2015 Volume 1 - KMG Private Wealth Management

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www.kmgprivatewealth.com
Jim Koliatsis, CFP®
Ryan W. McCain, CFP®
Greg Tong, CIMA®
Thomas Muscarella
Dan Riesmeyer
KMG welcomes
Carole J.A. Peck, story
on back.
CHECK US OUT ONLINE!
Carole J.A. Peck joins KMG
Carole J.A. Peck, a wealth management professional, has been helping
clients with their financial needs for
more than 30 years. Now she’s merging her business with KMG Private
Wealth Management, a full-service financial planning firm based in Skokie,
Ill.
As an independent representative of
LPL Financial, Carole Peck Financial
Center provides fee-based custom
portfolio management and asset allocation; financial and estate planning,
life- and long-term care insurance.
Peck joins an experienced team of
professionals at KMG. “We’re pleased
to partner with Carole,” said Ryan
McCain, a partner with KMG Wealth
Management. “She has been a leader in the financial community, and we
look forward to adding Carole’s expertise to our team, and provide her
clients with the same excellent service
they’ve come to expect.”
KMG Private Wealth Management is
headquartered in the North Shore of
Chicago serving clients across the nation. KMG is responsible for managing
assets for families and business owners including 401K rollovers, asset allocation, financial planning, retirement
and income planning, estate planning,
stock strategies and more.
“I found an instant rapport with KMG,”
Peck says. “We have similar business
models, values and we knew many
of the same people. All those things
were important to me. I’m confident
this will be a seamless transition for
our clients in both Chicago and Florida.”
Peck received her MBA in Finance and
Investments from De Paul University.
She spent 10 years working for Marsh
& McLennan (Boston, New York, and
Client Spotlight:
Burning Rubber with the Sipolts
For Lou Sipolt Sr. and his family, motor
sports has been a lifelong affair.
Lou Sr., a Chicago native, has been involved in the sport he loves for more than
50 years, working behind the scenes as
a member of the pit crew for some of
racing’s biggest names. His three sons
– Lou Jr., Mike and Marc (Sparky) – followed in his footsteps and became stunt
drivers at a young age. Lou Sr. and his
late wife, Sandy, also have two daughters, Michele and Melisa.
At the recommendation of his sister, Michele, Lou Sr., and Lou Jr., are clients
of KMG Private Wealth Management,
along with other members of their family.
“I’ve been good with not overspending
money, but I never dove into investing,”
says Lou Jr., a morning television host in
Des Moines.
Chicago) as an insurance broker and
as an investment banker in Chicago.
She started her practice in 1987 when
she saw the need for individual financial planning. “I’ve always been drawn
to helping people,” she says.
As a financial expert, Peck has presented educational seminars across
the country on topics such as retirement and income planning, women’s retirement issues, and divorce
financial planning. She has been interviewed by several national publications, including US News & World
Report, Chicago Tribune, AOL Daily
Finance, and The Associated Press.
Our client profile in this issue of the KMG newsletter are the Sipolts
Securities & Advisory services
offered through LPL Financial, a
Registered Investment Advisor,
Member FINRA/SIPC.
Lou Sr. developed his love for racing in
high school, working on cars for friends
who raced at Soldier Field. He worked
his way up the ranks, eventually serving
as crew chief for Ford Motor Company’s
stock car division. Over the years, he’s
served in the pits with some of the legendary stars in racing including Mario
Andretti, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt.
Lou Sr. was even on the track at the
inaugural Daytona 500 race in 1959. “I
never had a desire to drive,” he says.
“I always got more satisfaction building
and repairing the cars.”
The Sipolt boys, who all grew up in Chicago, decided they were more comfortable behind the wheel. “Their playpen
was the inside of a race car,” says Lou
Sr. “Whenever my wife went somewhere, the kids came to work with me.
I put them inside the car with a blanket
while I worked on the car.”
When Lou Jr. was born, his godfather,
USAC/NASCAR stock car driver John
Rostek, built him a go-kart as a birthday
present. When his brother, Mike, was
born a year later, he received his own
go-kart. They starting driving by age 3.
“Motor sports were all we knew,” says
Lou Jr. “We didn’t play football or baseball. We were always at the race track.”
The three brothers quickly became
The Sipolts (cont.)
household names themselves in the
1960s, when one of their father’s friends
introduced them to Joie Chitwood, a
race car and stunt driver, who came
to Chicago for a visit and discovered
how talented Lou Sr.’s boys were at
driving. Lou Jr., Mike and Marc were
dubbed “The World’s Youngest Daredevils,” when they started performing as
stunt drivers for the Joie Chitwood Thrill
Show, an exhibition of auto stunt driving that toured across North America,
performing tricks before large crowds.
