My Story and Services

What does financial success look like to you? Is it a reasonable vision, given your income, assets and aspirations? Have you given any thought to what those aspirations will cost and whether they are truly realistic?

With more than 25 years of financial experience, I have helped numerous clients understand where they are in relation to their goals and what they must do to achieve those goals within their required timeframe. My clients include:

• Corporate executives whose wealth is too often consolidated in the stock of their employers and who must make complex decisions about equity compensation
• Business owners whose wealth is often inextricably linked to the fortunes of their company
• Professionals who simply hope to retire as planned and enjoy their retirement without financial worry

In a world where markets can seesaw hundreds of points within a few hours and new legislation can overturn the premises on which you based previous decisions, it pays to have a professional on your side. As a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor, I am committed to helping you make decisions that advance you toward the goals you’ve set for yourself and your family.
Services Include
Securities Agent: NC, MN, MI, CO, VA, NV, CT, CA, NJ, TX, SC, OR, DE, OH, AL, NY, MD, GA, FL, SD, PA; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative
NMLS#: 1768920
Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*

Working With You

Many of my clients are either contemplating retirement or already retired. Often, they know they have an issue that should be addressed, but they’re simply not certain what to do about it. An employer stock position, for example, that represents an inordinate proportion of their overall wealth. A concern that perhaps they haven’t saved enough throughout their careers to retire on time and as planned. For all my clients, I undergo the following process to help them identify their goals and meet the challenges that might be standing in their way:
    Questioning
    Who are you as a person, not just an investor? What do you hope to achieve for yourself and your family and what do you fear might be standing in your way? What do you value and what do you hope to pass on to your children and community? As an experienced Financial Advisor, I understand the importance of listening before I offer possible recommendations. Our conversations will explore your aspirations, apprehensions and unique circumstances. Only when I have a thorough understanding of these will be proceed to the next phase of our process.
    Developing Your Plan
    I don’t shy away from the truth when advising my clients. My planning process looks at your spending habits and projected expenses, as well as your investments and any resources available to you in the future like Social Security, pension payments, or a projected inheritance or other financial windfall. I’ll help you determine whether you are on track to your financial destination and whether you have a gap or a surplus between the projected cost of your goals and your overall resources. The recommendations I provide include your investments, as you would expect, but go far beyond to encompass other dimensions of your financial life.
    Implementing Your Plan
    After presenting your plan to you, I work closely with you to bring it to life. That may entail consultation with your attorney, accountant and Morgan Stanley professionals who specialize in estate planning, lending strategies, and other disciplines relevant to your situation. It will also involve the development of an investment strategy to help meet the challenges we identified in our plan development process. Morgan Stanley has been an acknowledged industry leader in investment manager research, selection and monitoring for over 45 years. The firm’s Consulting Group analyzes hundreds of investment advisory firms annually to determine which are worthy of recommendation to clients. I work closely with these professionals to research managers for not only performance, but whether performance has been consistent over time. To learn more, visit my Investing Your Assets page
    Evaluating Your Progress
    Are you proceeding as anticipated toward your financial destination or is an adjustment required? I monitor your performance on an ongoing basis and may alter your strategy to accommodate changing circumstances in your life or trends in the financial markets. When those markets turn turbulent, as they do from time to time, you can count on me to help you understand what’s going on and avoid emotional decisions that may impede your long-term progress.

Investing Your Assets

Earlier in my career, I managed assets for foundations, endowments, corporate pension plans and other institutional investors. As a result, I gained insight into what makes one investment management organization superior to another and how performance should not be the only criterion on which to base investor commitment.

