William Bello, CRPC®

I often describe my process for working with clients as a pyramid divided into three distinct segments:
 
1.      The bottom segment is the foundation that we build by determining where you are financially, where you hope to arrive someday and how you’re going about getting there. We also explore such diverse considerations as your risk tolerance, charitable aspirations and any special needs or circumstances that might influence the plan we develop together.

2.      The middle segment contains the strategies we formulate to pursue your financial priorities. Crucial to these strategies is your asset allocation which may differ for each objective you pursue.

3.      The top segment involves the construction of your portfolio to implement our strategies. 
 
My approach is based on several key concepts:

• Consistency
   I seek third party managers with a history of steady returns and low volatility

• Fees
   Fees can erode performance, so it’s important that you understand what you are paying and what you are getting in return. 

• Behavior
   Too many investors buy high and sell low because they let emotions rule their decisions. I’ll do my best to help you get through difficult markets without abandoning your long-term plan.

• Re-balancing
   Markets can skew your asset allocation so it is either too aggressive or not aggressive enough to pursue your goals effectively. I generally suggest that we re-balance your portfolio at least annually and when market conditions warrant.

Past performance of any security is not a guarantee of future performance.

Rebalancing does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.

In addition, we may decide that your core portfolio should contain a fixed income component. Typically, I recommend actively managed funds investing in either municipal or taxable fixed income securities. Depending on your risk tolerance and objectives, I may also suggest allocating a portion of your assets to individual stocks and/or alternative investments like hedge funds, private equity or managed futures. Of course, every investor is different, and recommendations are customized to meet your objectives, timeframe and risk tolerance. You determine which of these recommendations you wish to pursue.

The investments and services listed may not be suitable for all investors. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a financial advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment will depend upon an investor's individual circumstances and objectives.

I began advising individual clients on their investments and personal finances at what was ostensibly the worst possible time to launch such a venture – at the beginning of the 2007-2009 recession. At the same time, however, I reasoned that if I was ever going to make the switch from the institutional trading that marked the first fifteen years of my career, this was it. People needed advice in that environment and I realized that if I could help them weather the storm, I’d be providing an invaluable service.

Beyond investments, I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM and a Morgan Stanley-credentialed Financial Planning Specialist. As a result, I can provide clients with comprehensive financial plans that contain tangible recommendations for retiring as anticipated, sending children to college, leaving a meaningful legacy and pursuing a variety of other financial goals.

I graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo with a BS in Finance before beginning my financial services career as an institutional equity trader with several firms catering to well-known broker-dealers and investment management firms. I’ve also served as Resident Director at a Merrill Lynch office in Princeton before joining Morgan Stanley in 2011.

Outside the office, I’m passionate about golf and my family. I volunteer with the New Jersey State Golf Association as a tournament official and I spend whatever spare time I have with my wife Lisa and son Christian.

My clients range from retired executives with considerable knowledge of investments to widows with no experience managing assets on their own. Surprisingly, education is a major component of the services I offer to both groups of individuals.

Often, I find that even more sophisticated clients need help educating their children or grandchildren about financial basics and the responsibility that comes with the wealth they’ll inherit someday. They also appreciate the fact that I ask questions they may have not asked themselves – will they be able to care for an aging parent without compromising retirement plans, for example.

Widows and widowers look to me for assistance in helping them settle their estates and move forward to the next chapter in their lives. I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gives me to see them move forward with confidence and address financial issues they might not have even thought about in the past.

As for the rest of my clients, they all know that I will never implement any strategy on their behalf until they understand it thoroughly. My clients rely on me for guidance that goes beyond investing to encompass both sides of their personal balance sheets and virtually every aspect of their financial lives.