Business name: Russo & Associates
Address: 910 Boston Post Road East, Marlborough
Owner/Financial Advisor: Mark Russo
Contact Information: 508-481-5507, www.ameripriseadvisors.com/mark.e.russo
What type of services do you provide?
“We do customized personal financial planning and investment management. I specialize in retirement planning and portfolio management,” said Mark Russo, owner of Russo & Associates. He has been a financial advisor since 1998, and joined his father, who has since retired, in the Marlborough practice in 1999. Russo has been featured as a Five Star Wealth Manager in Boston magazine for the past two years.
Who needs a financial advisor?
“Just about everybody needs some financial planning advice. It just depends at what level. Though the majority of my clients are “pre-retired” – within 10 to 15 years of retirement, I also have younger clients and many who are already retired. Sooner is better with financial planning, so people can stay on the right track and have someone to answer to.
“A lot of people don's know what to do or how to get started, and that's where I come in. I answer such questions as “How much do I need to save?” “Where do I need to save it?” and “What's the best way to go about putting money away?””
What are the critical things for clients to think about?
“They have to have a goal. They have to be committed and want someone to be on their team. I consider myself the quarterback of the team because I work together with attorneys, CPAs and other professionals to examine a client's case.”
What's the biggest mistake people make?
“They spend too much, incur too much debt and don's start saving early enough.”
What do you advise people to do in this economic climate?
“Never panic and don's try to time your investments. The most successful investors have invested over the long haul, stayed the course, diversified and continued to invest whether the market is up or down.
“The markets have come back nicely in the last couple of years, so the other side is not to get over exuberant. There's a lot of volatility ahead. Don's put all your eggs in one basket.”
