Editorials

George Nardello was a session musician who had played with Elvis before that name meant anything, and he recalls marveling at how a young kid off the street could have the "moxie" to stand up in a studio and aspire to be a star.

That impression remained with Nardello as he gravitated through the music industry and into financial consulting: a sense that the same creativity that could be applied to music could lead to success as a financial consultant, or any endeavor for that matter.  The idea of being a financial consultant just took root in his mind, and he followed his instincts.

Nardello, a registered representative with ING Financial Partners,  founded Financial Consulting, in Gibbsboro, NJ 16 years ago.  He spoke with LIFE&Health Advisor about his fundamental belief with regard to growing money: don't panic, take it slow and steady, and diversify.  While many people emerged the last decade much poorer than they had expected, Nardello can count many of his clients who did not.  This, he believes, highlights what really defines a consultant's success.

LHA:  How do you advise people who have lost large portions of their retirement plans in the market?

GAN:  I begin where I always do, with a discussion of compound interest.  The sooner you get started, the sooner it will begin working for you.  Naturally, this is what we as advisors should be telling young people, but there are a lot of older people out there who have to get restarted with their investment and retirement planning.  I read about a 62 year old executive whose company went bankrupt, and he lost his entire half million dollar 401k, which is an extreme case.  More often I meet people who have lost a big chunk of their investment, but still have some to invest.  The question then becomes, where do you go from here?  Perhaps the hardest part is getting your clients to see the reality of the situation.  They may not be in a position to take on a ton of risk, but you have to determine what you can salvage and go from there.

LHA:  What strategies do you use?

GAN:  We have at our disposal some 121 families of mutual funds, which I believe provide as much diversification as you would ever need.  I do not advise stocks for my clients, although many of them own them.  I try to focus on developing plans for guaranteed income*, funds and annuities. (* Guarantees are backed by the strength of the underlying insurance company)  I am just not comfortable being top heavy with stocks.

LHA:  How big a role does life insurance play in your practice?

GAN:  We deal with a lot of trusts, and here is where life insurance can be extremely useful.  We are talking to people who have amassed considerable fortunes who don't always understand how life insurance can be used to secure a legacy.  And it is the word legacy that really grabs their attention.

LHA:  How do regular people view the process of retirement income planning?

GAN:  What we are told early on is that you invest in an IRA, or some other qualified vehicle, for which you get a tax benefit, and when you retire, your tax bracket will be lower and your expenses will go down.  This is just not true.  Your expenses will be pretty much the same, except maybe for your mortgage.  This is where the Roth IRA became so attractive.  It is extremely powerful vehicle for certain people, often at older ages.  So, the fundamental questions for the planner is "what is your quality of life?"  You have to determine on a case by case basis what your clients will actually need to retire.

LHA:  For people who have lost money in the market, retirement money, are they realistic about it or do you find that they put their heads in the sand?

GAN:  Often they do.  It's my job to pick them up.  I want to impress upon them that there's no pie in the sky here.  You have to get back in there and put what you have remaining back to work.  All we can do is find the best opportunity without a lot of risk.  This gives them an incentive to slowly get back on track.  After all, their market losses can't be the worst thing to happen, even though at the time they may think it is.  If my clients can accept this, then we will put them where we think they can best achieve this modest goal.  If they can't and they start thinking that they should get more aggressive, than our approach just will not work.

LHA:  It sounds like you are part psychiatrist.

GAN:  In the first five years of my practice I starved, because I hadn't learned to tell my clients "I need your business."  Instead, I waited for people to tell me that they'll give me their business.  I learned to listen and to understand.  Today, I never forget where I came from.  While I have many clients who are wealthy CEOs, I also have clients of very modest means, and I afford them the same attention I would my bigger clients.

LHA:  2004 is seeing some impressive mutual fund growth, compared to the past four years.  Are you optimistic?

GAN:  I'm on the fence.  Anything can happen, and I am still cautious.  I am now coming out of government securities going into more aggressive bonds, but every portfolio is different.  It depends on who you are, your age, etc.  Yes, things look upbeat, but it is also an election year, and I think the memory of 9/11 is still hanging over us.  But I am on the fence.  For me, I say steady as she goes.

PE. Kelley

 A Financial Consultant Finds New Notes

By Martin Daks

 Often you have to go beyond the basics to succeed in business. George Nardello, a musician-turned-financial consultant, virtually becomes a family member of his clients.

As a visitor strolls into the Gibbsboro offices of Financial Consulting, George Nardello’s financial consulting company, the mellow sounds of jazz softly fill the air. Just as a fine perfume will barely tickle the senses, Nardello’s musical sounds complement the atmosphere rather than overwhelm it.

The music in Nardello’s office parallels the music in his life-complementing it, instead of overwhelming it. The soft-spoken financial planner was a man of music before he was transformed into a man of numbers. The hands that once held a saxophone, recording with the likes of Elvis, Patti La Belle, Frankie Avalon and Chubby Checker, now manipulate pencils and calculators. The mind that once concentrated on the beat of music now evaluates financial strategies, considering interest rates, risk factors and returns on capital.

“Things have come full circle,” Nardello says, shrugging off any suggestion of spiritual conflict between the world of music and the world of finance. “You can use creative ability in any endeavor.”

Nardello was 15 when he started playing in a band to earn money. “I enjoyed it,” he says now, “but I never thought of saving for the future.” The good times kept rolling for Nardello, and the trim player, now fifty-something, be-bopped his way through adulthood and marriage. He probably would be playing the sax now, except for a momentous event in September 1974 that overshadowed even his music: the birth of his daughter.

