Personality Separates Financial Advisor from the Rest

You might hear Pavarotti's greatest hits or one of Bocelli's many fine collections playing in the background. The antique replica radio or 1950s model airplane on the desk may catch your eye. In fact, you might find George Ellsworth Smith's office in Stony Brook so appealing you'll forget you are there on business.

Smith is a financial advisor with the firm Edward Jones, a national company with a local presence in Stony Brook. Among his many services offered are retirement plans, planning for long term care, investments, estate plans and trusts, solutions for saving, spending, and borrowing, and education.

"We find out what someone's financial goals are, and what are their needs," Smith said. "We see if we can satisfy that by finding the product that fits their needs."

Smith's background includes a bachelor of science in mathematics from Indiana State University and graduate work at Stony Brook University. Before he was a financial whiz, though, Smith was a parachute rigger in the U.S. Special Forces and later a computer science technician. He has owned three companies.

"I learned not only financial background, but also how to present a company, marketing and sales, and building a company from scratch," Smith said.

Thanks in part to Smith's successes, Edward Jones will be opening a second office in the Three Village area. Financial advisors with Edward Jones often start out by going door-to-door throughout the community, meeting residents and business owners.

"This is a world where people need financial help," Smith said. "You have six to ten financial advisors in the Three Village area. What's going to separate me from the others is the personal relationship."