Performance Wealth, a fee-only registered investment advisory firm based in the greater Chicago area, has announced the launch of three new programs aimed at educating and supporting professionals at or near retirement, next-gen investors and student athletes.
Performance Wealth was founded in 2021 by Chairman Alfred Salvino and his sons, CEO Thomas Salvino and CFO John Salvino—after a collective 80 years at William Blair & Co.—in a bid to provide fiduciary, unconflicted services to existing and prospective clients who were asking for them. The trio brought around $2 billion in assets with them in the move.
“Honestly, we were already acting as an independent, fiduciary firm-within-a-firm,” Tom Salvino said. “But ultimately, it was just better to do it cleanly and without any conflicts and without a parent company that's an investment bank, where there were just these potential conflicts that we thought weren't great. And a lot of prospects were saying they wanted us to be independent and not part of Wall Street.”
Launched without joining a strategic platform or taking on a capital partner, Performance Wealth is focused on growing through client referrals and expanded wallet share.
Over the last month, the firm announced it is leveraging John Salvino’s relationship with the University of Chicago, where he chairs the Booth Alumni Finance Roundtable, and the medical expertise of another brother—Dr. Michael Salvino, a board-certified cosmetic surgeon—to create a pair of programs providing education and support services for existing clients and their families.
On one end of the client spectrum, the firm announced the launch of its Next Chapter initiative, aimed at providing ongoing education around financial planning and investing—as well as Social Security planning, estates and wills—for investors at or nearing retirement. The program also includes webinars with Dr. Salvino on topics such as long-term health and illness prevention.
“It’s a tough transition going from having a full career to not working,” said Tom Salvino. “This is meant to help with that transition and ultimately provide a community where people feel like they’re still involved, still engaged, still learning.”
Next Chapter is complemented by the Performance Wealth Next Gen Education program, which debuted late last month, providing foundational financial education around things like major purchases, budgeting and personal saving, as well as investing, portfolio construction and alternative investments. Clients’ children and young investors of all ages are invited to participate in the program, which includes a required reading list and ongoing progress reports.
“The earlier people start to understand finance and investing, the better off they are and the sooner they can achieve financial independence,” said Salvino.
Both programs include access to University of Chicago MBA programs, events and seminars. They are available to all new and existing clients but won’t be offered externally.
“People should be informed, should be involved, should be collaborative,” Salvino said. “What we're trying to do is involve people and help them understand our process and understand the University of Chicago process. They become better investors when they're comfortable and they're involved and they understand the process.”
Another initiative, announced earlier last month, is offering remote, paid internship opportunities at the firm to student athletes.
The Student Athlete NIL Alliance program is the next evolution of the firm's long-standing internship program, which for 25 years has given college students real-life business experiences while also teaching them about finance, investing and savings, according to the firm.
The program's inaugural class includes 17 athletes from Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford, and Northwestern universities, among others.
“It’s nice to get paid for your name, image and likeness,” Salvino said. “We’re combining that with the longer-term benefit of the education piece, which will carry them through their lives, as opposed to the money piece, which is typically gone within a short time.”
Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Ill., with offices in Naples, Fla., and San Diego, Performance Wealth provides financial planning services, including estate, retirement and multigenerational planning, as well as portfolio construction and investment management for fewer than 550 clients with some $2.4 billion in managed assets.
“We grow through word of mouth,” said Salvino. “That’s the way we want to grow. Our goal is to grow by about 15% a year and to remain privately owned because that keeps us aligned with our clients.”