“Working for Joie was huge,” says Lou
Jr. “We were 5 and 6 years old, driving
stunt cars. No one was doing anything
like that at the time. We were the only
game in town.”
The brothers were eventually hired by
Andy Granatelli, the CEO of STP mo-
“I’ve been fortunate to be in a position where I can make a difference.
I wanted to be a veterinarian to help
animals. What I’ve been able to do
in my professional career has helped
more animals than I could ever have
as a vet. If I make up my mind to do
something, I go all out.”
tor oil company, to perform their act at
state fairs and tracks across the country.
While still in high school, Lou Jr. set a
world record in 1976, when he drove a
car 7.5 miles on two wheels at Pocono
International Speedway in Pennsylvania.
The record lasted until 1999.
As the Sipolt boys got older, they outgrew the sport and moved on to other interests. Lou Jr. went to college in
hopes of becoming a veterinarian. “Our
parents always stressed that education
was our top priority,” he says.
Lou Jr. graduated from Cornell College
in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and then from
graduate school at Iowa State University. But he never made it to veterinarian
school. Instead, he discovered a new
passion, when he was hired to write a
computer program for an Iowa radio
station, KGGO. In 1985, station management promoted Lou Jr. to part-time
and he occasionally filled in on air for the
hosts of the morning show.
Eventually, Lou Jr. got his own show,
teaming up with Larry Morgan on the
popular “Lou and Larry Show,” which
became the top-rated radio show in Des
Moines. Lou Jr. was at the classic rock
station for 27 years. But when the
station was sold to another company, Lou Jr.’s radio career at that station was over. It came to an abrupt
halt in February 2012.
“I had many good years in radio,”
says Lou Jr., who met his wife, Kathy,
while doing a radio remote broadcast. “It gave me the opportunity to
earn a decent living. The best thing
about radio is, as host, you can paint
a visual picture that takes listeners
to places they never imagined. We
were always very honest and never
afraid to share feelings with our audience. I opened up to listeners when
my mother died. After dating Kathy
for nearly 20 years, I spontaneously
proposed to her live on the air. Those
were things that people could relate
to.”
After leaving radio in his rearview
mirror, it didn’t take long for Lou Jr.
to land on his feet. He was soon
hired by Des Moines television station KCWI to become part of the
station’s morning show, which was
based on his successful radio show.
Despite having no prior live television
experience, Lou Jr. quickly became
comfortable in front of the camera.
“The basic elements of what I did
on radio are now what I do on TV,”
he says. “I get to talk to local entertainers, bands passing through town
coming in and comedians. Radio
was my passion and now it’s TV. I
love it.”
Although his dreams of a veterinarian career never materialized, Lou Jr.
has still found ways to help animals
in need. He’s a longtime supporter of
the Animal Rescue League of Iowa,
the state’s largest nonprofit animal
shelter that serves 19,000 animals
each year. Several years ago, Lou Jr.
tackled the issue of animal abuse in
Iowa, when he learned of an attack
on a cocker spaniel mix by the owner’s neighbor.
On his radio show, Lou Jr. was
buried alive in concrete for several days to help raise attention to
the cause ‘Bury Animal Abuse.’ He
helped secured more than 22,000
signatures that eventually helped
changed Iowa’s animal cruelty
laws. “I’ve always been passionate about certain issues, especially involving animals,” Lou Jr. says.
That includes his passion for motor
sports. In addition to his television
work, Lou Jr. keeps busy with his favorite hobby. These days, he’s president of the Dirt Truck Racing Association; he owns a two-truck racing
team, one which he drives; and he’s
the newest track announcer at NASCAR’s Iowa Speedway. He’s built
a race shop on his property and his
original stunt car, a Chevrolet Jr he
received from Joie Chitwood, will be
soon be on display at the National
Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum
in Knoxville, Iowa.
While his siblings still live in the Chicago area, Lou Jr. has made Des
Moines his permanent home. And
he remains close to his father. “He’s
like my best friend,” Lou Jr. says. “He
was my inspiration growing up and
he’s still my idol. I do everything I can
to make him proud.”
At 81, Lou Sr., is still going strong.
He lives outside of Charlotte, North
Carolina, working as a freelance
crew chief. Although he says the
technology of today’s racing scene
can be overwhelming, he’s never lost
his love for racing. “It’s like an addiction,” he says. “When the season is
over, I can’t wait for the next one to
begin. I live and breathe racing.”