Investing in the North Country
- Jodi Brunner
- 37 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Rachel Dutil • Photos by Jessica McCafferty
Andrew Lomanto talked himself out of a college statistics class and into a career as a financial advisor. When Lomanto was explaining to his academic advisor why he should be allowed to drop the class, the advisor complimented him on his ability to explain things and told him he should consider a career in finance. He did just that and in 2016, started his own firm in Plattsburgh. Hannah Provost joined him soon after.
Lomanto Provost Financial Advisors is a financial planning firm that works with clients to build a strategy that aligns with their values and helps alleviate some of the stress surrounding money. “Money can be a trigger. A lot of people grew up without it and a lot of people had it and lost it. There are a lot of people who are scarred by money,” Lomanto said. “People feel a lot of shame around money, and to wash some of that away is really great,” Provost added.
“The North Country is a financial services desert with a need for more certified public accountants, financial advisors and attorneys,” Lomanto said. “There is a huge need for people to join these types of businesses. We’ve really been scratching our heads for a couple of years now about why this isn’t already happening. The positions pay well, the hours are great and you get to make an impact. It’s really a win-win,” Provost explained.
Lomanto Provost serves nearly 400 North Country families in addition to managing retirement plans for a number of small businesses. Their office is located in the Bridge Street train station in downtown Plattsburgh — a building that has fostered many businesses over the years. The station currently hosts six businesses and provides a small waiting area for the Amtrak service that makes its Plattsburgh stop there.
Values-based Investing
“We do an in depth on-boarding process for new clients because there is so much to know,” Provost said. “We ask people to fill out a values inventory so we can be sure their overall plan is in line with their values. The form helps people to identify five values that will guide their life going forward. That information gives us a lot of insight into who we’re working with.”
Because values are unique to each person, when working with couples, Lomanto and Provost ask each spouse to do an individual values survey. “It helps us to develop a shared understanding among couples,” Provost observed. “People tend to make rational decisions, but sometimes couples’ logic is working differently,” she said, referring to frustrations and misunderstandings regarding money that sometimes happen in relationships.
Lomanto and Provost are both Behavioral Financial Advisors™ (BFAs), which helps them better understand the psychology that plays into financial decisions. “It’s very helpful for us to be able to understand clients’ reactions when we’re giving advice,” Lomanto emphasized.
Uncertainty in the markets can sometimes cause people to panic. Lomanto questions whether there is ever “certainty” in the market and thinks that some of the panic response is a result of media coverage. “The market has done this lots of times. You forgot all about it because you were busy living life. It’s not different this time,” he said. Sometimes people become obsessed with monitoring their investment accounts, particularly when there are news reports about large up or down swings in the markets, and it can be stressful for clients who watch too closely.
“The types of accounts you should be looking at every day are the ones that only move by your own hands, like checking and savings accounts,” Provost advised. “With a long-term investment account, there should be a plan in place. Maybe you glance at it occasionally, to make sure that it’s all going along with your plan, but it really should not be a daily occurrence. In the long run, we’re trying to help people have more resilience and more ability to meet their needs than they did to start with.”
Talking About Money
Both Provost and Lomanto agree that the public education system does not do a good job of teaching finance or money management. Their advice to parents is to talk to their children about the subject. “Be clear about what money is for. Knowing what you are trying to accomplish is huge,” Provost advised. “Be clear about what your real time horizon is and know the difference between short, medium and long-term money.”
“Money is a lot like oxygen,” Lomanto observed. “You don’t really appreciate it until you don’t have it.” His advice is to learn as much as you can about money, and the earlier you learn, the more time you will have to benefit from that knowledge.
Provost noted that she and Lomanto have different personalities and skill sets that complement each other well. Most days, they tag team all the tasks that need to be done and are interchangeable in many ways within the business. Lomanto though, is more suited for the super technical investment analysis. “He’s amazing at it,” she said. Provost often takes the lead on the business administration side.
The pair joked that their competitors are travel agencies and businesses that sell boats, snowmobiles and campers, “All the shiny things that are way more exciting than investing.” The other financial services providers in the region are more colleagues than competitors. That network, though small, is great, they both agreed.
“We’re confident that the world is going to keep repeating itself and people are going to need things like medicine and food,” Lomanto offered. “We will continue to do the most prudent thing possible that has the best chance of meeting our long-term goals and be the ones who know our clients the best so we keep them in their seats,” he concluded.
Lomanto Provost Financial Advisors
121 Bridge St., Suite 101
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 324-3005
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