In the News

Shelton, CT, December 2019 – I stopped cooing at my computer screen long enough to consult Chris Kampitsis, a certified financial planner at Barnum Financial Group in New York. Kampitsis told me that in today’s day and age, it’s “getting more and more difficult for busy individuals to stay on top of all these different recurring expenses.”

Kampitsis explained that it’s easy to overspend on these services because they pile up quietly and over time. While I’d definitely balk at dropping $200 on a single meal, for example, I might not see such a problem with signing up for $18 recurring energy bar shipments (which I just did)

Shelton, CT, November 2019 – In September, Barnum began offering loan contributions to eligible employees through a partnership with personal finance company SoFi.

“We’re looking at it as a retention tool. We hope they’ll stay,” said VP of Human Resources at Barnum Financial Group Michelle Hite.

Barnum will contribute up to $7,200 over a three year period toward a qualifying employee’s principal loan balance. Employees are still responsible for their monthly loan payments.

Shelton, CT, October 2019 –The Barnum Financial Group is helping its young financial advisors tackle their student loan debt.

The Shelton-based firm recently announced a partnership with online personal finance company SoFi to develop a debt assistance program for its employees as they get their careers started.

“Student loan debt has become a national issue, and we want to lessen the burden and concern that many young advisors have post-graduation as they are starting to build a practice, which takes time,” said Paul Blanco, CEO of Barnum Financial in a press release.

Shelton, CT, September 2019 – Barnum Financial Group financial advisors who are just launching their careers and are weighed down with student loan debt can now receive assistance in paying those debts down through a newly introduced  program, the company announced today. The plan will be operated in partnership with SoFi, the online personal finance company, through their SoFi at Work program.

Shelton, CT, August 2019 – The Barnum Financial Group, a provider of financial education in the workplace at hundreds of companies and non-profits in New England, New Jersey, and New York, announced the launch of The Establishment Barnum, a new approach to financial education and literacy focusing on young professionals.

“Our trained advisors have helped to educate thousands of people in the workplace through the Corporate Education Program,” said Paul Blanco, CEO and founder of Barnum. “We will serve people from any field or occupation, including Millennials just launching a career, or those further along in life.”

Shelton, CT, July 2019 – The game plan to get out of debt is neither quick nor easy. “It starts with a monitoring your finances, making a budget and sticking to it,” Ben Soccodato, a New York-based certified financial planner at Barnum Financial Group, told MarketWatch.

“If you don’t have that structure and discipline in place, and without an emergency reserve fund, you are going to get caught up in a situation like this family did,” he added. In fact, one in five Americans in a U.S. News and World Report survey said they didn’t even know if they had credit-card debt..

Shelton, CT, June 2019 – Low-interest rates, market volatility, and longer lives for many Americans have upped the challenge of creating reliable retirement income for clients. While the traditional 4% annual withdrawal from savings is a good rule of thumb, it’s certainly not set in stone. Research and some financial advisors now recommend levels as low as 2.5%.

Shelton, CT, May 2019 – New Haven students received bikes and helmets courtesy of the Barnum Foundation for Life Bikes for Kids program. 

Shelton, CT, May 2019 – Barnum Foundation for Life volunteers met for the 10th consecutive year at the Sunnyside Elementary School in Shelton in March to help students become more knowledgeable about financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship — all elements of the Junior Achievement (JA) program.

Shelton, CT, May 2019 – Americans are continually urged to be aware of risks ranging from dangerous weather to health threats to looming deadlines for filing  tax returns.  May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, but is this annual reminder really necessary?

Shelton, CT, April 2019 – An interview with Paul Blanco, by Phil Laboon. “Culture cannot be separated from values. You can’t just adopt a culture because it sounds good or attractive. If you are leading a company or any organization, there must be a meshing of values and culture that ultimately will lead to success. Employees must see that their leader is living the culture as well.”

Shelton, CT, March 2019 – Barnum Financial Group has been ranked 5th by Best Places to Work in Connecticut! Accepting for the team are Michelle Hite – Vice President of Human Resources and Melissa Poli – Human Resources Consultant.

Shelton, CT, January 2019 – Senior Vice President, Matt Teel with a recent article on how to Make Retirement Income More Predictable.

Shelton, CT, June 2018 – It’s summertime! This season is marked by barbecues, donut-shaped pool floats and sunny days. But it’s also the time of year that man people look at their PTO and ask themselves, “Do I have enough vacation days to go on a trip?”

Shelton, CT, January 2018 – When most people think about innovation, they think of companies like Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google because those companies appear to have some kind of magic that other organizations lack. If your company wants to make lightning strike repeatedly, consider these points.

Shelton, CT, February 2017 – The Barnum Financial Group has been named one of the “Best and Brightest” companies to work for in the U.S., Barnum announced today. The Best and Brightest organization bases its selections of top firms on confidential surveys of employees.

Stamford, CT, January 2017 – A group of local children will be attending a free basketball clinic sponsored by Barnum Financial Group and Foundation for Life, Inc. at the Stamford YMCA this Saturday, January 20^th.

New York, NY, January 2015 – In order to help young advisers succeed, Barnum Financial Group has created a clear career track and appointed a specific person in the firm to help them along, according to Paul Blanco, Managing Partner at the firm.