At Morgan Stanley, our Consulting Group is composed of experienced analysts who study hundreds of asset managers annually to determine which are worthy of recommendation to clients. I work closely with them and conduct my own analysis that examines:
    Performance
    One, three and even five-year performance records can be misleading. I look at managers’ performance over a longer term to determine whether that performance has been consistent over time.
    Risk
    Certainly, I study how much risk was assumed by managers to generate their reported returns, but I do not necessarily eliminate managers who assumed above-average risk. Chances are we will hire several managers to make decisions for different segments of your portfolio. Depending on your needs, goals and risk tolerance, we may select a manager who has exhibited higher volatility than others in the past. The key word, however, is balance. Ideally, above-average risk in one area of your portfolio should be offset by a lower risk approach in other areas.
    Organizational Depth and Stability
    Some asset managers rely on the talents of one or two individuals. Others have a deep bench of experienced professionals and a repeatable process for identifying investment candidates. I prefer the latter and perform extensive due diligence to determine which organizations can offer a combination of organizational excellence and superior performance over various timeframes and market conditions.

My Credentials

“The rich are not like you and me,” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. I am not sure this is true, but I have long been certain that significant wealth is often accompanied by significant complexity. Families don’t always see eye to eye on how assets should be spent, distributed to the next generation or donated to charitable organizations. Parents and grandparents may be concerned that their children don’t understand the basics of investing and the responsibilities that come with the wealth they will inherit someday. Business owners often wonder how to leave the company they built to children without alienating their siblings.

That is why I have strived throughout my career to expand my knowledge and gain the skills necessary to provide these clients with advice that can make a difference in their lives. Specifically, I have sought and received the following industry designations that have enhanced my ability to help client surmount the obstacles standing between them and their financial aspirations:
    Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)
    This designation is relatively rare among Financial Advisors because it is typically awarded to portfolio managers and securities analysts engaged in investment valuation and portfolio construction. As a CFA charterholder, I have the credentials to understand how asset managers make decisions and which might be better choices for relieving my clients of day-to-day investment decisions they would rather not make on their own.
    Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®)
    The CPWA designation is awarded to experienced financial professionals who have already earned a CFA or other prestigious industry designation. It provides me with the credentials to work closely with high-net-worth clients on not only their investments, but estate planning, tax minimization, and other complex disciplines.

Biography

Tab Image
Drew Poffel, CFA, CPWA®
Vice President
Financial Advisor

Drew joined Morgan Stanley in 2023, and brings nearly 25 years of financial experience to every client he advises. His clients include business owners, corporate executives and high net worth families who have accumulated considerable wealth, and need guidance on how to grow and preserve it.

Raised in Baltimore, Drew graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in Business Administration, and a concentration in Finance. He immediately set out to pursue the career he had always envisioned for himself. At Legg Mason, he worked in institutional business development, establishing relationships with foundations, endowments, corporate pension plans and other institutions. Subsequently, he garnered extensive experience in alternative investments working for a well-known fund of hedge funds manager. In 2017, however, Drew realized something important about himself. “I wanted to use my talents where they would do the most good,” he explains. “That involved working closely with high-net-worth individuals, as opposed to pension boards, and helping them realize their financial ambitions for themselves and their families.

And so, Drew joined Merrill Lynch and built a successful practice as a Financial Advisor before transitioning recently to Morgan Stanley. “I believe that this firm is truly focused on clients and provides them with extensive resources that they would be hard pressed to find elsewhere,” he says.

Drew brings impressive credentials to his clients, having earned the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Private Wealth Advisor designations. His institutional experience provides him with the background to analyze and evaluate third party managers for performance, consistency, organizational strength and other critical criteria.

Outside the office, Drew’s interests are eclectic. He is an avid supporter of The Frick Collection and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, both of which offer the opportunity for more intimate engagement than is generally possible at larger arts organizations. In addition, he volunteers with New York Cares and is an active member of the University Club of New York, serving on the club’s Billiards Committee.

Location

55 East 52nd Street 10th
Fl
New York, NY 10055
US
Direct:
(212) 903-7738(212) 903-7738
Wealth Management
Global Investment Office

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Ready to start a conversation? Contact Drew Poffel today.
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1When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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2Alternative Investments are speculative and include a high degree of risk. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his/her investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for qualified, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time.

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3Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

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