When it comes to money these days, having a guiding voice to ensure you’re making the wisest decisions is of paramount importance. And when it comes to who to trust, Stifel – one of the largest, most respected financial consultant firms in the United States today – is a great place to start when it comes to your future well-being in a monetary sense.
Stifel is a full-service, nationwide Wall Street investment firm – one of the largest in the world – that has been around since 1890, and they offer a full range of products and services. Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, Stifel boasts over 400 offices across the country and employs over 8,500 individuals.
Alan Cohn, a First Vice President/Investments at Stifel’s Hauppauge, New York branch – which first opened for business in February 2010 – notes that when it comes to financial and investment planning, it’s difficult to measure up to the degree of experience and expertise that he brings to his profession.
“I’ve been doing this for 43 years,” he said. “I’ve held the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional certification since 1981. I’m also a charter member of the Financial Planning Association of Long Island.”
Alan says he always tries to put his client’s money in a position where it will offer the most return on their investment, instead of allowing it to languish in a low-interest account earning next to nothing.
“I just can’t leave it sitting there, earning little to no interest,” he said.
Alan currently manages $125 million amongst his 250 clients.
There are a number of factors about Stifel that Alan says makes him enjoy working for the company; among them is the degree of autonomy that they grant to their agents, there are no quotas on selling any particular product, and we’re free to do what we feel is best for our clients.”
When it comes to investments – and especially when you’re building towards retirement – Alan said that he maintains a close relationship with his clients, making every effort to personalize the guidance that he gives them, helping them shape their finances to suit their own individual needs.
“I try to provide a personalized experience for every client. I focus on those who are looking to retire, and my goal is to help them pursue the proper amount of income they will need for retirement,” he said. “Doing that may not be as hard as it appears. If you can accumulate enough social security, 401(k), and personal investments to live off of the income from those investments, you can put those pieces together, and you could retire today if you choose to.”
However, retirement planning – while making up the bulk of Alan’s work – is certainly not all he’s limited to; he also helps people save to buy houses, send their children to college, purchase cars, and just about anything else of a financial nature that you could possibly imagine.
But when it comes to personal satisfaction, Alan says he takes great pride in helping people to prepare for when their careers are finally winding down.
“I find that focusing on retirement, a lot of people come to me with not enough money and not enough time, and we have to scramble to make do. But I enjoy the challenge of solving those problems. There are some people who may eventually run out of money, but I do my best to help them prepare as much as possible, and for most people that’s what they’re looking for.”
But at the end of the day, Alan said that the feeling he gets from helping people save to purchase a home, finance their children’s education, or prepare for a well-deserved retirement fills him with immense pride, which makes all of the hard work more than worth it.
“I love what I do. I could retire tomorrow if I wanted to, but I decided that I’m not going to do that because I love helping people,” he said. “Stifel is an excellent company, and I couldn’t be happier right now.”
To find out more about what Alan Cohn and Stifel can offer you, please visit Alan’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
