When his aunt died without life insurance in 1970 to pay for $3,800 in funeral costs, 24-year-old Valentino Scott, himself “knee deep in debt,” decided he didn’t want that weighty burden for himself or other survivors.
With help from the GI Bill after serving in Vietnam, he launched a career in selling life insurance and today, 44 years later, he’s the president and CEO of internationally recognized VS Associates, a financial planning company offering a wide variety of conventional investments.
Now VS Associates has opened an independent office in Sequim at 492 W. Cedar St. with investment advisor Lisa Pierson, who has three decades of experience in the areas of finance, marketing and business development, including 10 years related to the financial services industry.
The Sequim connection from Canoga Park, Calif., where the company’s headquarters are located, is a serendipitous one. As a wedding present for his wife, Rachel, Scott said he’d buy her a house. Her grandfather’s family was from the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, so she knew the area, and when her husband said their house could be anywhere, she chose Sequim.
They built a home on Sequim Bay in 2005 and split their time between here and California.
Also, for over a decade, Scott has had clients throughout Washington, including Sequim.
“VSA completed an extensive seven-year study,” Scott said. “We found that our comprehensive tax, estate and financial planning services is a definite fit and need for the people of 98382 to consider.”
Of hiring such an experienced person such as Pierson, Scott said, “It was very fortuitous. In building our house, we became friends with our contractor Scott Pierson and found out his wife had done financial planning with Chase. True to my Italian heritage, I ‘made her an offer she couldn’t refuse’ on Aug. 1.
“Having Lisa’s 30-plus years of extensive financial expertise pop into VS Associates life was truly a blessing from God. I could not ask for a more remarkable investment advisor to represent VSA’s collective abilities.”
Customer-focused
The congenial trio stressed the hands-on and personalized approach VSA offers clients.
“We’re really helping you get focused and uncovering your goals and objectives, taking a holistic approach, which allows a professional blueprint to build wealth for yourself,” Pierson said. “It’s never too late — anybody can start saving for their future.”
“We assist people in obtaining their needs, wants and desires based on reality,” Scott added.
“And that’s the key part,” Pierson agreed,” because we have to know where you are today to help with your steps to the future. It’s like the old adage, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ People need a sounding board as to what their next steps should be.”
Clients can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance, gas, oil, timber and real estate through VS Associates.
“Our company has MBAs, certified financial planners, chartered life underwriters, financial security analysts, CPAs, IRS enrolled agents, estate planning and domestic law attorneys,” Scott said, plus an entire accounting division of which Rachel Scott is the executive director. She has enrolled agent certification from the IRS and all the licenses for financial planning and has a deep knowledge of investing and accounting as related to taxation exposure.
“Rachel is a critical part of why the company works so well because she oversees the accounting services,” Pierson said. “It’s just gratifying to serve people in this way. What your net is is where it’s at and that’s one of the big reasons I was attracted to VS Associates.”
“All our plans go through our accounting service to make sure the customer doesn’t have to pay so much in taxes,” Valentino Scott said. “So it’s not just what you get, it’s what you keep.”
“A lot of people are attracted by the rate of yield but we determine if their investment would be tax deferred, tax-free, tax deductible or taxable,” Rachel Scott said.
The trio said because the company is nonproprietary, it doesn’t sell its own financial products like proprietary firms and thus doesn’t push clients toward specific ones.
“Every client has his or her own personal representative and processor,” Valentino Scott said. “All (investment) recommendations go through a committee and that representative is responsible for that client. We know what we’re doing will improve your realities and give you peace of mind. Communication, service and talents is how we satisfy financial expectations.”
Part of VSA’s business philosophy is its pro bono work — advisors will review tax returns for free and offer notarization at no charge, plus it presents free educational seminars on financial planning, including the ins and outs of Social Security.
“Our living is helping those who have money do more but it’s the pro bono work that comes back to us tenfold,” Scott said. “After 44 years, I’m just as excited as I was then.”
Pierson welcomes potential clients to set up an appointment between 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
Reach Patricia Morrison Coate at pcoate@sequimgazettecom.
VS Associates
What: Financial planning business
Where: 492 W. Cedar St.
Hours: By appointment 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Phone: 912-2333
E-mail contact: lpierson@vsainc.com
