Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where we explore the journeys that lead to success.
I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you
insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts who will share not just their expertise
but the milestone moments that have reshaped their journeys and led to significant achievements.
So if you're looking for motivation, you're in the right place. Subscribe now and discover the
milestones that mark the path to success.
Welcome to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. Today, my special
guest is Steve DiGregorio. He is founder and CEO of Compass Asset Management Group, a boutique wealth
management firm that serves affluent professionals, executives, and business owners. He is a seasoned
financial analyst with over 35 years of consulting experience in the financial industry. As a
fiduciary and investment manager, Steven helps his clients grow, protect, and transfer their wealth
tax efficiently while achieving their financial goals and aspirations. Welcome to the show, Steven.
Thank you. Happy to be here.
So can you tell us that specific moment or that pivot that led you down this career path?
Yeah, sure. I mean, I was probably a couple of years already in the industry and already in a
managerial role. And I kind of had a bit of an epiphany, if you would. And that is when I was
really able to see where the advice and guidance that we delivered to clients had a life-changing
moment for one of my clients. And in that moment, I realized that there was nothing so fulfilling as
being able to help someone in their situation of need at the greatest and really make a difference
in their lives. So can you expand a little bit how you can make that difference in people's lives?
Most certainly. In most cases, people have goals and dreams that they'd like to achieve in their
life. And the problem is they lack the roadmap on how to get there. And the guidance, they're not
sure what professionals necessarily to turn to or can they really even trust these professionals.
So what we do is we help the client to achieve those goals by engaging and listening to them
intently, understanding what their perspectives are and helping them to outline or map out the
future strategy of where they need to be in order to get there and then develop the confidence in
them to achieve that goal. At what stage in life would it be best to start this planning?
Oh, sooner is better, for sure. A long journey and we're talking retirement planning or business
succession and what have you, many different goals, they take place over years. So the most
powerful aspect of a retirement plan comes in the later years when the value of compounding is the
absolute greatest. So the sooner you start, the greater you hit, the sooner you reach that point
where the compounding becomes influential. So let's talk about accountability. Your website
mentions that you help hold individuals and teams accountable. How does accountability play a crucial
role in that client journey towards achieving their goals? Well, we've heard the adage, the best laid
plans, right, don't necessarily come to fruition unless you have that aspect of accountability.
So for example, many times we've run into a client that has had some kind of estate planning work or
wealth planning work done before, but they haven't carried out all the steps necessary. For example,
maybe they've hired an attorney to draft a trust document for themselves and their family,
fully good intentions in doing so and mapping out their estate plan, but yet they've never taken the
crucial step to re-register their accounts accordingly in order to fund the trust. Trust
attorneys and trust and estate attorneys will tell you that that is probably the biggest problem
that they see with their clients is that the execution of the trust and the re-registration
of assets never happens. We step in, in that process, we work together with the client
and the attorney to ensure that the client's objectives are being met in the development
of the trust. And then the trust is funded through the re-registration of beneficiary status,
account registrations, and so on, in order to ensure immediately that the client's objectives
are met. And then as that circumstance changed for that client over years, that their trust
or their financial plan is adjusted accordingly. So you help them also like state to date, make
sure everything is current. Correct. So many individuals, you know, they're not going to
be able to do that. So many individuals struggle with financial planning. Can you share how
implementing financial planning strategies can lead to significant positive impact in our lives?
Yeah, absolutely. Most people struggle with planning because, well, let's face it, we weren't
taught these kinds of things in school, were we? We weren't taught about how to run, how to have a
budget, how to run a business, how to plan for your future, or even what investments are all about.
We lack the understanding of these things by and large. Where we come in is we help the client to
gain the understanding. On a fundamental basis, we take complicated topics about investment planning,
tax planning, estate planning, and we make them digestible for the client. So the client really
understands what it is and what they have to accomplish and what the benefit is going to be
to them. And in this way, the more educated consumer can make a better decision. And so that
way we guide the client to eventually hit their goals and dreams. So you've been in business for
over 35 years. You've had a successful career. What is your next milestone? You know, a number
of years ago, we opened up Compass Asset Management Group 15 years ago now. And when I built this firm,
it was with the idea of doing something, building something unique that is really authentic to the
client's needs. And in doing so, we built a multidisciplinary practice that does things in
a way that is specifically for the benefit of the client and the client alone. We don't have any
outside influences. Now that we've built Compass Asset Management Group and we've had such success,
it's build it and then build it again. So what we're doing is we are now becoming a multi-state
investment advisory firm. And our goal is next step is multi-state, multi-location, continue to
grow and continue to deliver exceptional, white glove level of service to clients who need it the
most. So currently, who do you serve in what states and what occupations? I see C-suite executives,
business owners, professionals in the medical, science and technology fields. I'll let you continue.
Yeah, that's definitely the top of the tier of who we really serve. So what do all these individuals
have in common? They are busy professionals that are decision makers, that are focused on the things
that they do in their life and don't have time training or experience into doing the things that
will benefit them personally for themselves, their families and their future generations.
So we step in as the professionals to assist them in that area, taking that responsibility off their
plate and they can focus on doing what they do best while we handle all the rest. Our clients
are special to us. We've never lost a client because a client hasn't been happy. We exceed
expectations and we continue to do that because we are always invested in the client's best interest.
We can actually consider ourselves part of the family, if you would, of the client. And as part
of the family, we want to make sure that what is being advised to them is always going to work.
They're our closest partners. And what states or what areas do you serve? Well, we are able to
work in all 50 states. We are headquartered in New York. We have another office that we opened
recently in the Florida state. And now we have designs on having multiple locations in the state
of Florida to serve the needs of our clients down here and then expanding that throughout the
Atlantic region before we move somewhat west. Well, that's wonderful. So my last question before
we wrap this up, we have many listeners that might be at different stages in their financial
journeys. Can you offer one actionable advice that we can implement right away to start taking
control of our finances and move towards achieving our financial goals? Absolutely. Pick up the phone
and call your investment profession, whether it's an investment advisor, financial planner, or
financial advisor, whatever it is, the goal of that meeting that you establish should be
to get the strategy in place for where you want to be in the end. You should never not know what
it's going to take to get there. It should be intimately familiar. You would know on a regular
basis after the design and development of a financial plan or a forecast that'll help you
to see your retirement goals and what it takes to get there, you'll know intimately where you are
every step along the way. And you should have that plan reevaluated, at least on an annualized basis.
At Compass, we make it a practice to talk to our clients on a monthly basis. So we're having,
whether it be a 15, 30 minute discussion or an hour discussion with our clients, they know about
where they stand, what's happening in the markets, the impact on their portfolio, what the impact is
on the plan that they have in place, retirement planning strategies. And maybe we're addressing
some other questions or issues that have come up in the interim, like do I buy real estate
in the interim, like do I buy refinance, an automobile, a second home, vacation,
all these financial questions that they have, we're at the crossroads for them because we're
speaking to them so frequently, setting ourselves apart as being their advocate.
So can you share with our audience where they can find you?
You can find us on our website at CompassAMG.com. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Facebook,
same thing, Compass Asset Management Group. And if you're living in the states of New York or
Florida, we're close to you. We will meet with you on an in-person basis, but we can always
have a Zoom meeting to be most efficient and considerate of your time.
Well, thank you so much for your time today.
The pleasure is mine. Thank you, Sheila.
And thank you all for tuning in to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership.