Jeffrey Segal is the CEO and Founder of C.I.G. Private Wealth Management. His career in financial services spans over 30 years (since 1988), over 20 of which have been spent establishing and growing this company (founded in 1999). Aside from holding his Series 6, 7, 63 and 65 securities licenses, Jeffrey is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® designee (AIF®), and a Certified Long-Term Care (CLTC) consultant.
Originally from Massachusetts, Jeffrey lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut with his wife Jennifer, and their two children, Alexis and Sam. His hobbies include traveling, hiking, golfing, automobile racing, and playing tennis. He is a Chief Instructor with the Audi NEQ Club and never turns down an opportunity to help others.
What does C.I.G. Private Wealth Management do really well as a company and for its clients?
We take great pride and joy in providing wealth management, planning, and advice to our clients in many related facets of their lives. Working with a financial planner can sometimes be intimidating – putting your trust in someone to help manage your wealth and financial life; we get it. Taking care of you and all things financial; that’s what makes us stand out.
We believe in developing a level of trust that goes way beyond a client/advisor relationship. We think of you as a friend and family, first and foremost. If my mother needed financial advice, I would want someone to take good care of her; ensure her financial goals and needs are covered and that she has someone to talk to when necessary. We approach all client relationships as if they were members of our own family. It’s all about helping our clients and solving their challenges; to take care of them and all their financial needs, all the steps they need to know, so they can enjoy life, enjoy their retirement and not have to worry about this stuff! We want clients to know they can feel comfortable to leave it to us as a trusted service professional; your financial advocate; personal CEO. That’s what we do; and what we do really well.
Do you have a personal or professional motto?
I have a couple: ‘Live life with balance’ is one. We only get to be on this earth for a short time and there is so much to do, see, and experience; So work with passion so that you can play and enjoy with passion. Another is: ‘What you perceive and believe is what you achieve.’ Without visualizing what ’it’ looks like, you will likely not achieve ’it’.
How did you get started, and what have you learned over the years?
My Dad owned a few ladies clothing stores while I was growing up. It was funny to see but a great experience for a 10-year old to be hanging new inventory, ringing the register, and helping the ladies’ cash out and bagging their clothes. It was there that I learned the motto that ’The Customer is King’, or ’Queen’ in Dad’s stores.
My first real job was working at Dunkin [Doughnuts] in Canton, Massachusetts. Every morning I would do whatever was needed to get the business of the day running smoothly. Making the honey dip for the doughnuts, serving the coffee to customers, mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms. Whatever it took. It was hard work, but I loved it, because interacting and seeing happy customers made me happy as well.
I built my career at C.I.G. PWM on that work ethic and great relationships. It takes a lot of hours and hard work to build a company. A lot of failures and challenges before seeing successes. I have used the lessons I learned early in the service industry to help me build a successful company today. C.I.G. PWM began in 1999. I am proud of our great team, and the value, service and care that we provide to our clients.
In your opinion what are the top things to consider when working with a wealth advisor?
I’d say consider if the advisor has independence. Meaning, they offer independent, objective, and fiduciary advice to their clients and recommend suitable financial products from the entirety of the market. What is their knowledge base and level of experience in the industry? What is their product mix of assets and investments, and do they believe in a consultative approach to the client/advisor relationship? Do they have a team of advisors and staff to take care of and help you with almost anything financially that you can need?
Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?
Growing up, I saw that my parents did not plan their finances very well and couldn't afford the retirement the envisioned. My Dad owned small ladies clothing stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and somehow still struggled with the financial aspect of balancing it all. Seeing that made me want to help and make sure that doesn’t happen to other people; pure and simple; that is why I love doing what I do.
What is your favorite outside-of-work activity?
Currently, my favorite outside of work activity is racing cars. I love the challenge of the precision, coupled with the speed. I race a BMW M4. When I’m not on the racetrack, I love to play tennis, go for a hike, play a round of golf, or listen to classic rock and country.
What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you?
Besides meeting and marrying my wife which in turn gave us two awesome children, I think the luckiest thing was meeting Ed M., that brought me into the financial services business. Ed was a regular at a restaurant where I worked near The University of Connecticut and was a financial advisor. I had been looking for my career direction after college, and he said, “What about financial planning?” He walked me through the career as a wealth advisor, and soon after, I was hired at a financial services firm in Hartford. The rest is history.
Since then, I always tell people to put yourself in a position to be able to benefit from the work you put in. When you work hard, care about and love what you do, and stay consistent; greatness will happen. I thank goodness that I have this opportunity to make a difference for our clients, employees, and my family, every day.
**The 2020 ranking of the Forbes' Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due-diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively and on a ranking algorithm that includes client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, and quantitative criteria (including assets under management and revenue generated for their firms). Overall, 32,000 advisors were considered, and 4,000 (12.5) percent of candidates) were recognized. This recognition and the due-diligence process conducted are not indicative of the advisor's future performance. Your experience may vary. Winners are organized and ranked by state. Some states may have more advisors than others. You are encouraged to conduct your own research to determine if the advisor is right for you. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. SHOOK does not receive a fee in exchange for rankings. The full methodology that Forbes developed in partnership with SHOOK Research is available HERE.