Who Are We?

Leonard F. Valletta, CFP(R), MS

Len is a magna cum laude graduate of Siena College and holder of a Masters degree in Financial Planning. He is also a graduate of the College for Financial Planning and has been certified by the International Board of Standards & Practices for Certified Financial Planners, Inc. Len is an active board member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeastern New York as well as a member of the Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York. He has been in practice since 1984; all of these years having been spent with Albany Financial Group.

Len is a fully trained professional experienced in general financial planning and investment management for individuals and small businesses. His particular areas of expertise are retirement planning, investment management and estate planning.

Len had been a frequent guest on CNBC's syndicated talk show, "The Money Club." He is also one of WRGB's (Channel 6) financial experts and is called upon frequently to comment on the market and other various financial planning topics. He has also made guest appearances on other TV shows and is an occasional contributor to the Capital District Business Review, The Schenectady Gazette and the Albany Times Union.

He is a member of the finance committee at St. Madeline Sophie church. Very active in sports, he is a Little League and CYO coach. He resides in Guilderland, New York with his wife, Patty, and daughter, Marissa, and son, Michael.


Joseph J. Hermann

Joe came to Albany Financial Group in 1996 with nearly a 15-year background in business management. His current goal is the attainment of the CFP(R) designation.

Joe specializes in providing comprehensive wealth planning and unique planning ideas needed to seek long term financial security. Working with individuals, business owners and professionals, he has conducted several seminars and has had articles featured in local publications on the topics of retirement planning, college and estate planning and business succession strategies.

Joe is currently a member of the Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake Business and Professional Association as well as the past president of the Schenectady Downtown Breakfast Kiwanis Club and a former member of Glenville Rotary. He is also a member of the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Joe enjoys golfing, skiing and vacationing with his family. He currently resides in Burnt Hills, New York with his wife, Donna, and two daughters.

Anthony R. Pettograsso

Tony joined Albany Financial Group in 1990 upon graduation from Siena College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance. Tony specializes in working with family run businesses with a focus on estate planning concerns, group retirement, strategies and benefit planning. In addition, he has a large group of senior clients.

Tony has aided various charitable organizations in fund raising events throughout the Capital District.

He resides in Guilderland, New York.


Walter P. Klisiwecz, MBA, CFP(R)

Walt is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) practitioner with individual and business clients throughout the Capital District and Central New York.

He is a magna cum laude graduate with a BS in accounting and MBA from the State University of New York at Albany. His master's level education focused on finance with an emphasis on portfolio theory and investment analysis. Prior to joining Albany Financial Group, he provided accounting, business succession planning, and other guidance to small businesses and not for profit executives.

Walt has focused his personal practice in providing planning services to computer consultants, account executives, corporate recruiters and mortgage brokers. He is a frequent speaker on many financial planning topics.

Walt is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce. His volunteer experience includes the strategic planning committee for the University of Albany Art Museum. Walt lives in Delmar, New York with his wife Patricia and sons Michael and Peter. Golf, family bicycle rides and New England travel occupy much of their free time.


John G. Gigliello, EA, MBA

John Gigliello is a trusted and licensed** LPL advisor who helps you make smart choices with your money.  He is easy to talk to and never pushy, so you feel you're in control and able to make your own decisions.

By putting his client's interest first, he's built a loyal group of clients who trust him and know they can count on his guiding hand.

John has more than 20 years of experience in tax and finance.  Since 2002, he has been a self-employed financial advisor with the Albany Financial Group, a highly respected assembly of LPL financial advisors.  He started his career with KeyCorp, later worked with Ayco Financial Planning, and has held management positions with Matthew Bender & Co. and Trans World Entertainment.

John has his MBA and bachelor's degree in accounting from Siena College, one of the nation's leading business schools.  John has also taught at Siena as an adjunct faculty member in the school's Division of Business.

John is very devoted to his family - his wife Rose and two beautiful daughters.  He teaches religious education to six graders for Blessed Sacrament Church and is Treasurer and board member of the Lisha Kill Middle School Parent Teacher Association in Colonie.

* LPL is LINSCO/PRIVATE LEDGER, the brokerage firm offering securities to John for investing purposes.              **For tax purposes, John is an enrolled agent licensed by the U.S. Treasury Dept. For securities, he holds his Series 7 & 63 licenses through LPL.

The Gigliello Approach - Values Based Financial Planning^TM***

John rejects the "cookie-cutter" approach to financial investing by developing a personalized plan created specifically to help meet the client's goals.  He takes the time to understand what's important to you.

Wishing to help you live your life on purpose, rather than by chance, John's unique four-step process helps take the mystery out of how financial planning works.

1) Values Conversation - John's first meeting with a prospect entails a serious discussion about what is truly important to a client.  They also work together to identify the client's true goals and the reasons why they are important.

2) Current Assessment - John makes an assessment of where the client stands financially at the time and then develops a plan to help reach the goals identified.

3) Invest According to the Plan - John works with the client to make the investments that are consistent with the goals' strategy.

4) Ongoing Stewardship / Performance Meetings - John provides personalized attention and periodic performance meetings to assess the success of the plan and to see if the client's goals and/or values have changed.

***The term Values-Based Financial Planning is a registered trademark of Bachrach and Associates, Inc., a financial industry consulting company based in San Diego, CA.

Added Value -  Retirement and Tax Experience

John Gigliello has special experience in retirement planning and retirement plan distributions.  So if you are leaving a job or making the transition to retirement, it's a smart choice to spend some time with someone who can assist you at a critical moment in helping make your future secure.  His tax planning background is an added edge because tax implications are often overlooked in retirement planning.

Fee-Based

John is largely a fee-based advisor, which means he doesn't have to push products in order to earn commissions.  He does better when his clients do better because building your nest egg is the heart of his livelihood.

Denise M. Williams

Denise has been the administrative assistant for Len Valletta since the fall of 1999. Prior to working with Len, she had a similar career with another financial services firm.

Denise graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta with a bachelor's degree in Business Economics and a minor in Management. She currently resides in Schenectady, New York with her husband, Matt. She enjoys tennis, reading and music.


Sandra L. Curcurito

Sandy joined Albany Financial Group in February, 1994. She is the friendly voice that answers your calls when phoning our office. She also serves as an assistant to Walt Klisiwecz, and, in general, serves in an office manager's role.

Sandy graduated from Albany Business College with a Medical Secretarial degree. She resides in Feura Bush, New York with her husband, Charlie. They enjoy fishing and golfing.