeted by Debbie, the congenial Client Services Coordinator and she hands you a menu of hot and cold refreshments, you know right away that this is not going to be a typical visit to your financial advisor. It doesn’t take much to realize you just found Rockland’s best-kept financial secret!

“Service, in today’s world, is a lost art,” comments Neal A. Deutsch, CFP, President, CEO and founder of Chestnut in 1989. “Regardless of what commodity you are buying, service seems to have disappeared and quality has taken a back seat to quantity. Regardless of what you are buying, whether it is shoes, an elegant dinner, or a solid portfolio, the experience should be pleasing and stressless.”

Deutsch adds: ”Our company, our core philosophy, is about the people, not the money. In getting from point A to point B, there are many other points along the way. Some call it fate, others call it luck. We call this Life. One thing we can all count on is change. By listening and asking certain pertinent questions, we help our clients find and define their aims, goals and objectives, and design a course of action towards accomplishment.” Chestnut has a unique view of what it takes to service a client totally. They believe that other than your family, the four most important people in your life are your attorney, accountant, physician and financial planner. But, you wouldn’t go to your attorney and ask him for medicine, or ask your doctor for advice on a will. They realize the most precious commodity today seems to be time, and getting your core needs and obligations met in an organized and timely fashion seems next to impossible. In order to satisfy and coordinate your life’s financial needs, Chestnut offers a very qualified team in one office consisting of certified financial planners, attorneys, accountants, money managers, and insurance experts that work as a team to define, develop, and accomplish what most people find hard to get done.

When a new client comes in, the team collects wills and trusts, tax returns, investment statements, benefits explanations, and any material that pertains to family or corporate life. The head of each department then reviews the collected material, and reports at a general meeting where the focus is the client. This team approach allows no less than five sets of eyes to review the client from a multiple of directions, working together as a team, with an evaluation of the client as a person and family or company as the primary objective. “One of the reasons that most people have inadequate or outdated financial information is purely a lack of coordination between their advisors,” says Deutsch. “We’ve solved this by utilizing a coordinated effort from department to department. By lifting this huge burden from the client, we give them the opportunity to accomplish what they have been meaning to do for years. Probably the most often heard phrase from new clients is “Why didn’t I meet you 20 years ago?”

“The Chestnut Process”, utilized for all financial planning clients, clearly sets out a road map for the new client which helps to define and set present and future goals, and ultimately leads to the finalization of all wills and trusts, tax returns, insurance needs, and the implementation of a well developed, asset allocated portfolio. All in an organized, stress free way.

Their approach to money management is very interesting. They don’t believe in gut feelings, or hot tips. Their money management program is analytical but simple, and is reviewed and charted weekly, with all investments compared to their peers. Their Primary goal is develop a portfolio for the client based on asset allocation, with the investments reviewed weekly by their money management team. When was the last time you even looked at how your mutual funds were doing?

In summary? A visit to Chestnut is like a visit to a private country club. A place where you find extraordinary service, nice people, a well coordinated team of professionals, convenience, and the basis for a solid, long-term relationship. The only thing you may question is why it took you so long to find them.