An Award Winning Multi-Family Office Bridgin Generational Wealth

August 10, 2023 By W.A. Muller

I had the chance to sit down with Lou Cannataro, ChFC®, REBC®, CLU®, CASL®, AEP® Founder and Partner of Cannataro Family Capital Partners (CFCP). Lou has been helping clients achieve their lifetime and business goals for over 30 years. Lou and CFCP have received national recognition being named to Forbes Top 250 Securities Professionals and Financial Times Top 400 Advisors across the nation. Lou is a credentialed advisor with nine advanced degrees and/or certifications in personal and business planning. He has a long history of becoming a well trusted family advisor not only for individual families but for his business owners as well. Lou is uniquely certified and more importantly, very experienced in creating synergy between personal and business planning.

After Lou finished his MBA in finance, he founded CFCP within Northwestern Mutual. He was the leading first year advisor out of his region and has never looked back. Lou has always accredited his success to focusing on the development of long-term relationships with his clients. His “no nonsense” approach coupled with sound, consistent advice, has propelled his team to the top echelon of practices within Northwestern Mutual’s Wealth Management Company.

Not only has CFCP continually received accolades for outstanding performance each year, but Lou’s practice also received the inaugural Financial Security Award (FSA) led the Eastern region then and has received the award every year since—the prestigious FSA is awarded annually for well-rounded financial planning and comprehensive competency.

A standout in the industry, Lou brings over 60 thousand hours of face-to-face meetings/experience to each meeting. His ability to utilize this experience and level of empathy demonstrated for his client’s goals and mission in life is evident in every conversation. Lou is known for his low-key, no-nonsense approach to planning. He brings clarity to complex issues and provides transparency to the inner workings of each topic.

Lou has expanded and formed Cannataro Family Capital Partners (CFCP). “Yes, we changed our name to better reflect our mission and leadership in bridging generational wealth. First and foremost, Family is always forged from unique circumstances and has their own version of financial success and security. Capital and family wealth must be protected, maximized, and successfully passed down to a well-educated next generation. Lastly, Partners are imperative for successful financial planning and execution. The process is very personal, and it is handled most efficiently within a team approach. We collaborate with our clients, family members, and their other trusted advisors. Our business has expanded every year. I’m very proud of our team and what they have accomplished over the years, and to have continual annual growth over 30 years is quite impressive. Our external growth comes from referrals and adding new generations from our existing clients. We have grown in the number of team members, while also nurturing our lead advisors from within. When each new employee comes on board, there is a five-year training period for them to strengthen their skills through all the different aspects of planning, investments, and insurance. At the same time, we support them in securing all their licenses and credentials. In fact, we just had two of our team members secure their Charter Financial Planning (CFP) credentials. This not only propels our team members in their career at CFCP, but also assists us in bridging the generations within each of our clients’ families. By internally nurturing our team members to progress with our clients’ families, they have built meaningful, long-term relationships working side by side with family members and the different generations, along the way.”

Share with us who makes up some of your clients and how does one become one? “Our clientele spans from one coast to the other. We are now licensed in almost every state in the country. Many of our clients are business owners, corporate leaders, and young professionals just beginning their track to becoming entrepreneurs and/or leaders themselves. All our business has come from client referrals and referrals from their other trusted advisors (attorneys, accountants, etc.). We look to be the quarterback for our clients overall planning and often, we create deep relationships with their other trusted advisors along the way.”

I know folks have to prepare their children when it comes to generational wealth. “Absolutely! In this country, the first generation to create substantial wealth will be very successful in moving down 100% to the next generation. The second generation statistically loses 75% of that wealth, and by the time it makes it to the third generation, it is gone. Our focus at CFCP is to make sure we change that dynamic for our family of clients. Often when we introduce the concept of educating children about family planning, and finances; our clients will often initially say, “My children are on a need-to-know basis, and they don’t need to know anything!” I tell them that’s a recipe for disaster. To successfully bridge generational wealth, we need to start that education process early and often with the children. If we do not teach them how to drive, when we hand over the keys to the Maserati (that Maserati being the family wealth), they’re going to wrap the car around that proverbial tree! We help our clients focus on bringing their children into the world of planning and share with them in the beginning the family’s financial philosophies and what is important to their parents. We may not share the “numbers” upfront; the focus is more on the why’s, how’s, and the tools needed, but at some point, when the children reach an age of maturity (the age differs between children), we will eventually have full disclosure.”

