Team Name: Rimmel Mehaffey Pessy Wealth Consulting Group
Firm: UBS Wealth Management
Senior Members: James W. Rimmel, Daniel J. Pessy
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Team Custodied Assets: $2 billion
Forbes Rankings: Top Wealth Management Teams High Net Worth, Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams
Background: Both Pittsburgh natives, James Rimmel and Daniel Pessy have been at UBS for over 20 years. Rimmel joined Paine Webber in 1997 (which UBS acquired) and eventually teamed up with his wife and his father-in-law, who each had their own separate businesses. Pessy started out working for Rimmel and was part of the team when it was officially formed in 2003. With nine people altogether now, the team typically works with high net worth clients as well as institutions like endowments or nonprofits. Among their clients, many are business owners but also there is a large number in professional services: The firm has almost 50 doctors as clients, for example.
Competitive Edge: “We truly believe that we make a difference in the lives of our clients and have built our business on that philosophy,” says Rimmel. “We’re very process driven early on as far as how we work with our clients.” Both senior partners also place emphasis on multigenerational planning and making sure families are having the right conversations about their long-term wealth. “We usually have four active generations of clients in a family—from grandparents to great-grandchildren,” says Pessy. “Clients are so pleased that we’re willing to sit down with the younger generations.”
Investment Philosophy/Strategy: “Our fundamental principles from an investment standpoint are all about asset allocation and diversification,” says Pessy. The team places an emphasis on tax-loss harvesting while also sticking to a bucketing strategy that includes silos for liquidity and longevity. From an equity perspective, they describe themselves as long-term investors by nature, with exposure typically to a blend of large-cap growth and value stocks. “For the first time in a while, the outlook for fixed income is really positive,” notes Rimmel. “The 60/40 portfolio model is now starting to make sense to me for the first time in ten, fifteen years.” While still focused on shorter term bonds, the team has slowly been adding duration and is now looking to build out an intermediate type bond portfolio. “I like bonds more than equities,” says Pessy. “With rates being where they are and likely staying in this range for a period of time, bonds are starting to become a more attractive investment, especially when looking at the volatility in the equity market.”
Investment Outlook: “Our expectation over the next nine to twelve months is that volatility will continue and ultimately the market will trade in a sideways fashion,” predicts Pessy. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty with what the Fed will do with rates—higher for longer is certainly the theme, but will they stick to that?” With the added uncertainty of an election year, it will be that much more important to help clients tune out the noise and remind them that their portfolio is built to weather volatility, the partners say. “Rates will stay higher for longer,” Rimmel predicts, adding, “The reality is that rates at 6% or 7% might be the new normal.”
Best Advice: The partners’ advice is twofold. “I always say to clients don’t watch the market every day or you’ll drive yourself crazy,” says Pessy. “We’re in this for the long term and markets are not something you should be worried about day in and day out.” The other piece of advice has to do with multigenerational planning. “We have clients that are getting old; I really try to encourage them to communicate with their children and bring them into their financial planning if they haven’t already,” says Rimmel. “It’s important for us to encourage these conversations—get your family involved to help through the process as you age.”
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