Gwen Cohen is all about mentorship. For her, a First Vice President, Investment Consultant and Wealth Advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Chicago, that means providing guidance both to her advisory clients and a host of young adults—and really knowing how to listen.

Cohen hadn’t planned on becoming a Financial Advisor originally. After receiving an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, a colleague with the local MBA association asked her to expect a call from a Dean Witter branch manager. After months of being courted vigorously, Cohen took the plunge. “I thought I’d try it for a year, and almost 23 years later I’m still here,” she says.

Cohen began her practice by focusing at first on tax-free income investments. But as she got to know her clients better she saw they had a wide variety of other needs. And she realized her clients would be better served by a comprehensive approach in which she would “find out about what’s important to them and how I could help them,” she says.

To that end, she’s done everything from steering clients to resources that support Alzheimer’s patients, to arranging conversations with their tax and trust advisors, always with a characteristic eye for thoroughness. For example, when she requested the wills and trusts for a couple whose attorney had recently made changes, it was discovered that the documents didn’t reflect their wishes. Although each had wanted to have the same authority as the other, the documents gave one spouse a different provision than the other. So, Cohen asked that the law firm adjust the language appropriately and not bill the client. “If we hadn’t looked at the documents carefully, an unnecessary problem and expense would likely have been created,” she says.

In addition, Cohen devotes time to mentoring. That includes individuals at the undergraduate, graduate and corporate levels at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the Executive’s Club for Young Leaders, and other organizations. Many of these relationships have turned into long-term friendships. And one such person has since become a client. “If someone is interested in my mentoring, I ask for a description of how the relationship is envisioned (what are the expectations), and I’ll often decide to accept,” she says. “No topic is off limits.”

A Passion for Volunteering

Cohen also has volunteered for an array of organizations, as well: the Chicago Foundation for Women and Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago/ Northwest Indiana, and as an advisory board member for the Girl Scouts’ Camp CEO. She also serves as co-chair of development for the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Northwestern Kellogg School’s Centennial Gala (2008); she was appointed to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Global Wealth Management Diversity Council last year, and in 2009 to Kellogg’s Alumni Council at Northwestern University. She also has received two awards from Iowa’s Urban Potential programs and was given a service award from the Department of the Army for her involvement in its 99th Regional Support Command. For her professional achievements, Cohen was also given Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Financial Planning Education Award.

Cohen credits much of her passion for mentorship and volunteer work to the lessons she learned from her family, going back to her great grandmother. The mother of eight children, she and Cohen’s great-grandfather believed strongly in teaching their children self-reliance and philanthropy. For example, it was characteristic of her that, during the Great Depression, according to Cohen, this family opened its breakfast table on Sundays to those in the neighborhood in need. “My great-grandparents lived by the idea of giving back to the good earth that has been so generous,” she says. “And it’s important to communicate your values to the next generation.”

---------------------------------------------------

Morgan Stanley and its Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their personal tax and legal advisors before making any tax or legal related decisions.

Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC.