IF STEVEN ESPOSITO has learned anything in his more than 39 years of managing high net worth portfolios, it’s to never panic.

Esposito started in the wealth management business in 1983 and has experienced six market crashes and now, a pandemic. That experience has never been more important in the last two years.

“It’s never boring,” he says.

The one piece of advice he shares with his clients is that wealth management is not about finding the next hot stock. Rather, it’s about risk management.

“An investor can never eliminate risk; they can only mitigate it,” explains Esposito, Executive Director, Senior Portfolio Management Director, and Wealth Advisor for Morgan Stanley. “If your family wealth is properly allocated, market turbulence is an opportunity and not a crisis.”

Steven brings a boutique approach to wealth management—one that assists long-time customers with everything from estate planning strategies and portfolio management to retirement planning, trusts, and philanthropy.

Esposito knows from experience that portfolios continually evolve as the years progress and you have to sometimes think outside the box.

“I remember a long time ago, a very wealthy client said to me: ‘I’m already rich; don’t make me poor’,” he says. “I never forgot that comment and it’s a cornerstone of what we do at the Lake Forest Group. We have had three severe stock market crashes in the last 13 years, and if investors haven’t learned how to properly balance their assets in that time, they never will.”

Esposito and his team pride themselves on a very personal, boutique approach.

“We don’t do cookie cutter portfolios, or create portfolios via a software program,” he says. “Every portfolio is managed independently and uniquely, along with some good old fashioned wealth management. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Esposito’s advice has been sought out by major media organizations, including WGN TV and radio; WBBM’s “Noon Business Hour”; WIND radio; Fox News; ABC-7 News; CBS News; NBC News; the Chicago Tribune; Chicago Sun-Times; and Crain’s Chicago Business.

The Lake Forest Group has approximately 200 households under their management as of June 01, 2022, the vast majority who have worked with Esposito for 15 years or more—including some who’ve been with him for more than 30 years. It’s no wonder then that he has made Forbes magazine’s “Best in State” wealth manager’s award every year he entered.

“It’s a very personal operation here in downtown Lake Forest. We emphasize personal attention, number one. I’m like the family CFO in addition to the asset management, we discuss the trusts, wills, etcetera. You have to review everything,” says Esposito.

Navigating financial markets has become more complex than ever and last year’s pandemic threw in a wild card that no one could have seen coming.

“That’s when you need a seasoned veteran on your side. I’ve learned from nearly four decades of experience—not from a textbook or TV—when to deploy capital. Deploying capital at the scariest moments in the market and liquidating during market euphoria is the opposite of what most investors do,” he explains. “My responsibility as a wealth manager is to protect your family’s wealth first. We do our best to calculate our client’s risk tolerance—along with their needs, desires, and investment goals for their families and future generations.”

Esposito’s minimum account size is $1 million.

The Lake Forest Group at Morgan Stanley is located at 207 E. Westminster Avenue, Suite 300, in Lake Forest. For more information, call 847-604- 7321 or email [email protected].

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Member SIPC Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.

Source: Forbes.com (April, 2022). Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor its Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors pay a fee to Forbes or SHOOK Research in exchange for the ranking. For more information, see www.SHOOKresearch.com. CRC 4771392 06/22 The Lake Forest Group at Morgan Stanley has engaged Forest & Bluff to feature this content.