For Bill Leavitt, being a financial advisor has never been simply about investments, markets or numbers.
It’s about people.
As Founder and Principal Advisor of Bridgelight Financial Advisors, Bill has spent more than 25 years helping individuals and families make some of the most important financial decisions of their lives. As a Connecticut native, many of the people he works with aren’t just clients—they’re neighbors, friends and members of the communities Bridgelight Financial Advisors calls home.
That personal connection is a big part of why Bill loves what he does.
Whether someone is preparing for retirement, developing a retirement income strategy, navigating a major life transition or simply trying to understand whether they’re on the right financial path, Bill believes good financial planning begins by understanding the person sitting across the table.
Why Did Bill Leavitt Become a Financial Advisor?
At its core, financial planning gives Bill the opportunity to help people turn years of hard work into a plan for the future.
Retirement can bring some complicated questions:
- Will I have enough money to retire?
- How will I replace my paycheck?
- When should I take Social Security?
- How could taxes affect my retirement income?
- How should my investments change as I approach retirement?
- What happens to my financial plan if life doesn’t go exactly as expected?
There isn’t one answer that works for everyone.
That’s one reason Bill believes financial advice needs to start with listening. Before discussing investments or financial strategies, he wants to understand what a client has built, what concerns them and what they want the next chapter of their life to look like.
Financial Planning Is About Relationships, Not Just Numbers
One of the things Bill values most about being a financial advisor is the relationships he develops with clients.
Those relationships can last for years—and sometimes decades.
Over that time, an advisor may be there as a client changes careers, sends children to college, approaches retirement, leaves the workforce, becomes a grandparent or begins thinking seriously about the legacy they want to leave behind.
That creates a very different relationship than simply managing an investment account.
At Bridgelight Financial Advisors, the objective is to understand the whole financial picture and build a strategy around the client’s goals, circumstances and priorities.
For Bill, that starts with trust, communication and getting to know the people behind the financial plan.
Helping Connecticut Families Prepare for Retirement
As a Connecticut-based financial advisor, Bill also understands the value of working with someone who knows the community.
Bridgelight Financial Advisors works with pre-retirees, retirees, professionals, families and women investors throughout Connecticut.
Many of them come to Bridgelight with the same fundamental question:
“Am I doing the right things to prepare for retirement?”
Answering that question can involve much more than looking at an investment portfolio.
A comprehensive retirement plan may need to consider retirement income, Social Security, investments, taxes, healthcare expenses, long-term care, estate and legacy planning, and how all of those pieces work together.
The goal is to create a coordinated strategy designed around the life the client wants to live.
Guiding Clients Through Major Life Transitions
Some of the most important financial decisions happen when life changes.
Retirement is an obvious example, but it isn’t the only one.
A career change, inheritance, death of a spouse, divorce, sale of a business, health issue or change in family circumstances can alter someone’s financial priorities very quickly.
During those periods, having an established relationship with a financial advisor can be particularly valuable.
Bill takes pride in being someone clients already know and trust when those moments arrive—someone who understands their financial history, their family and the plan they’ve built together.
Financial planning shouldn’t only address where you are today. It should also be flexible enough to adapt as life changes.
A Hometown Approach to Financial Advice
For Bill, being a Connecticut financial advisor is personal.
He grew up here. He lives here. He raised his family here. And Bridgelight Financial Advisors serves people in the same communities where the team lives and works.
That has helped shape Bridgelight’s approach to financial planning.
Clients aren’t account numbers.
They’re people Bill and the team get to know.
That means conversations aren’t limited to investment performance or market movements. They can include children and grandchildren, travel plans, retirement dreams, concerns about healthcare, family responsibilities and the legacy someone hopes to leave behind. That hometown connection is an important part of the Bridgelight Financial Advisors experience.
Why Client Relationships Matter at Bridgelight
Bill believes some of the strongest financial planning relationships are built over time.
As clients move through different stages of life, their priorities can change. Retirement approaches, families grow, health considerations arise, and thoughts about the legacy they want to leave can become more important.
That’s why Bridgelight’s relationship with a client doesn’t end when a financial plan is created.
Ongoing conversations give Bill and the Bridgelight team the opportunity to understand what is changing in a client’s life and help ensure their financial strategy continues to reflect their goals and priorities.
For Bill, that long-term relationship—and the trust that comes with it—is one of the most rewarding parts of being a financial advisor.
What Is Bill Leavitt’s Approach to Retirement Planning?
Bill uses Bridgelight Financial Advisors’ Wealth Focus™ Process to help clients develop a customized long-term financial strategy.
Rather than focusing on a single investment or financial product, the process is intended to look at the client’s broader financial life and help coordinate the different components of the plan.
That may include areas such as:
- Retirement income planning
- Investment strategy and risk
- Tax-efficient retirement strategies
- Healthcare and long-term care considerations
- Legacy planning
- Ongoing adjustments as circumstances change
The objective isn’t simply to get someone to retirement.
It’s to help build a financial strategy designed to support them through retirement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bill Leavitt and Bridgelight Financial Advisors
Who is Bill Leavitt?
Bill Leavitt is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Bridgelight Financial Advisors. He has more than 25 years of experience working with pre-retirees, retirees, professionals, families and women investors.
Where is Bridgelight Financial Advisors located?
Bridgelight Financial Advisors is a Connecticut-based independent financial advisory firm serving individuals and families throughout Connecticut.
What does Bridgelight Financial Advisors specialize in?
Bridgelight Financial Advisors helps clients address financial planning needs including retirement income planning, investment management, tax-efficient retirement strategies, healthcare and long-term care considerations, estate and legacy planning, and other aspects of preparing for and living in retirement.
Does Bridgelight Financial Advisors work with people approaching retirement?
Yes. Pre-retirees and retirees are an important part of Bridgelight Financial Advisors’ client base. The firm helps clients evaluate how their savings, investments, retirement income and other financial resources may work together to support their retirement goals.
What is the Wealth Focus™ Process?
The Wealth Focus™ Process is Bridgelight Financial Advisors’ financial planning model for helping clients develop a customized long-term wealth strategy. It is designed to consider the client’s broader financial picture rather than focusing solely on investments.
Financial Planning Starts With a Conversation
After more than 25 years as a financial advisor, what Bill enjoys most about the profession hasn’t changed: helping people.
It’s being there when someone is preparing to retire.
It’s helping a family work through an important financial decision.
It’s watching a plan developed years earlier begin to support the retirement a client worked hard to achieve.
And it’s building relationships with people in the Connecticut communities Bridgelight Financial Advisors calls home.
If you’re approaching retirement and have questions about whether your financial plan is prepared for the years ahead, you don’t have to figure everything out on your own.
| Have a Retirement Question? Let’s Talk. A first conversation doesn’t have to be complicated. Tell us what’s on your mind, and we’ll talk about where you are today and what you want the years ahead to look like. Schedule a Meeting Or contact Bridgelight Financial Advisors at (203) 795-7080 or [email protected]. |
About Bill Leavitt
Bill Leavitt is Founder and Principal Advisor of Bridgelight Financial Advisors, an independent, privately owned financial advisory and financial planning firm in Connecticut. With more than 25 years of experience, Bill works with pre-retirees, retirees, professionals, families and women investors to help them navigate retirement and their broader financial lives.
A Connecticut native, Bill lives in southern Connecticut with his wife, Laura, and their three daughters.