Caiazzo-Pierce Financial Advisors and Behavior Coaches

Your financial life goes beyond dollars and cents.

So should your financial team.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

ABOUT US

PLANNING

CONTACT

Here’s a simple math problem that’ll help you understand the true nature of our work.

INTRODUCTION

Picture three birds sitting on a fence. If a hunter comes up and shoots one, how many birds are left sitting on the fence? Is your answer two? In theory, that’s correct. Three minus one equals two. But the trick is, this isn’t really a math problem, it’s a behavioral problem. If you’re only focusing on the math and not paying attention to the behavior, you’re going to get the wrong answer. Because in practice, there won’t be any birds left since the loud bang from the gun would have scared them all away.

Due to the way we process information, mental errors like this happen all the time. In our experience, when most people think about the financial markets, financial planning, and wealth management, they tend to look for solutions that focus on dollar signs, numbers, rates of return, and mathematical formulas. But just like the three birds sitting on a fence example, the financial services industry is less of a numbers game and more of a behavioral game. Day in and day out, loud bangs are constantly influencing the emotions and behaviors of our clients. There are births, deaths, marriages, divorces, graduations, career changes, layoffs, lawsuits, accidents, disabilities, illnesses, inheritances, business transitions, you name it, the list goes on and on.

CAIAZZO-PIERCE ADVISORY TEAM

With this insight in mind, it should be no surprise that the most important role we can play in your financial life is making sure your behavior and the decisions you make are always aligned with your goals. Especially when you’re experiencing a loud bang! How do we accomplish this? By inspiring you to do the things you should do, which aren’t always the things you may want to do.

Our family-focused practice model has allowed us to build deep, long-lasting relationships with the types of clients we know we can be most effective with. Our best relationships have always been with honest, open-minded people who have three things in common.

They value good advice.

They have a deep sense of responsibility for themselves and their families.

They like working with accomplished, well-seasoned financial advisors who are also adept, even-tempered behavior coaches.

We bring to our practice a deep love of family and a real commitment to our clients’ best interests which gives us a genuine sense of purpose. We take great pride in positively influencing the quality and direction of our clients’ lives and we sincerely appreciate the confidence and trust they have placed in us. Our clients have experienced firsthand the power of intelligent, well-crafted financial and behavioral advice and we look forward to sharing that power with you.

MEET YOUR TEAM

Derek J. Pierce

Financial Advisor

Investment Advisor Representative

Certified Family Business Specialist (CFBS)

Derek has had the good fortune of spending the last thirty years in the financial markets as both a trader and a financial advisor. In 2004, after spending nearly a decade and a half on trading desks and in commodity pits, he began building his financial advisory practice. As Derek began working with different types of personalities, he came to understand a simple truth; you can’t provide meaningful financial advice without first providing meaningful behavioral advice because good financial outcomes are totally dependent on good behavioral outcomes. Struck by this aha moment, Derek recognized that if he really wanted to help his clients manage their financial lives more effectively, he had to develop an approach that would help them manage their emotional and behavioral lives more effectively. On one hand, Derek needed an approach that would help his clients understand the external events taking place within the financial markets. On the other hand, he needed an approach that would help them understand the internal events taking place within their heads. For him, an interdisciplinary approach that focused on the behavioral sciences felt like the right answer.

CAIAZZO-PIERCE ADVISORY TEAM

Today, whenever anyone asks him what he does for a living he tells them, “In theory, I’m a financial advisor but in practice I’m really a behavior coach, because when it comes to long term financial success, it’s not about what’s going on in the markets that matter most, it’s about what’s going on in your head. Your thoughts, your feelings, your behavior, and the decisions you make are all connected and they all play a critical role in your overall financial and emotional well-being.” In response, more often than not, Derek gets a smile. A smile that says, “Yes, I can appreciate the irony in what you’re saying. Yes, I recognize how closely my financial life is tied to my emotional life, and yes, I could probably use some help when it comes to understanding and managing my financial behavior.” Perhaps you feel the same. Derek is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program in Human and Organizational Psychology at Touro University Worldwide. He holds a Master of Science degree in Financial Services from The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, VT. Professionally, he has earned the Certified Family Business Specialist (CFBS) designation enabling him to provide specialized advice and resources to family business owners. He has also been recognized as a Certified Master Coach from the Behavioral Coaching Institute and is a member of the International Coaching Council (ICC) for professional workplace coaches. Derek lives in Manhattan with his wife and their two daughters. Together, they enjoy an active lifestyle balancing their time between the concrete canyons of Manhattan and the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Rick has spent the last eighteen years in financial services. He began his career in corporate accounting, and in 2004 he joined AXA Advisors LLC where he began building his financial advisory practice. When you meet Rick for the first time, you immediately get a sense of his nurturing, good-humored nature. You also get a sense of the things he’s most passionate about. Things like family, cooking, and coaching. When you dig a little deeper, you begin to see that Rick’s interests and passions have a common theme. They each require him to selflessly give something of himself for the benefit of others. Whether he’s spending time with his family, barbecuing a rack of ribs, or coaching local youth programs, Rick gets a deep sense of satisfaction knowing he’s influencing people’s lives in positive and meaningful ways. As a result, giving of himself for the benefit of others has become a hallmark of his financial planning practice.

