Don Pitti was an industry pioneer – and a generous friend

When my wife passed away, a good friend offered his condolences and said that the world was a little less bright without her smile. Four years later, the world is again a little less bright with the passing of my friend Don Pitti, a true financial planning pioneer who helped launch InvestmentNews in 1997.

I had the pleasure of meeting Don in 2003 when I became the editor of the newspaper. Don, who I learned had an amazing sense of humor and a contagious laugh, was very smart, had a sharp wit and was quite driven.

I discovered that he had an incredible passion and enthusiasm for everything that he was involved in, from financial planning and volunteerism to his fantasy baseball league. He also loved opera.

Luckily for me, he served as a consultant for InvestmentNews and was a member of our advisory board up until his death Dec. 18. I valued Don’s advice and often discussed market trends with him when I was working on a column, an editorial, or when I was thinking about story ideas for reporters.

I always enjoyed meeting Don for lunch at Sparks Steak House in Manhattan to talk shop.

He showed a great deal of patience early on as I tossed ideas at him. Every question I asked was met with a calm and informed response.

He was always happy to give his input and provided me with solid direction, but never in a condescending way.

Ironically, he always thanked me for having confidence in his judgment and seeking his advice. That was Don being Don: He did you a favor, and he felt like you were doing one for him.

When Don spoke about the planning profession, his eyes would get wide, and he would become quite animated about how important it was for everyone.

Don believed that the average, hardworking American family needs to have access to solid planning. It was religion to him.

In Hilary Johnson’s story on Don that appeared in InvestmentNews last week, Tim Kochis hit the nail on the head when he said that Don had an “almost childlike enthusiasm about the future of financial planning and the wealth management business.”

Don was dedicated to professionalizing planning.

He had been a member of the Financial Planning Association and its predecessor organizations since 1969, the same year he helped start the College for Financial Planning. He was chairman of the Foundation for Financial Planning from 1994 to 2000.

The FPA presented him with the P. Kemp Fain Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to the profession in 2008.

I could always count on Don to leave me a voice message or an e-mail Monday morning after reading through the issue and my column.

“You nailed that column, kid,” Don would say. If a reporter was on to a big story, Don would call and say: “Kid, you guys are going to shake things up, and that’s a good thing for this industry.”

I always appreciated hearing that from Don, especially since I will be turning 50 in March. No one else has called me “kid” in 40 years.

Don was quite simply a class act, and so is Grace, his wife of 55 years.

I spoke with Grace on the phone many times when I tried to track down Don, who was always out either teaching at St. John’s University in New York, or volunteering his time for some fundraising effort.

I also had the pleasure of spending some time with the two of them at the FPA conference last year in Anaheim, Calif.

Don stopped by the InvestmentNews office just a few days before he died. He walked into the newsroom and said: “Hey kid, I want to take you to lunch, but I hear you are too busy for me.”

He sat in my chair, started reading my Wall Street Journal, and we talked sports for a few minutes. I told Don I was indeed too busy and that we should plan a lunch at Sparks after the new year.

I now wish, of course, that I hadn’t been too busy.

I will miss sharing ideas with Don. I will miss our debates about baseball and his making fun of my beloved Yankees.

I will miss meeting him at industry events and having him greet me like we hadn’t seen each other in a decade.

I will miss this very smart, insightful man I called my friend.

Jim Pavia is the editor of –InvestmentNews.

Related Topics: ING Group, Just Thinking