September 5, 2013
Everyone's story is unique, and no one knows that better than Frank Riggio '80CBA. As a Partner and Wealth Management Advisor at Renaissance Wealth Management, he works with a diverse group of clients, helping each of them to establish an entirely distinct retirement plan that suits their particular lifestyle.
"I'm very much like a psychologist, asking my clients, ‘How do you live?', ‘What are your values?' and ‘What makes you tick?'" Riggio explained. "Everyone gives me a different response: golf, travel and so on, so there's no easy answer regarding retirement. Each client is unique and you have to build a plan individually ad hoc each time to help fulfill their wishes. For me, assisting people in that way is a tremendously rewarding experience."
This knowledgeable alumnus is especially glad to share his financial advice with the St. John's University community, frequently serving as a Moderator and Panelist at the Office of Gift Planning's Meet the Experts events. These programs feature a panel of well-informed and accomplished alumni financial planners, providing information and guidance to the St. John's community free of charge. Riggio—an outspoken advocate of alumni engagement—is glad to help his fellow graduates.
"Meet the Experts is always fun and I truly enjoy staying connected to the University in that way," he said. "Providing financial-planning information is very important, especially considering how many challenges our retirees will be facing down the line."
These challenges include rising healthcare costs, an unstable Social Security system, an economic recession and a turbulent political landscape.
"There's so much uncertainty, and a lot of the old paradigms that we once held true are deviating a bit," he noted. "Keep in mind that there are 70 million or so Baby Boomers going into retirement, so it's going to be very difficult for all of them to manage their income for the next 30 to 40 years."
One of Riggio's most essential pieces of advice is to plan ahead, to anticipate your expenses and assess how much money you will need in order to support the type of lifestyle you want to live while retired.
"Unfortunately, we're still a country of non-savers—that paradigm hasn't shifted," he joked. "I always recommend that you take a look at your life from a value-based perspective to understand what you want and what you need, and hopefully we can help you take care of some of your wishes. You need to really examine where you're spending your money and, after that, establish a budget. A lot of people do this at their business, but they don't practice it in their personal lives."
Riggio first got involved in Wealth Management after spending over 10 years as a banker. He finds the Financial Planning field particularly meaningful because it allows him to get to know clients on a personal level and directly impact their lives.
He reconnected with St. John's in 1998, when he became an active board member of The Peter J. Tobin College of Business Alumni Association, and he's remained involved in the University community ever since.
"It's vastly unbelievable how the University has grown in the last five to 10 years," Riggio said. "We're no longer just a commuter school, and that's been very beneficial. I've had about five St. John's interns in the last eight years—one was a student from Bulgaria, another from California. Drawing such a diverse student body from around the world is quite remarkable and is a great asset for the University."
It's Riggio's hope that more and more graduates will reconnect with St. John's and help create an even more vibrant and connected alumni community.
"The passion I have is for our alumni culture to grow even more," he said. "Staying connected allows graduates to enrich themselves and, ultimately, enrich St. John's in the process."
Contact Susan Damiani at (718) 990-7562 or [email protected] to find out how you can include St. John's University in your estate and retirement plans.