Financial Advisor

Investment Advisor Representative

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®)

Richard L. Caiazzo

CAIAZZO-PIERCE ADVISORY TEAM

In the beginning, Rick’s primary focus was creating protection strategies for his clients. For him, insurance planning was a necessity and investment planning was a luxury. If you asked him why, he would simply say, “Because nine times out of ten an underfunded insurance program is going to blow up even the best-funded investment program. If you die, get sick, or can’t work anymore it doesn’t really matter what kind of return you’re getting on your investments. What matters is whether you have the money you need, when you need it.” As his practice grew, Rick enhanced his skills and broadened his capabilities by earning his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) designation, the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning. As a CFP®, Rick provides comprehensive financial planning services allowing him to take a holistic view of his client’s protection, investment, tax, retirement, and estate planning needs. Today, Rick finds himself at the crossroads of financial planning and financial behavior coaching where he guides his clients on their financial and behavioral needs. He understands that while most of us have good intentions, we don’t always focus on the things we should do. Especially when it comes to our financial planning needs. Lack of time, lack of trust, lack of information, and lack of good advice are usually the culprits. Luckily for us, Rick has built a career out of helping clients turn their good intentions into reality. In his spare time, which you’ve probably already guessed, Rick enjoys coaching soccer, traveling with his family, watching sports, and seeing your eyes light up as you bite into one of his latest culinary creations. Rick lives in Yorktown Heights, New York with his wife Irene and their four children, Adrian, Victoria, Nicholas, and Ricky. A graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, with a focus in accounting, Rick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Hospitality Management and an Associate degree in Hotel Management. *In 2013, Rick and his business partner, Derek J. Pierce, joined Barnum Financial Group to create the Caiazzo-Pierce Advisory Team.

MEET YOUR TEAM

Six Areas of Financial Planning

PLANNING PUT IN ACTION

“A goal without a plan is just a wish,” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

CAIAZZO-PIERCE ADVISORY TEAM

FINANCIAL POSITION

CASH FLOW

Cash flow analysis Budgeting

DEBT MANAGEMENT

Current debt analysis Debt restructuring Mortgage options Debt reduction strategies Credit score management Financing options Loan vs. lease

Emergency Fund

Structure and funding

LARGE EXPENSES

Education funding Major purchase funding strategies

TAX PLANNING

Deductions and credits Tax efficient investing Asset location Ownership structures Cost basis analysis Tax loss harvesting Carry forward losses Health savings and flexible savings accounts Liquidation strategies Roth IRA conversions and re-characterizations

PROTECTION PLANNING

Life insurance Disability income Long-term care insurance Health insurance Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance Automobile insurance Excess liability coverage Group coverage

RETIREMENT PLANNING

Retirement goal setting Retirement income projections Employer sponsored retirement plans IRAs and Roth IRAs Fixed and variable annuities Saving strategies

Accumulation Phase

Income distributions strategies Social Security optimization Medicare/Medigap Required minimum distributions Pension options Income annuities

DISTRIBUTION Phase

investment PLANNING

Portfolio analysis Asset allocation Security selection Cost and fees Concentrated stock positions Stock options and restricted stock Non-qualified deferred compensation

ESTATE PLANNING

Wills Beneficiary designations Powers of attorney Health care proxies Living wills Trusts Guardianship for minors Special needs planning Business succession planning Charitable giving Legacy planning Gifting strategies Federal and state estate taxes

Better financial advice based on better behavioral advice.

(212) 578-4351

(212) 578-3841

rcaiazzo@barnumfg.com

dpierce2@barnumfg.com

10 Grand Central Building 155 E 44th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Securities and investment advisory services offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC. 6 Corporate Drive, Shelton, CT 06484, Tel: 203-513-6000. CRN202111-256900

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