Tom Petzold defines his role differently than other advisors. He wants to be your financial physician as well as your financial coach. What does this mean? Tom wants you to be actively involved. Just like your personal physician, Tom is available by phone and appointment to speak to your concerns when they arise. As your financial coach, he can develop sophisticated financial plans that will estimate how long your savings will last and/or how much you should be saving to comfortably reach your desired goal. However, he also honestly communicates that there are many variables beyond our control.
Tom graduated from Valparaiso University in 1984 with a degree in finance and economics. He began his securities career at an independent firm; then he started his own firm, Pathway Investment Company. Government regulations made it nearly impossible for the small to survive, so Tom teamed up with Centennial Securities Company (CSC), one of the largest independent brokerage firms in the Midwest. Tom feels that staying independent allows him the opportunity to think impartially and the freedom to counsel individuals on what he feels is appropriate.
With Tom’s education and three-plus decades of experience, he realizes experience is a relative term. A valuable quotation from his finance/economics professor, “The market will do whatever it can to make a fool out of as many people as possible,” has taught him that following the crowd can be dangerous. He is willing to be different, and he wants his clients, who entrust him with their hard-earned savings, to understand the following:
• Think long-term, in seven-to-ten-year blocks. This is generally a full market cycle, removes the day-to-day noise various markets make, and allows enough time for a higher probability for a favorable outcome.
• You are hiring Tom to do what he thinks is prudent, recognizing that sometimes he will be wrong.
Tom is a firm believer in active unconstrained fund managers who err on the side of caution. He uses index funds, but they are not core holdings. Tom identifies fund managers that he believes will deliver a good risk-adjusted return for his clients. These managers are allowed large discretion across the entire capital structure of stocks, bonds, and cash. He is willing to stay with some managers longer than others might because they have earned his respect and deserve the seven-to-ten-year full market cycle.
Tom would like to be loved all the time for the returns he delivers to his clients. But, you can’t be this type of advisor and expect that. There will be times when you may not like what Tom, your financial physician, recommends, or what Tom, your financial coach, encourages you to do. However, Tom will always recommend what he feels is in your best interest.
Tom was born in 1959, but plays like he was born in 1979. He enjoys all sports; competitive volleyball and snowboarding are two of his favorites. His fall passion is upland bird hunting with his two Setters. He is abundantly blessed by his Creator with a wonderful wife, Kathy, two adult children, Annie and Steve, and two Gordon Setters, Ranger and Tonto.