Director, Personal Philanthropy Services

Jennifer Ostberg

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Focusing on What Matters

Beyond helping you grow your wealth through investing, we uncover what matters most to you. Whether it’s preparing the next generation or devising a philanthropic or wealth transfer strategy, we provide actionable advice to help you achieve success.

What’s the best way for people to put their wealth in perspective?

We embolden you to explore success beyond the numbers, as you build your family and/or philanthropic legacy and, in addition, we help you attain comfort with the decision-making process.

It is imperative to have a framework for weighing the trade-offs of your choices. Our process uncovers your unique circumstances, preferences and goals, and it then quantifies what the likely financial results of those will be based upon the decisions you make. Together with your advisor, we work to design and manage a strategy best suited for your individual circumstances. As you and your wealth evolve over time, your plan will evolve, too.

I find it most rewarding to facilitate deep discussions among multiple generations who share their own set of values, stories and aspirations. Helping our clients lay out a vision and achieve maximum impact, be it for charity, family or their own well-being, is the ultimate triumph.

What has inspired you to stay at Bernstein for as long as you have?

Bernstein’s commitment to our clients is what has driven me to stay here for decades. Our firm’s resources are vast, but our relationships are personal, and we aspire to make every client feel like they are our only client.

During my career, I’ve helped clients weather major financial crises and several major income and estate tax law changes. Throughout these challenges, my ambition has been the same: to assist clients by keeping their financial plans on track in order to accomplish the goals they’ve established.

I am also inspired by the way in which we give back to communities. We exercise our altruistic ambitions through our firmwide philanthropic initiative, AB Gives Back, and through our Day of Service events. The firm also strongly promotes diversity and inclusion, which provides AB with different perspectives and ways of thinking. This leads to better outcomes for our clients.

Who has been the most influential person in your life?

My parents are powerful role models and have had a profound influence on me during every stage of my life. I highly value their opinions, advice and unconditional support to the highest degree. Their example of hard work and selflessness are things that, as a mother, I want to model for my own children. With two young sons at home, I hope to set a good example as my parents did for me—and encourage them to show kindness and respect to others.

As I participate in many family discussions with our clients, I am often reminded of the conversations my parents involved me in to discuss values and long-term choices. They taught me the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, being positive and taking responsibility for my actions—all things that continue to have an impact on me today. For them, I am grateful.