Rob Deiana, a financial advisor, and his wife packed up their bags for a “temporary” move from Grafton to Marblehead for her job as a teacher. That was 28 years ago.
Despite both of them receiving a Master of Business Administration from Babson College, Deiana didn’t meet lifelong Marblehead resident Dan Hawthorne, another financial advisor, until their work with the Rotary Club.
Fast forward to 2021, Deiana founded Lighthouse Financial LLC. Hawthorne then joined as a partner two years later.
Hawthorne had been looking to grow his clientele and Deiana offered him the opportunity to work together at Lighthouse. After years of knowing each other and collaborating at a professional level, they now work in Deiana’s at-home office to better their community.
From the outside, the goal of Lighthouse Financial seems straightforward – earn money for the clients.
But to Deiana and Hawthorne, it’s not that simple.
Deiana and Hawthorne, now self-employed, said they left the corporate world of financial advising to create a more personable, hands-on approach to the job.
“One of the big differences is that I was making money for rich people and for corporations, and it wasn’t satisfying,” Hawthorne said.
Deiana had spent 18 years working a multitude of roles within the financial industry, ranging from asset management to client services, but before that, he was a teacher and a social worker. In his current role at Lighthouse, he uses a holistic financial approach to help his clients succeed in life. He sees this as a culmination of all of his past experiences.
One of his mentors in life referred to the job as, “social work for people with means.”
“I didn’t realize how important we were to people and how much we helped them,” Deiana said. “It’s my love of helping people and working with businesses and money.”
He said he enjoys meeting clients who come to him with a financial problem so he can help them come up with a solution. The two of them prioritize a collaborative approach with their clients, working with them throughout the entire financial process.
“Who do I like to see come through these doors? Absolutely, unequivocally, a couple or an individual who doesn’t think they have enough to get by and we’re able to show them they do,” Deiana said.