And then you have those that are just starting out in the workforce. “The young people entering the workforce have an opportunity that has not been present in literally decades! Pre-COVID, this country was firing on all cylinders, and young people knew the game; the competition was intense. COVID came in and made working from home the popular way to work, and for some, consider this the Holy Grail. In my opinion, working from home is a mistake on so many levels.

I feel there’s an unbelievable value in team members huddling and playing on the field together. There’s an enormous amount that is learned in the office, never mind out in the field. And if young people want to stand out and move ahead, it is relatively easy because currently, their competition does not don’t even want to leave the house.

Many young people now are focusing on days off and which days they can work remotely. That is all fine if you are more focused on life-balance versus creating a very successful career or business. In the early years while you have the energy and the guts to make it happen, you should! If that’s you and your competition is sitting home, what an opportunity. To those that are just entering the workforce, be different. Be the one that wants to show up, that wants the responsibility, that wants to create the relationships, getting to know everybody on your team, in your firm, and most importantly, your clients.”

Most individuals are working longer because they didn’t save enough for retirement. “First and foremost, retirement is an old concept. Many people focus on retiring ‘early,’ Those that do retire early, after 24 months, often are craving something else to do. We are lucky to be living in a time where people are living longer, this does mean we need more capital if you truly want to stop working early. However, many realize work can keep you sharp, connected, and provide purpose in life. If their focus is on trying to ‘catch up’, this is where often people begin to make some of the biggest mistakes. They feel that they must make up time and try to take shortcuts. They may make investment choices or financial decisions that are too risky and often fail, leaving them even further behind. Those that are focused on retirement, it’s quite simple: How much a month is coming in? How much must go out? With the money that’s left over, how much are we going to put away so we can gallivant in the future? It’s not complicated, one must give time to planning and execute, then be dedicated to making it happen each month.”

Giving back to causes that are meaningful, is so important. “It absolutely is! Philanthropy is of course extremely important not only within our family of clients, but within CFCP itself. In the beginning it’s very hard to live in this country, especially in the more expensive cities, providing for your family, putting food on the table and a roof over their heads. However, as time goes on, giving to various charities becomes slightly easier as your income and assets grow. For many of our clients, overtime, it becomes a primary focus, for they have been quite successful in terms of their own finances. The most important aspect when working with charity is having a deep concern and relationship to that cause. Once that is present, the rest comes naturally.”

Last year, CFCP became very a lead sponsor in fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association and I know you will be back at it again on October 21. “Alzheimer’s Association has become our primary charity for CFCP and it’s quite simple why. My brother, Gene, started his fight with Alzheimer’s at the young age of 60 (and by the way there are thousands across this country fighting this battle at age 40). One of the most important facts is that this is not an ‘old fart’s disease’. It is becoming apparent that Alzheimer’s is invading your brain decades before the symptoms surface. Therefore, we have become the lead sponsor in New York for the Alzheimer’s Association NYC Chapter in their fight against Alzheimer’s. Last year, we were the number one fundraising team in New York, and #32 across the country and this year, we will once again be a lead sponsor for the Walk. We have that coming up on October 21^st, 2023, in Manhattan. We would love it if anybody would like to join or support our team. You can go to our website to help support this event. This would be so very much appreciated. 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Manhattan, NY: Team CFCP for Gene | Walk to End Alzheimer’s”

I know you always give sound advice and ask if you can share any for what is going on in today’s climate. “In today’s world of financial planning and investing, I think one of the most important facts people must realize is that the flow of information is phenomenal. However, planning and investing is exceptionally emotional, and the best plans can be derailed by human nature when the flood of information is nonstop and is extremely distracting. This preys on our minds creating either the fear of missing out or losing what you have.

Due to this constant bombardment of information, people’s ability to stay focused and implement a well-thought-out plan on a consistent basis becomes harder and harder. As all this information floods in, people are overwhelmed, and they feel like they must change course because of the new story or headline that they read. It has become difficult to step back and often realize there’s nothing for you to do, for you’ve planned already. That does not mean you stick your head in the sand, and don’t pay attention to what’s going on. However, what you must realize is that if you continually change course of action, you’re most likely going to slow your progression from getting from point A to point B.”

Cannataro Family Capital Partners’ (CFCP) mission is to provide personalized financial guidance to families and businesses seeking to achieve their economic and lifelong goals. Their practice is rooted in the fundamental values of Commitment, Integrity, and Results in order to be a positive force in the lives of our clients.

To learn more about the CFCP Team, please visit CFCP.nm.com. (646) 366-6571