There’s not a lot of things that keep Chris Giovinazzo up at night, but the one thing that does keep him from getting any sleep is maintaining operational excellence for his clients.
The principal and managing director of California-based Accelerate Retirement launched his own RIA from scratch last year, helping over a dozen advisors, and close to $2 billion in assets, transition out of a large aggregator’s RIA.
“We've enjoyed a lot of benefits with being fully independent but like anything else, there’s challenges,” Giovinazzo said. “You're formulating new processes, new procedures, you have to consider technology. There’s a whole gamut of different headwinds to figure out and it’s a game of constant evolvement.”
Giovinazzo says despite all that, it’s been successful. Indeed, he must be doing something right because he’s being recognized for his service as an InvestmentNews Awards 2024 Excellence Awardee, with the winners announced on June 20 at 583 Park Avenue, New York City in a glitzy, red carpet ceremony. Click here to register to attend.
In another life, he may have continued playing professional baseball with the Los Angeles Angels, noting it's still a passion of his. Reflecting on the course of his career, one piece of advice he’d give back to himself and others would be, “be able to adapt and adjust to the different emotions, thought processes and beliefs,” he says.
“It’s a quality that has served me well that I didn't necessarily have 15 years ago,” he added.
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A $1B fund allegedly skimmed 30% off the top, then swapped cash for locked-up stock.
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