40 INVESTMENT ADVISOR DECEMBER 2019 | ThinkAdvisor.com
experience in their communities. This
is a personal passion of the TCI Wealth
practitioners who view it as their
responsibility to help individuals prepare for the many choices they will be
confronted with on their path to a better
financial life.
2. BLB&B Advisors in Montgom-eryville, Pennsylvania is another firm
that puts its money where its mouth
is. The firm’s founder — the late Frank
Burke — established the Cedarcrest
Charitable Foundation and appointed
members of the firm to its board. His
successors have continued this legacy.
Now known as BLBB Charitable, the
firm and its sizeable foundation is dedicated to philanthropic giving for people
in need. As part of their firm’s culture,
they encourage everyone within BLB&B
to get involved in community service
activities, which they in turn support
with funding for critical initiatives.
They match 2: 1 money raised or donated by their employees and partners up
to $5,000.
One of the foundation’s directors
and firm leaders, John Lawton, says
that “not only are we making an impact
on the communities in which we live
and work, this emphasis on community
involvement enriches our culture and
provides a great framework for leadership development within our firm.”
A new financial literacy initiative is
now a priority for the firm in order
to help individuals make a connection
between the choices they make and
their financial health.
3. Another successful Philadelphia-area financial advisor, Mike Piotrowicz
of Legacy Advisors, was inspired by the
work of Frank Burke and John Lawton
to start a foundation when he was part
of another area business, Kistler Tiffany.
When Mike started his own advisory
firm, he created Legacy Foundation.
Mike also gives of his time having served
for 30 years on the board of Williamson
College of the Trades (which gives high
school students free room and board
while preparing them for life as an adult.
This 140-year-old school serves low-
income students, providing practical
education in trades including mason-
ry, carpentry and horticulture. They
emphasize character, integrity, faith and
academic discipline. Most of the stu-
dents who graduate from Williamson
receive job offers. Mike says, “It has
become a safe place to get kids to learn,
and a life lesson in how to earn.”
As Mike put it, “it is easy to for-
get how fortunate we are in this busi-
ness. We can have hard times, but this
gives us real perspective. Our so-called
dark struggles are not struggles at all
in comparison. When we see how we
can impact the lives of these kids, we
can also see the pride of their parents in
their success.”
While the efforts of TCI, BLB&B and
Legacy provide just a few examples,
they demonstrate the power of includ-
ing community service in the work we
do. Each of these firms has found that
they tend to attract clients and employ-
ees to their advisory firms who share
these values. Each person I talked to
about their community service said that
the process has made them more empa-
thetic and more aware that their efforts
can improve the communities around
them for years to come.
The firms I mentioned focus on dif-
ferent stages in education, from elemen-
tary students to young adults entering
the workforce. Whatever the age, stu-
dents discover that the choices they
make around money are important.
Many advisors have dedicated programs to serve the homeless and hungry
in their communities, as well as to support the arts. We have a skill and knowledge set to share as well. If you haven’t
done so already, consider how your
organization might make a difference in
educating young people in local schools
and career development programs. In
reaching out, advisors also enrich the
work lives of employees and bolster the
reputation of the advisory business, a
profession that should be known for
positively impacting others.
Mark Tibergien is CEO of BNY Mellon’s
Pershing Advisor Solutions. Tibergien is also
the author most recently of “The Enduring
Advisory Firm,” written with Kim Dellarocca
of BNY Mellon and published by Wiley. He
can be reached at mtibergien@pershing.com.
[These] firms focus on different stages in
education, from elementary students to young
adults entering the workforce. Whatever the
age, students discover that the choices they
make around money are important.
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