Five Questions With: Jason Siperstein

"Before joining the firm I wanted to gain an outside perspective, which in my view is crucial for anyone thinking about going into a family business. "

Jason Siperstein is vice president of wealth management at Eliot Rose Wealth Management LLC in Cranston.
A chartered financial analyst and a certified financial planner, Siperstein is one of a handful of individuals in Rhode Island to have received both designations. Before joining Eliot Rose, a family business, Siperstein worked as a compensation consultant in New York City and as a financial advisor.
Siperstein talked with Providence Business News about his career, investment strategies and the market.

PBN: Tell our readers a little bit about your professional and personal background?
SIPERSTEIN:
Eliot Rose Wealth Management serves a limited number of clients and their families who rely on us to invest their money in well researched, long-term investments. Our firm has a strong focus in small cap value investments, but we believe in getting to know our clients and their families at a very personal level, which means providing them with a wide variety of financial offerings. My role at the firm as a wealth manager is to design and manage investment portfolios for our clients, helping them to invest wisely and build wealth. Our firm’s culture is like being with family… literally. My father started the firm back in 2002 and named it after his children. Eliot is my middle name and Rose is my sister’s middle name.
Before joining the firm I wanted to gain an outside perspective, which in my view is crucial for anyone thinking about going into a family business. After graduating from Emory University in 2007, I moved to New York City and worked as a compensation consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Although working as a consultant was interesting, I knew I wanted to be in a field where I looked at more than just compensation and wanted to develop more impactful relationships with my clients. In 2009, I left Watson to work as an investment advisor for a boutique investment bank. As you may recall, the market hit a low in March of 2009, and my former colleagues thought I was crazy to leave at the time, but I thought at that point most of the bad news was already baked into the market and there was only “upside.” It wasn’t soon after that we began what is now the 6th year of the current bull market. A year or two later, I decided it was time join my father and the team at Eliot Rose. I earned my license, trained and moved back to Rhode Island to begin helping our long–time clients who rely on us to take care of their money as if it’s our own.
PBN: I understand you are both a chartered financial analyst and a certified financial planner, why did you decide to go for both?
SIPERSTEIN:
There’s only a handful of investment professionals in Rhode Island that have attained both designations, and as any one of them can tell you it’s not easy to attain both. The CFA is a three year commitment, where you must pass a six hour test each year to move on to the next level. The CFA process gives you a very deep understanding of investments, the bread and butter of Eliot Rose. We are investment managers, it is what we do, and what we are passionate about. I thought that there would be no better way for me to increase my skill-set than to learn all there is to know about investments including, but not limited to, equities, fixed income, commodities, alternatives, etc.
Unlike the CFA that provided me with an extraordinary depth of knowledge about investments, the CFP provided me with broad, general knowledge of all things financial, including insurance planning, estate planning, investment planning, tax, planning, etc. I decided to get the CFP because I wanted to be able to help our clients not just with their investment portfolios, but with all aspects of their financial lives. The CFP has been especially helpful for clients that are multi-generational and have different goals depending on their age, family status, etc.
PBN: In what ways do your clients benefit from you having both certifications compared with if you had just one?
SIPERSTEIN
: A great firm is a firm that strives to make life simpler and less stressful for its clients. Having both designations allows us to do just that. Our clients know we are well qualified and trust us to manage their money. They also know we have the experience and talent to create a customized financial plan for them. Instead of making two phone calls or dealing with two teams and two sets of paperwork, now it’s just one.

PBN: With the large volume of baby boomers entering retirement, what sort of demand are you seeing in Rhode Island in terms of financial advising?
SIPERSTEIN:
The demand is only growing. The top financial question I hear is, “Will I have enough money when I retire to be able to continue living at my current level?” Everyone wants to know that they are going to be financially comfortable and financially prepared as they age. Many of our clients are reaching retirement, so the demand for financial advising is steadily increasing.

PBN: How would you characterize sentiment among your clients when it comes to today’s economy?
SIPERSTEIN:
Most of our clients have been with us for a very long time. They have all experienced the ups and downs of the market. Over the years they have heard us say over and over again, that investing requires a long-term commitment. One of my favorite quotes from Warren Buffet is, “I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.” Our clients have learned not to focus on the day-to-day, but on the long-term. It is in the long-term where wealth is created.

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