For This Family-Owned Business, Respect Is At The Heart Of Its Success

Anthony Petsis & Associates is a paid advertiser on Patch. This article was reported and produced independently by Patch's editorial team and was not part of the company's advertising partnership.

Running a successful business for nearly half a century is no easy feat. Turning that business into a multi-generational company capable of tackling the next 50 years is even more gargantuan. But that’s precisely the goal for Anthony “Tony” Petsis, founder of Newtown’s Anthony Petsis & Associates.

Opened in 1980, Anthony Petsis & Associates is an independent wealth advisory firm that helps its clients “build, protect, and transfer wealth while navigating the financial decisions that shape their lives.” The advisory firm is deeply rooted in family and community — Petsis works with a team of financial planners that includes his son, Alexander “Alex” Petsis.

As Anthony Petsis & Associates approaches 100 years of wealth management and retirement planning, its founder reflects on his humble beginnings, the power of respect, and why working with family doesn’t always have to fall into negative stereotypes.

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Boots On The Ground During Financial Planning’s Early Days

It was a few decades ago when Petsis, who admitted that finance is all he’s known career-wise, first pitched the idea of financial planning to his boss and a colleague.

“Really, it started with money markets as opening up this whole new area of planning,” he told Patch. “Back then, I convinced my then boss and another colleague of ours that the three of us should start looking at this new emerging profession called financial planning. I was kind of at the beginning of what we see today.”

At a time when cold calling was as common as sending a friend request on Facebook, Petsis admitted that he hated it. Even going so far as to call the intrusive tactic a “waste of time.” For him, it was boots on the ground, even if that meant recruiting the help of family or taking a meeting over the weekend.

“I was right out of college,” Petsis recalled. “I knew no one … First you started asking family and friends, ‘Hey! I’m new at this. Do you mind if I practice with you?’ I would drive into Newtown or Doylestown with my business cards. This young, 22-year-old who was just starting out. And I would hand out my business cards and say, ‘Hey, I know you’re busy, but would it be okay if I followed up with you and tell you a little bit about what I do?’ And just about everybody said yes.”

“So back then it was all about just getting out there … It was seven days a week. If somebody wanted to meet on a Sunday night at 7 o’clock. I was doing it,” he continued.

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The Quality That Keeps Family And Business In Balance

Petsis is well aware of the stigma that can sometimes come with running a multi-generational business. A study published this year by Goldman Sachs, for example, reported that only about 12 percent of family-owned businesses make it to a third generation still under family control.

But for Petsis & Associates, there’s a simple value that keeps things running smoothly: respect.

“There's so many stories of father/son, father/daughter, mom/daughter, mom/son businesses that just don't make it — for many, many different reasons,” he said. “But I think you know from the beginning, I knew that it was going to work. Just the way we respected each other.”

Petsis added that when Alex joined the team he was adamant that he “know everybody and learn everybody's job.” He also warned his son, who will eventually become the heir apparent to Petsis & Associates, that he would face judgment simply because he was his son.

“I remember the first day. I had said to him, ‘You know, a lot of people are going to think that you were handed something,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘You're going to be judged in a lot of ways more harshly than me. People know that I built this from zero’ … I said ‘With you, you're going to be judged a lot more harshly. You have to take this firm to a different level. You have to make it that much better. And that's how you're going to be judged.’ And I can tell you he hasn't disappointed.”

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Taking Pride In Employees And The Communities They Impact

There’s no doubting the admiration and respect Petsis has for his team of advisors at Petsis & Associates. That appreciation is especially evident when he talks about the individual ways his team serves their clients.

He didn’t hesitate to applaud financial planner Heidi Hirsh’s work with female clients, particularly her efforts to create a comfortable space for them to discuss wealth management, retirement, and other money matters.

“We also have a lady financial advisor Heidi Hirsh on our team,” he said. “She's extremely important to us. Because some of our clients, our lady clients, they just don't feel comfortable with a man doing their planning. They feel more comfortable having another woman doing the planning with them. So Heidi's been a huge asset for us in that regard.”

The firm’s newest advisor, Marc Butler, also brings a longstanding connection with Petsis to the team. A friend and colleague of Petsis for 15 years before joining the firm, Butler has a background in corporate finance and has authored two books on financial planning. He also draws on his corporate finance experience as Petsis & Associates works with its larger corporate affiliates.

Petsis is equally proud of the ways his son Alex is growing both within the firm and in the community.

“And Alex is really beginning to excel in his community involvement,” the founder shared. “Church involvement, for example. Really giving back to the community in a very significant way … And he’s also really been building up our special needs financial planning area, and there’s not a lot of advisors that do that.”

For Petsis, the people around him are at the heart of everything the firm has achieved. And while he’s proud of what they’ve built together, he knows that success is something that can never be taken for granted.

“I trust everyone here 100 percent or else they wouldn’t be here. I really think I’m one of the most blessed people in the world just having these people surrounding me,” he admitted. “But at the same time, we are grateful for our success, but we also know that it has to be earned every day.”

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To learn more about Anthony Petsis & Associates, its team and the financial planning services it provides, visit apetsis.com

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