“Suddenly I had to think about pensions, being a parent, my kid’s future,” Nardello says. “I also had to think about savings. I had thrills and glamour being a musician,” he says, “but there was no stability.” In 1982 he decided to make a clean break with the musical world, and joined Home Life Insurance Company of New York as a trainee. Nardello enrolled in an industry school, where he studied financial planning, eventually becoming Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow. Following customary practices, Nardello first received a small base salary with commission while he learned the trade. Things were tight in the beginning, Nardello admits. “I laid awake a lot of nights in the early years. It was frightening,” he says. “To sell, you have to talk to people, and at first I was reluctant to pick up a phone.”

But the same drive that propelled Nardello’s music now served to advance him in a different direction. He overcame the initial reluctance and worked the phone like it was an instrument. Along the way, Nardello also managed to find a common link between music and financial advising: “It’s always about people,” he says, “and I'm a people-oriented person.” Nardello received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Combs College in Philadelphia.

Nardello worked with Home Life for almost five years, leaving in 1987 to set up his own practice. He serves a wide span of clients, from Florida to San Francisco, ranging in wealth from middle-income individuals “all the way up to millionaires.” Most of the new clients come through referrals.  “I speak with a lot of college students,” he says. “I kept warning them about credit cards. If you only pay the minimum amount due, it can feel like you'll be paying endlessly.”

After an initial phone call, Nardello meets a potential client in person to discuss investment objectives. The consultations, and future account servicing  are free, says Nardello. “Basically, we're seeing if the vibes are mutual once a relationship is established." Nardello adds, he receives commissions from the products that   clients purchase. 

I try to match goals with risk tolerance,” says Nardello. “I explain all the pros and cons to my clients. Then I try to do even better than they expected.” He points to a large credenza in one corner of his office. “That’s filled with thank you letters,” he says, rummaging through a pile of correspondence . “I always concentrate on two areas: trust and going one step further than I need to.” For Nardello, going one step farther does not end with financial consulting. In 1992, he became involved with a charity drive for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Beginning with a radio fund-raiser, Nardello eventually returned to the studio and recorded a CD called Sacred Sax, donating the profits from its sales to St. Jude. A picture of Nardello, with St. Jude spokesman Phil Donahue and Tony Thomas, son of the Late Danny Thomas, hangs on a wall of Nardello’s office. Nardello continues to assist the hospital with their seminars on charitable gift giving.

Although Nardello strives for growth in his investing, he does not strive for the same growth in the size of his practice. “I have my own niche, and I like the personal rapport” he says. “It’s a wonderful challenge.” He smiles and adds, “my clients put $1 million down and say ‘Go to work.’ That’s what it’s all about.”·

 Instrumental to Many

By Jim Vere

 Years ago, when Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon or Patti La Belle wanted a saxophonist, they often called on one musician—George Nardello. These days, when potential donors to charities in the Philadelphia area want information on the tax advantages of charitable giving, they may call on one financial consultant—George Nardello. Will the real George Nardello please stand up? FINANCIAL CONSULTING 146 Lakeview Commons, Suite 103 Gibbsboro, New Jersey 08026 Telephone: (856) 435-8300· (800) 360-6874 Fax: (856) 435-9268                                     E-Mail: fconsultingpros@aol.com.

Before becoming a financial consultant, in Gibbsboro, N.J, back in 1981, Nardello had acquired a very respectable reputation in the music business. He owned audio and video studios, and in 1970 was among the very first to introduce the idea of music videos as a marketable medium for music.

Nardello’s music credits include the opening theme from the TV series “Mike Hammer,” starring Stacy Keach; “Ravel’s Bolero,” from the movie “10” for CBS-Pavilion; and “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” for 20th Century Fox.

Then in 1981, Nardello put his thriving music career aside and began to learn financial consulting. The switch wasn't as strange as it sounds. When his music company was bought out, Nardello became an executive of the acquiring firm. He gained experience from mergers and acquisitions that he arranged for his new employer, before he took the plunge into financial consulting.

“The corporate end of the music business intrigued me, and from there I decided to get into the investments and annuities arena,” says Nardello.

When Nardello began his new career, however, realized an immediate problem. “Prospects would ask about this or that performer, and we'd never get around to talking about why they first came to see me. So at first I was guarded about my entertainment background, but over the years I've become comfortable talking about it, realizing it’s a good icebreaker.”

In 1987, Nardello twice conducted at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, and he received an Honorary Doctorate from Combs College. But it wasn't until 1992 that he had the urge to rejuvenate the music career he'd put on ice. His motivation: charity.

Through his music connections, Nardello got airtime on a Philadelphia radio station to solicit pledges for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The result was $7 million in donations. Nardello also created a CD album called: Sacred Sax, a “pastoral” album. Of it’s profits, 20% were given to St. Jude’s. Nardello received the thanks of Marlo Thomas, daughter of St. Jude’s founder Danny Thomas, and her husband Phil Donahue.

Today, Nardello oversees seminars for St. Jude’s on charitable giving. In 1994, Nardello’s special notoriety in the financial aspects of musical entertainment enterprises culminated when he served as an expert witness in a $30 million lawsuit filed by a group of 30 musicians against a bank. The bank had rescinded its promise to finance construction of a music production studio. The suit was settled out court, thanks in part to Nardello’s research.

You could say that Nardello has been “instrumental” in the lives of many, through his music, charity work, and through the successful practice he’s built as a financial consultant. ·