Background,

After 23 years with Fortune Brands, the last thing on Michael’s mind was career reinvention, but when a merger and acquisition resulted in the closing of the company, he needed to develop a financial strategy for his own life. As a result, he found himself in the market for a good financial services professional. “Ultimately, I became what I was in the market for,” adds Michael 14 years later.

Philosophy

Dedication to helping clients develop a strategy for meeting their unique financial needs is what drives Michael. He explains, “My strength is that I bring good judgment as to the process behind developing financial strategies, the ability to interpret the data and the knowledge of resources in the financial industry to pull it all together,” says Michael in describing how he does what he does. In short, Michael believes that one of his biggest strengths is his ability to listen and understand what it takes to derive cost-effective solutions to important issues his clients face.

“I bring a strong network of contacts within the financial industry. A big part of my value is that I bring many resources to each engagement, including CPAs, attorneys, and other estate and retirement planning professionals.” For Michael, there are no cookie-cutter solutions any more than there are cookie-cutter problems.

He takes pride in being quietly effective, his strong listening skills and his ability to relate well to professionals who’ve been “outsourced” in their careers. “I firmly believe that my job is to proactively identify needs and then prioritize the urgency of addressing those needs. I can well understand the confusion people feel lacking support in making decisions on major events in their lives.”

For Michael, professionalism and technical accuracy are very important. “I consider myself a retirement strategist.” I look for real value in financial services and not in products. Today, most of Michael’s clients are pre retirees, retirees and/or their children. “It is very gratifying to me that I’ve earned the trust and confidence of so many first-generation clients that I am now earning the opportunity to work with their children,” said Michael in describing how clients come to him. “In addition, I take very seriously the confidence that attorneys and accountants place in me in referring their clients.”

Personal and Professional Affiliations

Always on the go, Michael is active in many sports, including golf and softball with St. Bonaventure alumni team. He is also involved in fundraising for St. Joseph’s Villa and a few years ago raised $10,000 for Hillside Children’s Center in Rochester. Professionally, he is a member of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA).He has been married for more than three decades to Kathy. They live in Chili and have two grown children.

Insurance Representative of MassMutual and its affiliates. Michael F. Bellapianta is a Registered Representative of and offers securities through MML Investors Services, Inc., member SIPC, a MassMutual subsidiary. Supervisory office: 600 Clinton Square, Rochester, NY 14604 (585) 262-5600.