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Home›Problem Solving›Mary DiChristofano focuses on family

Mary DiChristofano focuses on family

By Todd McArthur
July 26, 2022
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Mary DiChristofano is proud to be the first child and grandchild of parents and grandparents who immigrated from Italy. “They came to the United States with the proverbial suitcase to build a better life for themselves and their families,” says the private wealth adviser of Graystone Consulting – Chicago.

Growing up, “family, faith and tradition were paramount in everything we did,” recalls Mary, who has fond childhood memories of time spent with her many cousins, aunts and uncles “celebrating life around Italian food and culture”. Sundays were reserved for church and large dinner parties, where up to 25 people gathered at their home in suburban Chicago.

Mary’s maternal grandmother and father were among her role models. “It was a privilege to see their perseverance, grit and bravery pay off,” Mary recalls. Although she was born in the United States, her grandmother moved to Italy with her parents when she was 6 years old. She married, had children, then returned to America alone in her mid-thirties. She finds an apartment and a job as a seamstress, then brings her husband and three children to join her.

Mary’s 25-year-old father also came to the United States alone. Shortly after arriving, he started his own masonry business. At a young age, Mary’s English skills proved an asset to her father’s business, and she stepped in to help. “I learned early on that it doesn’t have to be perfect,” she says. “If you give your best and ultimately deliver quality work, you will get good results.”

In high school, Mary also got a job at a local bank, working as a financial advisor to the new accounts department. “I realized that helping customers with their financial transactions is more than just opening a savings account,” she says.

With a love for connecting with people, she knew she wanted a career in finance. After graduating from Loyola University, she was chosen to join LaSalle Bank’s management training program, then landed a job in its financial planning group after her rotation in the company.

When her then-boss decided to start her own business, she joined him as a founding partner of Frye-Louis Capital Management, the first family office in the Midwest. Their business flourished and they eventually sold it to Credit Suisse where they continued to grow their client base for the next 15 years. Credit Suisse’s exit from private banking in 2016 “gave us the opportunity to find a new home for our team and our clients,” says Mary.

Morgan Stanley was a natural choice. “Thinking about the financial well-being of our clients beyond their investment portfolio is paramount,” she insists. “With the support of Morgan Stanley, I have grown even more in my role.”

Mary has completed Morgan Stanley’s unique Director of Family Wealth designation program to better understand family dynamics, planning opportunities and to provide clients with “the peace of mind they deserve”. She stresses the need to approach each client “with an open mind and a compassionate heart and put them at ease.”

In addition to these soft skills, Mary is detail-focused and defines herself as “a techie at heart, disciplined and consistent with the skills we bring to the table”. In fact, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) enjoys problem solving and thrives on “getting things done effectively and efficiently.” She loves being the “financial manager of the family” for her clients, teaching them and helping them achieve their goals.

“What makes my career very rewarding is the work I do for families,” she says. “Growing up, we always thought about our multiple generations of family members. Now I think of my clients and the many generations of their families and the legacy they want to create.

Yet, without the support of her own family, she knows she would not have been able to help so many others. “My husband has always been a phenomenal partner in supporting my career and raising a family together,” she says. They have a son and a daughter, young adults with whom they have a lot of fun carrying on family traditions, many of which focus on food.

Mary enjoys being surrounded by next-generation talent, so much so that she organized a Summer Pathways internship program, which aimed to create a diverse pool of future financial advisors. In her spare time, she works with various charities to teach financial literacy.

After being named to the Forbes list of America’s Top Female Wealth Advisors in 2021, Mary was named the Morgan Stanley MAKER, Class of 2022, joining a distinguished group of women and men, all nominated by their peers. She is grateful to have been “recognized along with many other women for her important work” and to be “passionate and relentless in making the world a better place”.

Her advice to other women is, “Don’t be afraid of hard work and don’t worry about the future. Things will take care of themselves as long as you focus on the present, give your best, invest in yourself, engage with great mentors, and learn to be your own defender.

After 30 years in the business, Mary still won’t say no. “I take every opportunity I get and will always take on new challenges and keep improving my skills,” she says. “I realized that if one door closes for some reason, another will always open. That alone gives me the energy to continue. »

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