FINANCIAL FOCUS: “We lead with advice and planning, which allows us to understand each client’s full financial picture. With this knowledge, we can act in the most thoughtful way in accordance with each client’s best interest.” Elizabeth Walsh, Princeton regional director for Glenmede Trust Company, looks forward to introducing more clients to Glenmede’s expert financial services and solutions.

By Jean Stratton

These are challenging times in many ways. Peace of mind regarding financial worries, concerns, and decisions is something everyone wants and needs.

Elizabeth Walsh, Princeton regional director for Glenmede Trust Company, works hard to help clients move forward with that all-important peace of mind.

“We can help take that worry away from people,” she explains. “Our Princeton team works mainly with individuals and families. We help our clients wherever they are in life. Young families building their wealth, some setting up college funds, and others planning for retirement.”

Joining the firm in 2021, Walsh has had a lengthy career in wealth management, initially in New York City and now for decades in the Princeton area. A Princeton University graduate, she is very happy to be working within a stone’s throw of her alma mater at Glenmede’s 47 Hulfish Street location.

Long History

A history major at Princeton, she reports that it “taught me how to think and how to write. Now, this job has brought together my organizational skills and my deep desire to nurture and care for people. Glenmede has by far the most thoughtful approach in carefully overseeing clients’ interests and goals.”

Glenmede Trust Company has a long history. Established in 1956, it was founded by the Pew family to administer the Pew Charitable Trust in perpetuity. The company’s name is derived from the family’s home, dating to the 1800s in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Glenmede is based on the patriarch J.N. Pew’s mother’s maiden name: Glenn, and mede, related to the old English term for meadow.

Privately owned, and headquartered in Philadelphia, the company has nine locations, including the Princeton site, which was established in 1992. At that time, Glenmede purchased a boutique investment firm A. L. Herst, which had been located in Princeton since the 1970s.

The company’s clients can expect leading-edge, personalized solutions. As Walsh points out, “Our mission statement is this: We empower the confident pursuit of purpose, passions, and legacy through integrated wealth management. We focus exclusively on wealth management for individuals and families, as well as foundations and endowments. Our independence and stability are our hallmarks. We fit perfectly in between the small boutiques and the large firms. We have a boutique feel, but we have resources and expertise comparable to the big players. This includes our $40.5 billion in assets under management.”

Big Picture

“Our goal is to empower our clients to make the choices that reflect their wishes and values, whether it’s with life events like retirement or legacy opportunities like trusts and estates,” Walsh continues. “In many cases, even if we start out with just a slice, our clients appreciate the big picture work that we do, and we end up with the entire financial advisory relationship.”

Working closely with clients to ensure their best outcome is the company’s priority and a special interest of Walsh. As she says, “I’m a relationship person. I don’t make money management decisions. When I meet with a prospective client, we’ll discuss what is most important to them. Based on what they want and need, I will build the right team around the client, and from there, each client’s portfolio is structured to their individual needs and goals.

“I’ll ask about what they want to achieve: do they want to make home improvements? Are they taking care of older parents or others? All of this is important in how we proceed. We have a full financial planning team and a robust process, and our clients receive direct, personalized attention, including a goals-based wealth review at least once a year. For those who want big picture advice, our overview can include providing tax information for them and ensuring that estate plans are in order. 

“Also, in order to be successful, we have to be comfortable both working for our clients and being in their world. In these challenging times, our job is to be calm and clear in how we approach things — always with our clients’ interests uppermost.”

Glenmede serves a nationally-based clientele including individuals of means of any age, and as Walsh points out, many have been with the company for years. “We have clients including family members of multiple generations — even four generations in some cases!”

Clients often vary in their objectives, she adds. “Some clients are very interested in donating substantial amounts to charity while they are alive, and some have a strict focus on their families — even including their pets. We sometimes see animal companions named as trust beneficiaries! Their owners want to ensure that they will be taken care of when the owner is gone.”

Dedicated Service

In addition, the impact of COVID-19 has been a factor in clients’ financial decisions, she notes. “Some clients who had been putting off fulfilling their life dreams have now leaned more into celebrating life events, their families, and their success by traveling, investing in a new hobby, or learning a new skill that isn’t practical, but brings them joy. Or they may decide not to wait any longer to buy that dream house in their favorite location.”

Walsh is very proud of the Princeton team and its dedicated service to its clients. “Glenmede’s commitment to the Princeton area is demonstrated in part by the size of our local team — we are 16 strong! The team is close and collaborative and vibrant. We experience the joy of collaboration and sharing of ideas. We have long-tenured experts in the business, and an up-and-coming group of talented younger professionals. There is a lot of intellectual capital here!

“We also have an excellent team based in Philadelphia, working with endowments and foundations. They travel as needed to be present locally. In addition, we have strengths in fixed income investing, private equity, and sustainable and impact investing.

“We are making an important investment in sustainability, as a firm and as an investment manager. We dedicate substantial resources to creating solutions for our clients to invest in ethically, morally responsible organizations for the environment.

Community Events

“We are also bringing our sustainable and impact investment team to Princeton and partnering with C-Change, an outstanding local nonprofit focused on climate change, to host an event in September at the Nassau Club. We will discuss how each of our organizations views this alarming trend and prepares for the future.”

Glenmede serves the Princeton community in many ways, she explains. “I live and work in Princeton. This is my community, and Glenmede is very committed to the community. We volunteer and serve as hosts for events, support local merchants, organizations, and charities, and sponsor events. We attend more than 30 community events throughout the year.

“We want to give back with volunteer work, board service, and sponsorship support for worthy organizations. Some of those we support are the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the Princeton University Art Museum, McCarter Theatre, the Watershed Institute, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Princeton Public Library, Princeton Community Housing, HomeFront, and Foundation Academies, among others. We don’t just write checks. We show up and actively support these organizations. We believe this is so important. We need to understand not only how our community prospers, but what it needs.”

Elizabeth Walsh looks forward to continuing to serve Glenmede’s clients and help them achieve their goals. She loves having this opportunity, and sometimes, it has great personal significance. As she says, smiling, “One of the most special things I’ve ever done has been helping with the financial objectives of my very favorite ‘rock star’ Princeton University professor!

“I am so dedicated to this community, and helping guide Glenmede’s clients to the best outcome during this rapidly changing environment is my privilege and priority.”

For further information, call (609) 683-1005 or visit glenmede.com.