A quick look at some of the women on the Winner’s Circle list

Virginia Business
August 2006

Susan Olitsky, Merrill Lynch, Norfolk:
Olitsky has spent 30 years with the same firm and admits that she shares gray hair with most of her clients, many of whom have been with her since the beginning. One hazard of her job, she says, is having longtime clients pass on. “I just went to a memorial service last night for someone who has been with me 27 or 28 years,” she says, “and when you have conversations with somebody sometimes two or three times a week and then they’re gone, it’s sad.” But on the happier side, “you hope to get them well situated so that they can realize their goals, whether it be retiring early or sending their grandchildren through college. I would hope my efforts have helped to accomplish that.” Sometimes she has to be a parent, giving lectures to cut down the spending, but she always sees herself as a part of her clients’ family. “In my particular case, I was never blessed with children, so I consider my clients my brood, my family. I’m responsible for these folks. That’s just the way I look at it. I don’t know that a male, not having that maternal instinct, is going to think like that.”

Maria Smith, Morgan Stanley, Alexandria:
A certified financial planner, Smith builds and manages custom portfolios for her clients. She keeps up with her clients’ personal lives — their medical conditions and families — in addition to their finances, in order to fully understand their needs. She also places high importance on helping her clients preserve the wealth they have, even in bad times. When the stock market went down in 2000, she recommended her clients invest in variable annuities with a step up in death benefits. “A number of families were pleased that the value of the annuity had held up, even though the stock market went down. … It was a really a protective way of investing the individual’s money.”

Wanda Austin, Smith Barney, Newport News:
For Austin, financial advising really is a family business. Her husband, John Decher, “an old-fashioned stock jock” and portfolio manager, is part of her team, as is her daughter, Christina Austin. “Our goal, obviously, is to establish a lifelong relationship with our clients,” Wanda Austin says. “We have a genuine concern for what’s in their best interest, whether it’s trying to outperform the market when it’s on the upside or reducing exposure on the downside.”

Michele Dandrea, Smith Barney, McLean:
Dandrea has an “extensive multigenerational client base” — ranging from grandparents to their grandchildren in many cases. And “our client retention is excellent,” she says, as her business comes almost entirely from recommendations from her existing clientele. Dandrea sees herself as a kind of physician for her clients’ finances — examining their “holistic financial situation” before she makes any investment recommendations. “We go through a process of discovery, looking at their financial situations, talking to them about their personal goals, their comfort level about their money. We look at what is important to them as far as their future, and then I develop a strategy to help get them there.”

Lee Corey, Morgan Stanley, Alexandria:
Educated at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Corey believes in being well-rounded. She reads three books a week without exception — one about financial investing, one about history and one “random hit.” She doesn’t read novels — “Life’s exciting enough without made-up stories.” Her team includes her husband, Dail Turner, who holds master’s degrees in economics and international finance. Many of their clients are high-performing executives in their respective industries, but they’ve never learned to handle their personal income and investments, so she has to work not only to educate them, but also to completely understand their finances and life goals to craft the best investment strategy for each individual client.