Commonwealth Independent Advisor

Giovanna Zaffina

Giovanna Zaffina is manager, wealth management platform, at Commonwealth Financial Network®, member FINRA/SIPC, the nation's largest privately held Registered Investment Adviser–independent broker/dealer. With the firm since August 2006, she focuses on strategizing, organizing, and executing wealth management initiatives, with an emphasis on the advisor and client experience. Giovanna holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations. She earned a BA in finance and marketing from Simmons College and an MBA from Babson College.

Information about securities-registered professionals may be found at FINRA BROKERCHECK.

Recent Posts

Jargon Check: 6 Words Advisors Should Avoid Using with Clients

Avoiding Pitfalls in Financial Decision Making

How to Help Women Investors Gain Comfort with Risk

Jargon Check: 6 Words Advisors Should Avoid Using with Clients

Posted by Giovanna Zaffina

October 30, 2018 at 10:00 AM

When we communicate verbally with one another, we string together words to express our thoughts, opinions, and expressions. When we combine the right words in the right way, we can use storytelling to educate our clients and inspire them into action. But are there words advisors should avoid using with clients? In our industry, there is a wide vocabulary of terms and acronyms we use casually with our peers and other financial professionals (alpha and beta are a couple that come to mind). But do our clients understand these terms? Most don’t, and we shouldn’t expect them too. We need to use relatable words with which to communicate with clients.

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Topics: Practice Management

Avoiding Pitfalls in Financial Decision Making

Posted by Giovanna Zaffina

May 17, 2017 at 1:30 PM

Have you ever stopped to think about why or how you made a decision? Was it your logic, intuition, emotion, pressure, or routine? Or were you simply following direction from someone else?

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Topics: Behavioral Finance

How to Help Women Investors Gain Comfort with Risk

Posted by Giovanna Zaffina

January 20, 2016 at 1:30 PM

In The Hour Between Dog and Wolf, John Coats, former trader turned neuroscientist, says that testosterone and cortisol may be the reasons why men seem to be riskier traders. Testosterone boosts competitiveness and can result in a willingness to take risks. And in times of crisis, cortisol helps deal with stress. This combination—overconfidence, competitiveness, and reactive behavior—may lead to more frequent trading and higher trading costs compared with that of women investors.

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Topics: Asset Management & Investing

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