Gryphon Joins Savant: A Conversation with John Swee
When Savant welcomed Gryphon Advisors to its growing Chicagoland footprint, it gained not only a talented team but also a rich history of comprehensive financial planning. John Swee, one of Gryphon’s partners, sat down to talk about the firm’s origins, its future with Savant, and what makes this team unique.
Q: Take us back to the beginning. Tell us a little about Gryphon’s history.
It really started with Doug Close. Early in his career as a CPA, he realized that good tax planning wasn’t just about helping to minimize this year’s tax liability. It should also consider the impact of this year’s decisions on future years. It’s like chess. Every current move affects all possible future moves. That thinking led him to comprehensive financial planning, which looks at the client’s entire financial life as an integrated whole, not just investments or taxes. In 2004, Doug founded Gryphon Advisors, and from day one, we committed to that holistic approach.
Over the years, Gryphon grew as a close-knit team. Anthony Sapienza joined as a day-one employee barely out of college and later became a partner. I came on board directly after graduating from Northwestern University and have worked exclusively at Gryphon since. Greg Delia and Rod Relucio were also with the firm on day one. Trevor Fleck joined straight out of college. Katherine Swee is the one “newbie” on the team, but she’s my sister, so in a way she lived a vicarious Gryphon life for 15 years before joining us.
Q: Evanston is a beautiful location, and now you’re part of Savant’s Chicagoland footprint. How will your local presence evolve?
Financial decisions are among the most important that people make, so trust is critical. Many people care about their health first, but right after that comes their financial life. That’s why quite a few folks want an advisor who is part of their community and understands their way of life, someone close to home.
I believe Chicago is one of the strongest markets for financial planning in the country. The North Shore suburbs offer significant opportunities. While virtual meetings are now common, we know the value of face-to-face connections for building trust and understanding.
Q: What excites you most about joining Savant?
For one thing, joining Savant is like adding a new set of power tools to our toolkit. Before Savant, we had to source estate planning attorneys or insurance solutions ourselves on a relatively one-off basis. Savant brings all of that under one roof. Integral to us are teams specialized in estate planning, tax preparation, and investment management. In addition, each advisory team acts as a collaborative knowledge hub that makes every individual advisor better. It’s a huge leap forward for how we serve clients.
We have more time to focus on what matters most: serving clients and growing relationships.
Q: Looking ahead, what milestones will define successful integration?
When you’re a small firm, the partners wear many hats. A not insignificant portion of their time goes to tasks such as buying liability insurance and processing payroll. Unlike our planning expertise, these tasks did not differentiate us from our competition. We spent too much time treading water.
Once someone else handles those tasks, we can devote more time to client service and business development. In the short term, our milestones include operational goals such as transitioning software platforms. But if you’re talking two to three years out, we aim to pursue opportunities to serve larger clients with the expanded resources Savant provides.
Q: What do you want people to know about Gryphon as you join Savant?
We’re a very close team, and that commitment to each other influences how we serve clients. If people at Savant talk about the Gryphon team in two or three years, I hope they say, “Those folks go the extra mile for their clients. They’re guided by doing what’s right.”
Our goal is to help improve clients’ financial well-being. On our own, we’ve served hundreds of clients. At Savant, we aspire to extend that impact to millions.
Meet Savant's Evanston, IL Team
John P. Swee
CFP®, MBAFinancial Advisor
Anthony J. Sapienza
CFP®Financial Advisor
D. Douglas Close
CFP®, CPAFinancial Advisor
Savant Wealth Management (“Savant”) is an SEC registered investment adviser headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this document serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Savant. This is intended for informational purposes only.