If planning your financial future leaves you feeling a bit out in the cold, consider working with a boutique firm that prioritizes establishing healthy relationships and open communication with every client that passes through their doors.
Nick Donato Jr. of Donato Financial Group focuses on each client’s unique needs to strategize a comprehensive plan incorporating their personal goals and values. Then, he develops a clear financial path to achieve their desired lifestyle.
Nick learned the importance of understanding people from the best--his own father. “My dad was a simple guy. He grew up in a Jersey City cold-water flat and put himself through college. He was in the first graduating class of Bergen Community College in 1972, and he told me stories about attending most of his classes in trailers.”
Nick Sr. began his career in 1973 as a door-to-door insurance salesman for MetLife. Throughout his years and with the support of wife, Diane, he helped thousands of families with their insurance needs, establishing a reputation as someone to count on to help with life’s important events. “He just loved helping people,” says Nick, who fondly recalls spending Saturday mornings driving to client visits with his dad. “We’d sit at their kitchen table to discuss what was going on in their lives, and my dad would offer the help or advice they needed,” says Nick. The senior Donato’s client relationships were extensions of his own family. “It wasn’t uncommon for clients to call my dad on the home phone line during dinner. Overhearing these conversations was second nature to me. He was there to help them in good times and bad—marriages, births, sickness, funerals.” Throughout these experiences, Nick learned the essential lessons of a strong work ethic, being a successful businessman, and building lifelong relationships.
After graduating with a degree in Finance from Bentley University in Massachusetts, Nick and his dad decided to go into business together.
Nick Sr.’s wisdom and old-fashioned values combined with Nick Jr.’s entrepreneurial spirit were the formula for the success of their firm. In 2008, they made the crucial decision to break away from affiliation with MetLife and focus on being completely independent, presenting a holistic, unbiased approach. “No one financial firm can be all things to all people,” says Nick. “Just like the Yankees have more than one pitcher, a team is better than any single individual—and a coordinated and communicative team is best of all.”
Working with Donato Financial Group doesn’t mean that a potential client has to walk away from their current advisor. “We collaborate with a new client’s existing advisors, accountants, and attorneys with a fresh set of eyes and new ideas. Donato Financial Group is also aligned with other wealth management and legal experts to help navigate our clients’ needs.
Nick works with all ages and income levels but especially enjoys helping young families navigate issues like saving for college, working toward retirement, having sufficient life insurance to protect spouses and children, and caring for aging parents. He also enjoys working with individuals approaching retirement. “We have an excellent process to ensure that our clients save enough for retirement to last through the rest of their lives. Very few professions provide pensions, so it’s important for people to save for themselves,” he says.
A boutique firm offers a personalized experience that big corporations simply cannot provide. “They do a good job on money management, but they are not so successful with transferring wealth from one generation to another because they don’t build relationships with the rest of the client’s family. My specialty is being a safe money advisor focused on the protection and transfer of wealth for both individuals and businesses.”
Donato Financial Group will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Sadly, Nick Sr. passed away three years ago, but his legacy lives on. “My dad worried about his clients all the time,” says Nick, “never about himself. His biggest concern was that someone would take care of the business when he was no longer there.” Nick sustains that belief by providing his clients with a solid network of support both inside and outside of his firm so that his clients will never be left waiting for a callback.
Nick, his wife, Cristina, and two children live in Washington Township. They are active in many local and national charities, including St. John’s Academy in Hillsdale, St. Joseph’s Regional High School, and The Arc of Bergen and Passaic Counties.
Having won many industry awards over the years, Nick says that his most significant award is the ability to serve people and having his clients call for advice and recommendations. “That’s the trophy for me,” he says.
Securities offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC.
Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
Pull Quote 1: "No one financial firm can be all things to all people."
Pull Quote 2: "We have an excellent process to ensure that our clients save enough for retirement..."